For about a year, phone warnings about nearly full storage prompted migrating picture backups to a Nextcloud instance. This switched nagging from storage limits to reminders that backups were turned off, similar to Gmail's "Upgrade" prompts. Frustrated with renting cloud space and privacy concerns, the author sought a solution for family files, automatic phone and PC backups, and a machine to download Linux ISOs discreetly.

The build centered on a Zotac MAGNUS EN1070 K compact box featuring an i5 and GTX 1070 GPU, previously used as a media centre and in robot prototypes. To overcome the factory's single drive limitation, a custom extension was designed in Onshape and printed in glass-filled ABS, housing a five-bay hot-swap cage and a holder for a sixth drive. Internal components include a Pico PSU powered by the Zotac's upgraded brick, Noctua fans, and an ASM1166 adapter exposing six SATA ports.

A 1 TB boot SSD now resides in the 2.5" bay. Memory maxed out at 32 GB via two laptop DDR4 sticks, with a reused Wi-Fi card completing the hardware. Six 8 TB WD Red Plus drives were sourced second-hand due to prohibitive SSD costs and market shortages.

Configured in a RAIDZ2 ZFS pool, the setup offers 43.7 TB raw capacity with 29 TB usable space, tolerating two drive failures. The pool is encrypted and auto-unlocked via a key server. Thermal management remains a challenge due to the printed case insulation, though the system proved stable during testing.