Replacement OS for PR2100 with specific requirements

Hi all,

That’s it, I had enough with “my cloud” I’m not using most of the features because I need others.
Currently I’m using:
SSH, Plex (which I want to replace).
I backup only photos and not sharing the drive in my LAN for other computers simply because I prefer Rsync.

I read few threads here that WD OS can be replaced by other Linux distros, however, I’m a bit confused and therefore asking for some guidance

OS replacement for PR2100 means that I must have a USB flash drive connected for the device to boot from it? Or it’s only for the installation which at the end will be a full replacement for WD-OS?

My requirements from an OS:

  1. Lightweight (low power consumption as possible)
  2. Scalable- I do want to have an option to update/upgrade/install packages.
    One that I’m fancy especially is JellyFin which is a great Plex alternative! JellyFin is free opensource and don’t have known privacy issues as Plex/Emby
  3. Fedora / Fedora spins / Debian is my favourite, but it’s not that critical. However, surely NOT Ubuntu! I don’t like the privacy issues and the content that comes with Ubuntu installation.

Features as RAID, remote connect etc are things that nice to have. I did try OMV, FreeNAS and fee others and like it, but I’ll be fine without a dedicated NAS distros as any Linux can do this. Unless there is something i’m missing and might be related to efficiency which is something very important to me.

Power efficiency is something very important for me. Not that I think that I’ll save the earth with low power consumption NAS :smile: but I do try and satisfied when I get the most efficient OS for my compute devices at home.

Thanks in advance!

You can install the OS wherever you want…

  • on harddisks… but these are usually slow and it’s better to separate OS from storage
  • on USB drive… easy to remove and replace with backup OS. Recommended to have a spare flash drive around with a backup OS.
  • on internal flash… more risk for warranty… however if you wear out the internal flash, you can use the other 2 options. Prevent wearing it out with proper logging setup.

Most guides here come with instructions to test it on a VM first, which is definitely recommended.

Thanks you very much!

Do you know what is the performance difference between the USB to Flash based OS?

Can you elaborate what is the backup OS? Is this is the WD mycloud OS?

I assume that going back to the original OS is possible ?

Agree, I always test on VM before I implement it on an actual device. At this point I’m not sure what OS to use, still testing. Any recommendations?