Learning FreeNAS

06/13/2011 · No Responses

FreeNAS is free software that turns a PC into a Network Attached Storage (NAS) server. It supports client connections from Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, Linux, and FreeBSD. It has a web interface for administration and includes support for RAID (0, 1, 5), iSCSI, drive encryption, and UPnP. Based on FreeBSD, it has modest system requirements but is scalable for the enterprise.

This book will show you how to work with FreeNAS and set it up for your needs. You will learn how to configure and administer a FreeNAS server in a variety of networking scenarios. You will also learn how to plan and implement RAID on the server as well as how to use Storage Area Network technologies like iSCSI. The standard FreeNAS documentation walks you through the basic configuration, but this book will tell you exactly what you should do to plan, work, and deploy FreeNAS. This book has a comprehensive troubleshooting section that will point you in the right direction whenever you need help.

This book is a comprehensive guide to building and using resilient network-attached storage solutions for your business using FreeNAS. Written in an accessible style and filled with facts you need to know, this book will show you how to get things done the right way.

What you will learn from this book :

Understand the concepts of Network Attached Storage (NAS) and where FreeNAS server fits into your business.
Install, configure, and upgrade the FreeNAS server.
Deploy your NAS following best practices to plan capacity, hardware, backup, redundancy, and network infrastructure.
Deploy FreeNAS as a file sharing, backup, streaming server by using different protocols like CIFS, NFS, FTP, RSYNC, Unison, AFP, and UPnP.
Use FreeNAS as a bridge to Storage Area Networks by using SCSI.
Connect to the FreeNAS server from Windows, OS X, Linux, or UPnP devices.
Carry out common administrative tasks: add and authenticate users, rebooting and shutting down, network management, and configure FreeNAS to use DNS.
Improve fault tolerance and drive performance by creating RAID sets.
Explore backup optionsâ€”create copies of data on a remote server or another hard drive within the FreeNAS server.
Carry out advanced system configuration: encrypt discs, add swap space, S.M.A.R.T, and SSH access.
Troubleshoot your FreeNAS server when faced with networking problems or RAID failures.
Carry out basic FreeBSD administration tasks.

Approach
This book has been written from the system administrator’s perspective, tackling the topics that will be most important to help you understand FreeNAS, and get it set up as securely and quickly as possible. You will just see how to get the job done.

Who this book is written for
This book is for systems administrators who want a low cost, simple way to provide large amounts of network-attached storage. It does not assume knowledge of BSD, and will work for people using FreeNAS in any network environment.