Minimalist NAS: frood, an Alpine initramfs System

The author introduces frood, a NAS system built as a single, large initramfs image containing a complete Alpine Linux system. This design results in fast boot times and reduced wear on storage devices. Configuration is straightforward; files reside directly in the image, eliminating complex DSLs or configuration tools. The system state is tracked with Git, and each boot is effectively a fresh start, preventing configuration clutter. The article details the system's build process, including the use of the alpine-make-rootfs script, installation of essential packages, and writing startup scripts. QEMU testing and the system image update procedure are also described. In essence, frood is a lightweight, easily maintainable, and deployable NAS system whose simple design philosophy is worth emulating.