This tutorial will show you how to get the OpenMediaVault installed and up-to-date on a Raspberry Pi. The NAS interface is what allows your device to communicate with other devices remotely and in this case, it can be used as an intermediary between a remote computer or server and your local system. This guide does not cover installing packages from the command line for the NAS Interface using yum or apt-get commands.,
OpenMediaVault is an open source NAS interface that allows users to manage their storage and share files with other devices. This tutorial will show you how to get started with OpenMediaVault on a Raspberry Pi.
OpenMediaVault is an excellent solution for hosting a file server on your Raspberry Pi that will make your life simpler. It provides a web interface for managing anything on your devices, including storage disks (detection, mounting, and formatting) and file sharing (creation, permissions, user management, etc.). Because I used this distribution a lot in my previous work as a system administrator, I’ll show you how to install it on a Raspberry Pi in this post.
OpenMediaVault is a piece of software that may run on any Debian-based operating system, including Raspberry Pi OS (Lite is enough). In a few clicks, it can host and setup a file server through a web interface.
This guide will walk you through each step so you can quickly install the software on your device and set up a file sharing at home.
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What is the purpose of OpenMediaVault?
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The primary purpose of OpenMediaVault (OMV), as stated in the introduction, is to install a file server and provide you with a good online interface to manage it. This tool, however, does not reinvent the wheel. Essentially, it will set up the major components of a file server (such as Samba) and give a user interface for you to interact with the configuration file (a bit like Webmin, but dedicated to the file server, and slightly better I think).
You can definitely accomplish the same thing with Samba and a few other programs, but the installation, setup, and maintenance are far more difficult (I have a detailed tutorial on that if you want to compare the two).
I even migrated several servers at work from OpenMediaVault to native Debian (since I wanted to upgrade the base system, but OMV didn’t have the newest version at the time). Although I no longer had access to the online interface, the Samba setup remained same, and the file share continued to function.
In any case, for a home project, the goal is to keep things simple. I’m sure some of you are Linux gods, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t make it easier to manage our Raspberry Pi server.
Install the OpenMediaVault base system.
OpenMediaVault was formerly available as part of a standard Linux distribution. You had an image and needed to reinstall it on a new server (or Raspberry Pi). OpenMediaVault is now a simple package that can be installed on any Debian-based distribution, which is a huge improvement for us.
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The first step is to have a Raspberry Pi or to install your system on one. I’ll be using Raspberry Pi OS Lite for this tutorial, which should enough. However, if you already have another version, it’s alright (Desktop, Ubuntu, etc.).
If you need help with the installation, I recommend reading this comprehensive guide on installing Raspberry Pi OS and then returning here.
In any case, be certain you have:
- Installed a Debian-based operating system.
- Internet access was set up. Take note of the Raspberry Pi IP address; you’ll need it later (if you’re not sure what I’m talking about, check this guide).
- Complete the system updates: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
If you’re using another computer to follow this guide, setting up SSH access on your Raspberry Pi would be a good idea. You may Use the web interface to get started. from your PC by simply copying and pasting the instructions I provide below.
Installing OpenMediaVault on a Raspberry Pi
The primary steps for installing OpenMediaVault on a Raspberry Pi are as follows:
- Install all requirements and perform the basic setup using the installation script.
- To create your own server, go to the web interface.
We’ll go through how to accomplish that in detail now.
OpenMediaVault should be installed.
As previously stated, OpenMediaVault may now be deployed as a standalone program. It’s not in the normal repository, however you can install it with only one single line using their installation script: sudo bash wget -O https://github.com/OpenMediaVault-Plugin-Developers/installScript/raw/master/install | wget -O https://github.com/OpenMediaVault-Plugin-Developers/installScript/raw/master/install
It will install everything you need, and you will not be asked any extra questions throughout the process. When the script is finished, it will reboot your Raspberry Pi.
I tried it on Raspberry Pi OS Lite (Bullseye, 64-bit) to see whether the most recent version was supported, but it should work with any version.
Use the web interface to get started.
After the system reboot, you should be able to Use the web interface to get started. directly:
- On your PC, open your web browser.
- For example, type the Raspberry Pi address with the HTTP prefix: http://192.168.1.100 If you know the Raspberry Pi hostname, you may use it instead: http://raspberrypi.local It’s only an example, so you may have changed it in Raspberry Pi Imager during installation or thereafter using the hostname command (as explained here).
- The following is the login form that will appear:
- To log in for the first time, use the default credentials:
- Username/Password: admin
- openmediavault is the password.
- Once you’ve signed in, you may alter them; I’ll teach you how in the following section.
