Fresh-Start Checklist for a Brand-New (or Re-imaged) OpenMediaVault NAS

Whether you’ve just built a brand-new DIY NAS or wiped the OS for a clean slate, follow this streamlined post-install playbook. Every step links to an in-depth guide on saurabthakur.com so you can drill down whenever you need more detail. Happy homelabbing! 🛠️

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📌 Quick Navigation

1. Install & Update OMV
2. Create /srv/personal Mount Point
3. (Re-)Install Docker & Portainer
4. Restore or Seed Your Docker Data
5. Automate Smart Backups
6. Hardening & Quality-of-Life Tweaks
7. Remote & Secure Access

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1️⃣ Install & Update OMV

• Flash the latest OMV ISO to a USB stick and install it on an SSD (never on the data HDD). • Change the default admin/openmediavault password after first login. • Run apt update && apt upgrade -y to pull the newest security patches.

➡️ Full walk-through: Build a NAS from Scratch — Step-by-Step Guide

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2️⃣ Create the /srv/personal Mount Point

Your future backups, media, and Docker bind-mounts all live inside /srv/personal. Follow the fstab method to make the mount persistent across reboots.

➡️ Details & troubleshooting: Create a Mount Point for /srv/personal

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3️⃣ (Re-)Install Docker & Portainer

• Curl the official Docker install script. • Spin up Portainer for point-and-click container management.

➡️ Copy-paste commands: Automated Docker Restore — Step 1 & 2

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4️⃣ Restore or Seed Your Docker Data

• If this NAS is a rebuild, untar your latest archive and rsync volumes, containers, network, swarm, and config folders back into /var/lib/docker/. • Import SQL dumps for Nextcloud & Immich to bring databases back online.

➡️ One-by-one restore steps: Automated Docker Restore on OMV

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5️⃣ Automate Smart Backups

• Drop the provided docker_backup.sh & docker_compress.sh scripts into /usr/local/bin/. • Enable the systemd timer so every night’s snapshot lands in /srv/personal/docker-backups and is gzipped to docker-archives. • Dumps of Nextcloud and Immich DBs included!

➡️ Full automation guide: Automated Docker Backup for OMV

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6️⃣ Hardening & Quality-of-Life Tweaks

• 🔑 SSH keys & Wake-on-LAN — ditch passwords and power up your NAS remotely.
  Set up SSH Keys & WoL
• 📦 Weekly Docker/Portainer auto-updates + optional daily shutdown for energy savings.
  Auto-Update Docker & Portainer
• 📲 Telegram push alerts — secure your bot token inside a .env file and get real-time script notifications.
  Secure Telegram Notifications

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7️⃣ Remote & Secure Access

Cloudflare Tunnel + DDNS = no port-forwarding, HTTPS everywhere, and your own subdomain.

➡️ End-to-end instructions: Securely Access Your NAS via Domain & Cloudflare

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🎉 You’re Done!

Reboot once for luck, verify your services in Portainer, and enjoy a rock-solid OMV NAS that’s backed up, updated, and reachable from anywhere. Got questions? Drop them under any linked guide above — each post has a comment section, and the author is quick to help! 💬