- My setup at a glance
- Hardware and software overview
- Setting up Nextcloud with an SMB network drive
- 1. OpenMediaVault VM on Proxmox
- 2. File system and noise level
- 3. Creating the SMB share
- 4. Mounting the network drive in the LXC container
- 5. Placing the Nextcloud data directory on the network drive
- 6. Additional NAS as external storage
- Everyday experience with Nextcloud and SMB storage
- Problems and pitfalls
- Startup order in Proxmox
- File system choice
- Direct SMB access to the data directory
- Pros and cons of Nextcloud with a network drive
- Conclusion
My setup at a glance
I have been using Nextcloud for several years as the central data hub for my everyday work and my homelab server. In the beginning, the entire Nextcloud data directory lived on a virtual disk inside the LXC container. That worked, but it was not very flexible and I could not easily share the disk with other services.
So I redesigned my setup and configured Nextcloud so that all user data is stored on a network drive that is provided by OpenMediaVault via SMB. In addition, I use a separate HP Elitedesk as another NAS for personal files such as photos and videos that I can also access from anywhere through my Nextcloud.
In this post I show you how I set up my Nextcloud with an SMB network drive, which problems I ran into at the beginning and which advantages and disadvantages this solution has in daily use.
Hardware and software overview
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Hypervisor | Proxmox VE with AMD Ryzen 5700G |
| RAM | 80 GB |
| System SSDs | 2 × 2 TB NVMe (no RAID, used only for VMs and LXC containers) |
| Nextcloud | LXC container with Ubuntu, 6 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, 32 GB swap |
| PHP version | PHP 8.3.4 |
| Nextcloud system disk | 128 GB virtual disk for OS, apps and cache |
| Storage for Nextcloud user data | OpenMediaVault VM on the same Proxmox host, 18 TB HDD via SMB share and Fantec QB-35U31 4 bay USB case (*) with USB-C and 10 Gbit/s |
| Additional NAS | HP Elitedesk 800 G4 with OpenMediaVault for photos, videos and backups |
| Internal network | Virtual 10 Gbit links between VMs and LXC containers |
| External network | 2.5 Gbit NIC, currently connected to a 1 Gbit switch |
(*) Affiliate links
The actual Nextcloud user data lives on the 18 TB drive inside the OpenMediaVault VM. This disk is shared as an SMB network drive. The second NAS on the HP Elitedesk is used for personal data such as photos, videos and archives which I mount via fstab and then add to Nextcloud as external storage.
Setting up Nextcloud with an SMB network drive
The setup for running Nextcloud with SMB network storage took several steps.
1. OpenMediaVault VM on Proxmox
On the AMD Ryzen 5700G server, Nextcloud runs as an LXC container and OpenMediaVault runs as a VM on the same Proxmox host. The 18 TB HDD is passed through directly to this VM. This way I can monitor all SMART values and the health of the disk inside OMV and at the same time use the disk for other services like my Home Assistant server where I store assets such as icons and images.
2. File system and noise level
At first I formatted the disk with BTRFS. That was not a pleasant experience. Even small read or write operations caused loud rattling noises. After a few weeks I wiped the disk and reformatted it with ext4. Since then the drive has been much quieter and is hardly audible during normal operation.
3. Creating the SMB share
In OpenMediaVault I created a dedicated shared folder for Nextcloud and exposed it as an SMB share. It is important that the user that runs the web server and PHP inside the Nextcloud container has proper permissions on this share. In my case this user is www-data.
4. Mounting the network drive in the LXC container
Inside the Nextcloud container I mount the SMB network drive to /mnt/nxd.
The entry in my /etc/fstab looks like this (simplified):
//10.10.113.20/nx/112040 /mnt/nxd cifs username=server,password=YOUR_PASSWORD,uid=www-data,iocharset=utf8 0 0
Short explanation:
cifs– enables the SMB/CIFS protocolusernameandpassword– credentials for the SMB shareuid=www-data– all files inside the container belong to thewww-datauseriocharset=utf8– makes sure umlauts and special characters are handled correctly
With this fstab entry the network drive is mounted automatically whenever the container starts. If you prefer, you can move the credentials into a separate file so they are not stored in plain text in the fstab.