After that, you’ll have full access to the interface. The dashboard must be set, although there is a left menu with all of OpenMediaVault’s functions.
The Beginnings of OpenMediaVault
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The purpose here isn’t to offer you a step-by-step tutorial on how to use OpenMediaVault or to explain all of the interface settings (there is the official documentation for that). Instead, I’d want to walk you through the basic actions that everyone must do, regardless of the project. I hope you find it helpful and that it saves you time.
Change the password for the administrator.
It’s usually a good idea to update the default credentials as soon as possible after installation for security reasons. If someone discovers that you’re using OpenMediaVault or a Raspberry Pi, even if it’s only a modest server at home, default passwords will be immediately checked.
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To modify the default OpenMediaVault password, follow these steps:
- In the top-right corner, click the settings symbol.
- A menu appears; choose “Change Password”:
- To save your changes, type the new password twice and click “Save.”
If necessary, you may switch to another language from the same menu.
You may now continue working on your project!
Configure the dashboard
The home page is empty by default, and you’ll get a notice describing what to do: “The dashboard hasn’t been set up yet.” Please go to the settings page to customize it.”
To customize the widgets you wish to add to this page, just click the link. This is pretty nicely done — you can get a fast summary of your current settings and hardware use (CPU, RAM, network) (enabled services, shares, file systems, etc.).
For some of them, you have the choice between “table” and “grid”. Just pick one, this is just a different design. Grids have colors and graphs, while tables are more traditional.
Table (on the left) vs grid (right)
Install your hard disks.
When you attempt to add your storage disks, things become serious. This was the situation when I first tried OpenMediaVault a few years ago, but I don’t think it’s that obvious. The UI is helpful, but there are multiple stages to follow, and if you miss one, it will not function.
Anyway, mounting and formatting the disk aren’t difficult, so let’s get started.
I’m putting this to the test with the Argon One enclosure and a 1TB M2 SSD inside. I’ll show you how to mount the SSD, format it, and build a file share on it using OpenMediaVault, which is loaded on my preferred USB key (you can also use an SD card). If you’re using a USB drive or a HAT with many SATA drives, the instructions should be identical.
- First, make sure your data drive is detected. Go to Storage > Disks to list all of them:
In my case, both are detected (USB+SSD), and I’m interested in the first one (/dev/sda). - Optional: If you have multiple disks and want more security, go to RAID Management. If you have two drives, for example, you may set up a mirror such that if one becomes corrupted, the other will preserve your life (and files). This is one step that is especially difficult to do on command lines and where OMV comes in handy.
- Then format your disk with EXT4. I tried with a FAT partition created on my computer, but received many issues, so I guess OMV works best with a Linux file system. Go to Storage > File Systems and click on “Create”. You may need to mount it first. Choose your device (/dev/sda in my case) and the file system (EXT4 works fine).
That should enough. New data storage is now accessible in only a few steps.
Make your first post.
This is where I got a little confused in the process since the “share” folder may be configured in numerous places in the left menu:
- In Storage > Shared folders: you create a folder and can give permissions to it for your users. But it doesn’t mean you can access it from another computer. It’s only a local folder.
- In Services > SMB/CIFS > Shares: that’s where you configure a shared folder, that can be accessed from another computer.
So, start by creating a new folder in Storage > Shared folders. Set a name (“share” or whatever), select the file system you just created (/dev/sda1 in my case), and pick the default permissions. This is just for local access, so it doesn’t really matter for now.
Then, go to Services > SMB/CIFS. In the “Settings” submenu, make sure the service is enabled. If not, check the “Enabled” box and click Save. 
You can now open the “Shares” submenu, and create the shared folder. The form might feel overwhelming, but you can keep the default values in most cases. Select the shared folder created in the previous step, and everything else is optional. Just change what applies to your case. If you prefer not to bother with user passwords and permissions, set the “Public” field to “Guests allowed”.
Once all the steps are completed, the new folder is listed under Services > SMB/CIFS > Shares: 
And you can access it via your file explorer from a computer. On Windows, use \IP_ADDRESS and on Linux/Mac it should be something like smb://IP_ADDRESS. If guests aren’t allowed, you’ll be asked for a login and password. Keep reading to learn more about this.
Permissions management in a group
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When there is no online interface, this is another step that is difficult to establish. So, if you want to offer various rights to different users, OMV comes in useful.
To handle rights to your share folders, the recommended practice is to utilize users and groups:
- Create a different group for each level of access. Maybe it’s “admins” and “users”. Or perhaps it’s one group per shared folder. Find what is best depending on your project. For a simple share at home, one group named something like “share_access” might be enough, to explicitly configure who can access the shared folder. Go to Users > Groups to create the corresponding group(s).
