Hello FreeNAS users,
Happy fall! By now you’ve probably heard of the Shellshock bug. Although FreeNAS was not affected, we decided to proactively close the vulnerability with FreeNAS 9.2.1.8 just in case. We also have a couple of tutorials for you this month including a bunch of user-created content. After several months of hard work, we’re very close to releasing FreeNAS 9.3—expect a special in-depth update from Jordan Hubbard, Director of the FreeNAS Project and iXsystems CTO, in the next newsletter.
Cheers,
The FreeNAS Team
New FreeNAS 9.2.1.8-RELEASE
It’s time for another FreeNAS release! FreeNAS 9.2.1.8 closes the Shellshock security vulnerability. Although FreeNAS does not use bash as the default system shell, we thought it was still worth addressing. Some of the other changes in this release include:
- Fixed bug where use of NONE cipher in replication erroneously reported an error on a successful replication.
- Don’t enable LZ4 compression on replication by default if upgrading from a pre-9.2.1.7 release.
- Improve performance of viewing snapshots when replication tasks are set up.
- Allow binding CIFS to specific IPs.
- Fixed LDAP bind URL when using TLS.
- Fixed a bug in the mail sending routines used by FreeNAS. With some mailserver configurations the To: address could’ve been set to root instead of the address specified in the root user.
- Fix a bug that prevented the system from showing the replicated status of a snapshot if the remote path differed from the local path.
The full list of bugs fixed in 9.2.1.8 can be found here. We hope everyone enjoys this release of FreeNAS and as always, thanks for the support.
MeetBSD California 2014 – Last Call for Registration!
The stage is set for MeetBSD California 2014 at Western Digital’s San Jose headquarters on November 1-2. With only two weeks left, be sure to register for your spot if you haven’t done so already.
Some of the notable speakers this year include Kirk McKusick, Jordan Hubbard, & Rick Reed. BSD Now will also be conducting interviews at the conference. Check out the schedule for more information. As this is an unConference, many aspects of the schedule are left up to the attendees to determine. There will be plenty of opportunities for breakaway groups and hallway tracks for impromptu discussions. We expect this year’s MeetBSD California to be the biggest one yet—don’t miss it!
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Transmission on FreeNAS
We have a new, official tutorial video about installing the Transmission plugin available on YouTube. Transmission is a fast, easy, and free BitTorrent client available on many platforms. Setup is pretty straightforward and the video runs through FreeNAS volume creation, user creation, and permissions before demonstrating how to install and configure the Transmission plugin. If you find the video helpful, be sure to take a look at the rest of our YouTube channel for more tutorials.
Obsessed with Minecraft? MineOS on FreeNAS
The name “Joshua Parker Ruehlig” may sound familiar to some of you—he’s responsible for writing several FreeNAS plugins including CouchPotato, Sick Beard, and Maraschino. Recently, he uploaded a video detailing how to install, set up, and update the MineOS plugin on FreeNAS. The MineOS plugin gives you the ability to use a web interface to create and manage Minecraft servers and also has some backup and restore features.
He’s also started a support thread to help those installing the plugin. If having your own Minecraft server sounds like fun, be sure to give this a try.
Turn FreeNAS into a Mumble Server
One of our community members posted a tutorial video showing how to install Murmur (the server side of Mumble) on FreeNAS. Mumble is an open source voice chat software that allows for encrypted communication between users and is primarily intended for use by gamers. The video demonstrates how to install the server on a FreeNAS jail and how to set up the database and superuser accounts.
Mid-range FreeNAS Build
One of our readers sent in a write up that he did of his build. Brian Cunnie built a mid-range, high-performance FreeNAS server for himself at a cost of about $2600. The write up is in-depth but easy to follow. It also runs through the installation process & basic setup with plenty of screenshots and photos of the hardware. The build itself is probably overpowered for most homes, but it’s interesting to see the different use cases people come up with for FreeNAS and the article is definitely worth a read.
FreeNAS Training Classes
Have a burning question about FreeNAS? We now offer free Intro to FreeNAS classes that run every day. Classes are taught by Linda Kateley, a software educator with over 20 years of experience and a specialization in ZFS and Storage. For those of you interested in learning more than the basics, you’ll be happy to know that we also offer paid, advanced FreeNAS classes in the following subjects:
- FreeNAS Admin
- FreeNAS Sharing Deep Dive
- FreeNAS Hardware Architecture & Performance Basics
- Fault Analysis Workshop
As of now, we offer a complimentary registration with every new purchase of a FreeNAS certified system. This free registration is good for any advanced class of your choice. The classes are fully interactive, so attendance is limited to 15 people per class, allowing for thorough Q&A with the instructor. Make sure to sign up early—with over 6 million FreeNAS downloads, we expect these spots to fill up fast.
Upcoming Live Events
We’ll be at the following conferences. If you’re in the area, drop by and say “hi”!
October 22-23 – All Things Open in Raleigh, NC
October 24-26 – Ohio Linuxfest in Columbus, OH
November 1-2 – MeetBSD California in San Jose, CA
November 4-6 – Cloud Computing Expo in Santa Clara, CA
Tech Tip #10
If you encrypt your FreeNAS pools, make sure you keep 2 copies of your encryption key in safe places. If your boot drive dies, even the NSA won’t be able to access your files without the encryption key.
Links of the Month
Episode 59: Have You Heard of BSD? via BSD Now
Travel Grants for MeetBSD California via FreeBSD Foundation
Join the FreeNAS Team!
If you’ve been reading about all the great things we’ve been up to and thought to yourself, “Hmm, I wish I could be a part of that”, well…now you can be!
iXsystems, the company that sponsors FreeNAS, is looking for a few good developers and QA testers to join our team. We offer competitive salaries, health benefits, stock options, a 401k, and access to a fancy-schmancy coffee maker as some of the benefits. We’re a very prominent company in the world of FreeBSD; in fact, we employ more FreeBSD developers per capita than anyone else you can think of.
Interested? The full job descriptions can be found here. If this sounds like your cup of double-shot espresso, email Jordan Hubbard at jkh@ixsystems.com with your resume. Cover letters appreciated but not required.
Send Us Your Content
Got a FreeNAS hardware build you’re proud of? Come up with a tech tip while tinkering around in the GUI? Have a link or picture you think we should see? As long as it’s not something you wouldn’t send to your boss, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at FNsubmissions@ixsystems.com. We’re always on the lookout for FreeNAS and storage related content to feature in the newsletter and on our social media channels.
Connect with Us
If you need help with your FreeNAS setup or would like to show off your configuration, share your plugins, or just talk with like-minded people, join the conversation on our community forums. For video tutorials, check out our YouTube channel.
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