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You could just install a minimal Debian system and install what you want after that. I use Nextcloud on my media Center for example. If you just want a Windows share you could instsll samba. If your Linux you could use ssh or nfs. Or could use Syncthing. All of these are pretty standard.
The big question is do you want raid. If so you need at least two storage volumes.
I haven't purchased any hardware at all yet. Live 3.4 miles from a microcenter though so it'll be easy to go buy too many things.
I run a mix of Windows and Linux on the network, but the Windows machines it's less important that it has access. Probably just do a samba share at first so I can just mount the NAS to a folder on my main pc so I can use VLC to cast to my chromecast.
Interesting. So VLC can Chromecast? Did not know that. Thanks.
Yeah, Playback > Renderer. Change it to the chromecast.
TrueNAS
Another vote for TrueNAS core here. Have been running it for a couple of years with no major issues.
TrueNAS SCALE has some additional nice features, but I wish they would release builds for ARM processors.
Proxmox
Edit: Installed as the hypervisor on bare metal and then whatever you want to try out like OMV, Plex, jellyfin, syncthing or cloud software in an LXC or VM
A hypervisor is a great option because it lets you test a bunch of different software solutions to see what works for you, and it's a great way to learn. Proxmox VE is just a great software too.
Turnkeys are super useful too
TrueNAS Core.
I've used Rockstor in the past, I liked it mostly (but in the end went with a self-configured OpenSUSE system).
Apart from that, I hear good things about OMV and TrueNAS
Openmediavault is quiet simple and you can also run docker containers on it