5. Placing the Nextcloud data directory on the network drive
During installation, or later via config.php, I configured the Nextcloud data directory to point to /mnt/nxd. The Nextcloud installation itself, including PHP files, apps and server cache, still lives on the fast NVMe SSD of the container.
In practice this means: the application layer stays on local SSD storage while the large user files reside on the SMB network storage.
6. Additional NAS as external storage
The HP Elitedesk 800 G4 with OpenMediaVault acts as a second NAS in my network. This is where I store personal data such as travel photos, videos and larger archives. I mount these shares on the Nextcloud host via fstab and then configure them inside Nextcloud as external storage. The folders show up directly in the Nextcloud web interface without being moved into the main data directory.
Everyday experience with Nextcloud and SMB storage
I have been using this combination of Proxmox, Nextcloud, OpenMediaVault and SMB network storage for almost two years now. Several Windows PCs and laptops are connected with the official Nextcloud desktop client. On the Android side I use FolderSync Pro to back up my camera folders and custom directories to Nextcloud.
Because the Nextcloud container and the OpenMediaVault VM communicate over an internal 10 Gbit network, I do not notice any difference compared to a local disk. Uploads, downloads and the web interface are fast, and sync operations and file access feel very responsive.
The most useful aspects in daily use:
- Central monitoring of the HDD via OpenMediaVault including SMART values and disk usage
- Flexible use of the disk by multiple VMs, not only Nextcloud
- Additional NAS for media that still appears directly in Nextcloud through external storage
For my use case this is a very convenient way to run self hosted cloud storage with Nextcloud on Proxmox and SMB.
Problems and pitfalls
There were a few issues I had to fix in the beginning.
Startup order in Proxmox
The OpenMediaVault VM must be fully up and running before the Nextcloud LXC container starts. Otherwise mounting the network drive fails and Nextcloud cannot find its data directory. I solved this by using the Proxmox startup order and a small boot delay for the container.
File system choice
BTRFS on the 18 TB HDD was very noisy in my environment. With ext4 the drive is pleasantly quiet and behaves much better in 24/7 operation. For large simple data volumes I personally prefer ext4.
Direct SMB access to the data directory
I no longer access the SMB share that holds the main Nextcloud data directory directly from my PC. All changes go through Nextcloud or WebDAV. This keeps the database and file index consistent and avoids strange sync issues.
Pros and cons of Nextcloud with a network drive
Here is a quick overview of the main pros and cons of running Nextcloud with SMB network storage in my homelab.
| Advantage | Disadvantage |
|---|---|
| Storage can be used flexibly by multiple VMs | Depends on the OpenMediaVault VM and the network |
| SMART values and disk health are easy to monitor | Setup is more complex than a simple local disk |
| Clear separation between application and data | fstab mount must work reliably during boot |
| Extra NAS for media as external storage in Nextcloud | If the storage layer fails, user data is temporarily offline |
| Easy to extend with additional shares and disks | Direct SMB access to the data directory is problematic |
Conclusion
Running Nextcloud with an SMB network drive on Proxmox and OpenMediaVault has proven to be a very flexible and practical setup for my homelab. All Nextcloud user data is stored on a dedicated 18 TB HDD inside the OMV VM, while the Nextcloud installation itself lives on a fast NVMe SSD. On top of that, the HP Elitedesk with OpenMediaVault serves as an additional NAS for media files which I integrate into Nextcloud as external storage.
If you are planning a similar homelab or a small self hosted cloud environment, a Nextcloud installation with SMB network storage can be a great option. The key points are correct permissions, a sane startup order for your Proxmox guests and a fast internal connection between Nextcloud and the NAS.
If you take care of these details, you end up with a flexible Nextcloud setup with network storage that is easy to expand and still stable and performant in daily use.
