{
  "id": 14841742,
  "title": "I replaced NFS with a FUSE filesystem on my homelab, and macOS ate three working days",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/i-replaced-nfs-with-a-fuse-filesystem-on-my-homelab-and-macos-ate",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-16T01:56:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/prodbymarcu/i-replaced-nfs-with-a-fuse-filesystem-on-my-homelab-and-macos-ate-three-working-days-2lb0"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "I replaced Nextcloud's NFS mount with a FUSE filesystem (JuiceFS) on my homelab Mac mini, and macOS took three days to fully function. My Dell server on the LAN was used as the hot storage tier, and I wanted to eliminate the Nextcloud DB dependency while increasing speed. I installed JuiceFS in a Docker compose stack with a Redis container for metadata, a one-shot format, and a privileged FUSE mount container exporting to the host. Initially, I used Minio as the storage backend, but it was removed from public registries, and JuiceFS has a more straightforward native --storage file mode. After the switch, the Mac mini experienced a significant performance boost, writing and reading 225 MB/s and 618 MB/s, respectively, compared to NFS's 115 MB/s and 97 MB/s. However, the transition wasn't without hiccups. The JuiceFS Hub tags on Docker Hub are Docker plugin manifests, and the proper image is juicedata/mount. I also encountered an issue with Samba serving the share read-only by default, and macOS authentication to the SMB share was problematic. Additionally, deleting files over SMB threw a \"Operation not supported\" error, and unmounting the old NFS tier left two references alive, causing a kernel error and CPU spike. To avoid issues, I recommend benchmarking before choosing the backend, testing the mount as the session user, and ensuring the composition file reflects the correct configuration.",
  "summary": "I run an always-on homelab, a Mac mini, a Dell server on the LAN, a gaming PC, a UPS on every box. Files move between all three constantly, so the hot tier of the Dell used to be a Nextcloud mount over NFS. It worked, it was just slow, a 1 GiB copy from the Mac topped out around 33 MB/s write and 66 read. I wanted faster, and I wanted it gone from Nextcloud's DB, so I put JuiceFS on the Dell…",
  "key_points": [
    "Replaced NFS with FUSE filesystem (JuiceFS) on homelab Mac mini",
    "macOS took three days to fully function post-switch",
    "Performance boost: 225 MB/s write, 618 MB/s read"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Switching to a FUSE-based filesystem offers significant throughput gains for homelab storage but introduces complex compatibility hurdles between Docker-based mounts and macOS system stability.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}