How to build a NAS box

Using FreeNAS for Bit Torrent

If your NAS box is already on 24/7 anyway, running a torrent client along with it to pick up all those very legal, public domain wares is certainly helpful. Scratch that - you might not want a NAS box with loads of hard drives on all day everyday. How about just a dedicated Bit Torrent box instead?


This is where FreeNAS' install option 2 (or 3) comes in: pick up an Intel Atom mini-ITX board a 2.5in drive or small SSD and run the client, plus the download space entirely from the one disk. Strap it all together with a DC-DC PSU and pack it in the smallest case you can find, or failing that, just use tape or zip ties and bung it in a draw.

Transmission Bit-Torrent Client

For those used to uTorrent or Azureus/Vuze, Transmission is not as comprehensive, although it certainly has enough features to be usable. For example, part file download is supported, but organising the torrents within the list in a way that's actually useful is unfortunately not possible.

The web interface is easy to use and can be accessed from any PC on the network directly connected to it. Combined with the FTP service, torrents can be remotely loaded providing Transmission is setup to automatically sniff a certain directory. However, it's not as elegant as the Dropbox approach. On the plus side, Transmission uses very little CPU power, although there's no way to turn it off other than pausing all the torrents or logging in and shutting down the entire service.


If you use FreeNAS - please drop into our forum and show us your own setups and tips. If you want to try something altogether a bit more hardcore though, try and build your own Linux server following our guides: Part 1 and Part 2, or try unRAID with our DVD Server guide.