How Tommy Doan Built a Portable NAS to Replace iCloud and Google Drive

Tommy Doan built a portable NAS around ZimaBoard 2 that can synchronize files, back up phone photos, provide remote access, run from a power bank, and operate through its own 3K OLED touchscreen. The project reduces his dependence on iCloud and Google Drive, but its real value is not simply avoiding subscriptions—it gives him control over where his files live and how the system can be expanded.

Thank you to Tommy Doan for designing and documenting this portable home-server project. His original video follows the build from basic storage and self-hosted applications to Wi-Fi, battery power, a removable touchscreen, Linux, CasaOS, and retro-game emulation.

Source note: This article reorganizes the configuration and results shown in Tommy Doan's video. Component availability, application behavior, battery runtime, temperatures, and mobile background-upload behavior can vary with the final hardware, software versions, network conditions, and workload.

The result: ZimaBoard 2 becomes a battery-powered personal server with local storage, private file synchronization, mobile photo backup, secure remote access, and a detachable touchscreen. It is more flexible than a conventional portable drive, but it still needs a real backup plan and careful power, networking, and software management.

Why Build a Portable NAS Instead of Renting More Cloud Storage?

Tommy Doan starts with two concerns: recurring payments for access to growing personal storage and uncertainty about where private files are processed. A home NAS changes the ownership model because the user chooses the drives, applications, access path, and retention plan.

Local ownership does not make the system automatically private or safe. Remote-access services, application telemetry, mobile clients, weak passwords, and missing backups can still expose or destroy data. Self-hosting replaces a provider's operational decisions with the owner's decisions.

Portability adds another objective. Tommy does not want a server permanently tied to one desk by Ethernet and wall power. His build therefore evolves in stages: first make file and photo services work, then remove the fixed network and power connections, and finally add a local interface.

ZimaBoard 2 Provides the Expandable Server Core

The ZimaBoard 2 Mini Home NAS is the core of the project. Tommy describes the two available memory and onboard-storage configurations, then adds his own drive for user files rather than treating the onboard system storage as the main data library.

He uses an SSD through a PCIe adapter because he already has the drive available. A large HDD can offer more capacity per dollar in a stationary NAS, while an SSD avoids moving parts and can better suit a device that will be repositioned. The tradeoff is capacity, cost, and write endurance rather than a universal winner.

The open PCIe connection becomes important later because Tommy replaces the original M.2 adapter with hardware that adds Wi-Fi. This illustrates the central constraint of an expandable small server: one modification can consume an interface that could otherwise serve storage or another peripheral.

Replacing Google Drive With a Syncthing Workflow

Tommy installs Syncthing and creates a shared folder between his MacBook Pro and the NAS. When a file is added or changed on one configured device, Syncthing propagates that change to the other device, allowing work to continue without uploading the folder to a conventional cloud-drive account.

According to the Syncthing documentation, file creation, modification, and deletion can be replicated across devices. That behavior is useful for synchronization, but it also means an unwanted deletion or damaging change can spread. Syncthing itself should not be treated as the only backup.

A safer workflow separates the live synchronized folder from protected history. Versioning can help recover some replaced files, but important documents still need an independent backup destination that is not continuously mirroring every user action.

Using Immich for a Self-Hosted Photo Library

For phone photos, Tommy uses Immich as a self-hosted alternative to an iCloud-centered workflow. The mobile application can upload new photos and videos from selected albums to the server, giving the NAS an active role in protecting and organizing the camera roll.

The Immich mobile-backup guide explains that background uploads are influenced by the phone operating system. On iOS, Background App Refresh must be enabled, and the operating system—not Immich—decides when background work runs. A newly captured photo may therefore not reach the server immediately.

Immich also requires its own backup plan. The application database contains paths and metadata, while the upload location holds the original media. Protecting only one of those layers can leave a restored library incomplete. The related ZimaSpace article on a private Immich photo cloud with ZimaBoard 2 provides another creator-led view of this workflow.

Tailscale Keeps the NAS Reachable Away From Home

Syncthing and Immich are most useful when the server remains reachable beyond the local desk. Tommy adds Tailscale to create a private connection between his devices, allowing authorized clients to reach the NAS and continue transferring files while he is away.

This avoids treating every self-hosted application as a separate public website. A private overlay network can reduce direct exposure, although account security, device approval, operating-system updates, and application authentication still matter.

Remote access also depends on the network available to both ends. Weak Wi-Fi, mobile-data limits, slow home upload bandwidth, or a sleeping server can delay synchronization even when the private connection itself is working.

Removing Ethernet and Wall Power

The first version functions as a NAS but still requires Ethernet and a wall outlet. Tommy replaces the original M.2 card with an adapter that adds Wi-Fi, allowing the server to move around the house without a wired network connection.

For power, he installs a battery pack with a fixed 12V barrel output beneath the frame. Matching the required voltage and connector is essential; a USB power bank does not automatically provide the correct fixed output for every server. The battery, cable, and conversion path must also sustain the system's peak load rather than only its idle draw.