- Then create one user for everyone. In general, you’ll create one username for each individual, but you can also have more if you have some scripts or apps connecting to this device (a backup service, for example). Go to Users > Users to create the corresponding user(s). Make sure to add them in the correct groups you created previously.
We can now specify the shared folder permissions once you’ve established at least one user and group for yourself:
- Return to “Groups” and choose the group to whom you’d want to provide access to your shared folder.
- In the top bar, click the privileges icon:
- For each shared folder you created, you can now pick which rights to grant:
- Full access to the files in this folder (read/write).
- All files may be opened, but they cannot be edited.
- No access: you won’t be able to open any files.
In the Users submenu, you may do the same thing. However, using groups is often the ideal strategy since it will function immediately when you add new members to the group in the future.
Using OpenMediaVault with plugins
The extra plugins are the last feature I’d want to discuss. Because OpenMediaVault is often used to run a simple file server, I focused on it in this essay. However, you may simply add additional plugins to your file server to improve your experience and provide new capabilities.
You can for example add a plugin to enable an Antivirus or files encryption on your system. To do this, go to System > Plugins. You’ll get a list of the supported plugins. Just click on the one you are interested in, and click on “Install” to install it automatically.
The plugin will usually appear in a submenu after installation, with further parameters to customise it. Here’s an example using the ClamAV antivirus plugin:
You may always use SSH to manually install ClamAV on your Raspberry Pi. However, the online interface for managing it is commendable.
I hope you found this instruction helpful in getting started with OpenMediaVault on your Raspberry Pi. Please go to their documentation for further information (using a Raspberry Pi or a $10k server has no effect on the interface once installed), and email me if you have any further queries.
Resources for the Raspberry Pi
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VIP Members’ Club You may also join the Patreon community if you simply want to hang out with me and show your support. I provide you early access to my stuff and share behind-the-scenes information there. When you join, you’ll also receive a shoutout. More information may be found here. Do you need assistance building anything using Python? Any Python script for your Raspberry Pi may be created, understood, and improved. Learn the basics in a step-by-step manner, rather than wasting time on irrelevant ideas. Now is the time to get the e-book.
This website also contains all of my tool and hardware suggestions.
The “open media vault raspberry pi image” is a way to get started with OpenMediaVault on Raspberry Pi. This tutorial will show you how to create an image, and also includes instructions for setting up the software.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I turn my Raspberry Pi NAS into OpenMediaVault?
A: There are a few methods for setting up an OpenMediaVault NAS. One of the most popular is to follow this guide on TinkerTry, but there are also some guides online that may better suit you, depending on your needs and knowledge.
Is a Raspberry Pi good for a NAS?
How do I setup my Raspberry Pi NAS?
A: The easiest way to setup your Raspberry Pi 3 is via SSH, as it will give you direct access to the pi and create a username/password.
To do this on Windows or Mac, first download PuTTY or Terminal app. For those of you who are Linux users in the know with their own terminal windows open already (thats most people), just use that window and follow along here!
First thing youll want to do is login if necessary by typing: ssh [email protected] then enter your password when prompted. If everything went smoothly so far, type exit. Next up we need some dependencies for our Raspbian Stretch Lite image which includes all of the packages needed for setting up our NAS server software RAID 1 array; installing these can take awhile depending on how fast your internet connection is but its worth sticking out until they install successfully. To install them now simply run sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get -y upgrade && sudo reboot . Depending on what terminal program that youre using though within PuTTy or whatever else may be installed onto your system, different commands may be required such as ssh [email protected] followed by passwd raspberry before continuing; however I dont think there would have been any harm running both at once! We must now configure LVM manually since Debian doesnt seem capable enough without manual intervention from us yet again because everyone knows automatic arrays arent made for high volumes like ours… Here we go! Type in /etc/initramfs-tools/confirm_overwrite into bash prompt and press return after entering password raspberry , let me tell ya nothing feels better than complete control over my data ;). Anyways next step begins configuring our volume group called mynas which shouldve automatically started itself upon rebooting but sometimes things fail inexplicably despite having good intentions so make sure not to skip ahead too much unless absolutely necessary 😛 Now type export LABEL=MyNAS Rav1Array01 /dev/md0 followed by mkfs.*(ext4|xfs) — yes thats three dashes * instead of one md5 hash mark !! This process will take a while due to file allocation table size being rather large nowadays compared with old days where disks only had 25GB even tho they were bigger drives–LOL!. Remembering those devious times makes me feel nostalgic haha!, lastly lets edit /etc/gr
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