OpenMediaVault for Banana Pi
Summary
OpenMediaVault (OMV) for Banana Pi provides a complete, turnkey NAS solution that leverages the board's native SATA connectivity for high-throughput storage. Built on Debian, OMV delivers a polished web-based administration interface for managing storage, users, and network file shares without command-line expertise. This guide covers the full setup process from downloading the OMV image to configuring SMB/CIFS and NFS shares for your home or small office network.
Who This Is For
This guide is for home users and small office administrators who want to build an affordable, energy-efficient NAS appliance using the Banana Pi. It is also useful for hobbyists exploring network storage concepts and anyone seeking an alternative to commercial NAS devices.
What You'll Do
You will download and flash the OpenMediaVault image for Banana Pi, complete the initial boot, log in to the web management interface, integrate a SATA drive, create shared folders with appropriate permissions, configure SMB/CIFS and NFS services, and apply performance tuning for optimal throughput.
Requirements
- Banana Pi board with onboard SATA connector (M1 or compatible)
- A microSD card (8 GB or larger, Class 10) for the operating system
- A SATA hard drive or SSD for data storage
- SATA data and power cables compatible with the Banana Pi
- A reliable 5V/2A (or higher) power supply
- Ethernet cable connected to your LAN
- A computer with a web browser on the same network
Download and Verification
Obtain the OMV image for Banana Pi from mirror.lemaker.org or the OMV community download repository. Download the SHA-256 checksum file alongside the image. Verify integrity: sha256sum omv-bananapi.img.gz. Extract the image if compressed: gunzip omv-bananapi.img.gz.
Flash Procedure
Flash the image to your microSD card using dd if=omv-bananapi.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress on Linux or Etcher on Windows/macOS. The SATA drive should not be used for the OS — it is reserved entirely for data storage. Verify the target device carefully before writing. Eject the card safely once complete.
First Boot Steps
Insert the microSD card and connect the SATA drive, Ethernet cable, and power supply. Allow approximately two minutes for the system to boot. Determine the board's IP address from your router's DHCP lease table. Open a browser and navigate to http://<board-ip>. Log in with the default OMV credentials: username admin, password openmediavault. Change the password immediately via System > General Settings > Web Administrator Password.
Post-Boot Configuration
Navigate to Storage > Disks to verify the SATA drive is detected. Create an ext4 filesystem under Storage > File Systems and mount it. Define shared folders under Storage > Shared Folders. Enable Services > SMB/CIFS, add your shared folders as network shares, and configure access permissions. For Linux and macOS clients, enable Services > NFS and export the appropriate folders. Create user accounts under Access Rights Management > User. For best performance, use ext4 as the filesystem, tune Samba's socket options in the advanced settings, and ensure the Ethernet connection is stable. Enable S.M.A.R.T. monitoring under Storage > S.M.A.R.T. to receive early warnings of drive health issues. Set up scheduled tasks for regular data integrity checks.
Troubleshooting
- SATA drive not visible: Re-seat the SATA data and power cables. Test the drive on another system to rule out hardware failure.
- Web interface inaccessible: SSH into the board (default:
root/openmediavault) and verify the web engine is running:systemctl status openmediavault-engined. - Slow file transfers: Confirm wired Ethernet is in use. Check Samba configuration for large read/write settings. Use ext4 instead of NTFS or FAT32.
- Permission denied on shares: Review user-to-folder permission mappings in the OMV web interface. Ensure the user account has read/write access to the target shared folder.
Related Guides
Author: LeMaker Documentation Team
Last updated: 2026-02-10