This change makes the NAS portable within the limits of wireless coverage and battery capacity. It does not make the storage immune to sudden shutdowns. A low-battery cutoff during active writes can interrupt transfers or leave applications recovering after the next boot, so the power plan should include safe shutdown behavior and status monitoring.

Adding a 3K OLED Touchscreen

Wi-Fi and battery power remove two cables to the room, but the NAS still needs another device for management. Tommy adds a 14-inch 3K OLED portable touchscreen so the system can display and control its own interface.

The monitor supports touch input, a built-in stand, and VESA mounting. Directly attaching it to the server frame would interfere with cables, so Tommy reuses a rotating desk stand, slides it into the available gap, secures it with a clamp, and then organizes the display and power cables.

The completed structure is not a conventional laptop. It is a modular personal server with its own display, storage, battery, and network connection. The screen can also detach and return to its normal role as an external monitor for another computer.

Why the Touchscreen Requires Linux and CasaOS

ZimaOS is normally managed through a browser running on another device. Connecting a touchscreen directly does not by itself create a desktop session that can display that browser. Tommy therefore installs Linux as the host operating system and adds CasaOS for browser-style server and application management.

This changes the architecture. The original NAS experience becomes one workload inside a broader computer environment. The local desktop can open the management interface directly, while Linux also provides access to applications that are not part of a typical headless NAS workflow.

The tradeoff is additional maintenance. The owner now manages the Linux desktop, CasaOS, containerized services, storage mounts, touchscreen behavior, and startup order. A standalone interface is convenient only if these layers consistently return after updates and reboots.

Running Retro Games on the Portable NAS

Once the system has a Linux desktop and touchscreen, Tommy tests a use outside storage: retro-game emulation through Dolphin. The Intel processor is not presented as suitable for modern AAA gaming, but it handles the classic titles he tests surprisingly well.

This does not turn storage and gaming into the same workload. File synchronization, photo processing, media indexing, and emulation can compete for CPU, memory, and storage bandwidth. A game may feel smooth when the server is idle but behave differently while large uploads or background processing are active.

The test nevertheless demonstrates why the local screen matters. The device can remain a server when unattended and become an interactive computer when the owner is sitting in front of it.

Battery Runtime and Temperature Results

Tommy uses a 122Wh power bank to run both the ZimaBoard 2 system and the display. In his build, it provides about three and a half hours of 4K video streaming or approximately three hours of gaming.

He reports temperatures around 40–45°C during heavier use such as gaming and roughly 30–35°C while idle. These figures describe his assembled configuration, ambient conditions, application load, and measurement method; they are not guaranteed limits for every enclosure, drive, or power setup.

A practical portable server should be tested under simultaneous load: active display, wireless transfers, storage writes, photo processing, and any interactive application. Battery runtime calculated from idle power alone can overestimate how long the system remains usable in the field.

Portable Does Not Mean the Data Is Automatically Protected

Tommy closes with an important limitation: a NAS is still one physical device. If its only drive fails, the complete unit is damaged, or the portable system is lost, the files can disappear with it.

Immich recommends protecting both uploaded media and its database with a broader backup strategy. Syncthing similarly warns that synchronization is not the same as backup because deletions and modifications can propagate. These two facts matter even more when the server is designed to be moved.

A reasonable protection plan keeps the portable NAS as the active copy, adds a second copy on another local device or removable drive, and maintains a third copy away from the device. Self-hosting should change who controls the backup—not remove the backup.

Who Should Build a Portable NAS Like This?

This project fits creators, travelers, students, and home-lab builders who value a customizable local server and enjoy integrating hardware. It is especially useful when files must move between several personal devices and the owner wants direct access to storage without carrying a conventional desktop NAS.

A stationary NAS is simpler when the server will always remain beside a router and wall outlet. A normal external SSD is smaller when the only requirement is direct-attached storage. A commercial cloud service may remain easier when hands-off redundancy and global access matter more than ownership of the infrastructure.

Tommy's design becomes compelling when none of those categories alone is enough. It combines a portable drive, a self-hosted application server, a private synchronization endpoint, and an interactive Linux computer in one modular build.

A Personal Cloud Can Be Built Around the Owner's Workflow

Tommy Doan's portable NAS succeeds because each modification answers a specific friction point. Syncthing handles working files, Immich handles phone photos, Tailscale extends private access, Wi-Fi removes Ethernet, the battery removes the wall outlet, and the touchscreen removes dependence on a second management device.

The result is not necessarily the smallest or simplest NAS. It is a personal server shaped around how its owner wants to store, reach, and interact with data. That customization—and the responsibility that comes with maintaining it—is the real alternative to renting more cloud storage.

Watch Tommy Doan's complete build for the hardware assembly, portable display mount, application workflow, battery test, and retro-game demonstration. To exchange more ZimaBoard 2 project ideas with other home-server builders, join the ZimaSpace Discord community.