--- title: "Research Computing Storage on a Grant Budget: FSU Case Study" url: https://www.truenas.com/case-studies/florida-state-university/ description: "At Florida State University, the pace of discovery depends on infrastructure that just works. For Michael McDonald, a systems administrator supporting research computing, that meant finding a storage solution built for long-term reliability, not long-term contracts." breadcrumb: ["Home", "Case Studies", "Florida State University"] date_published: 2026-05-13 date_modified: 2026-10-23 author: "Pee Jay Latombo" source: html generator: tn-md-extract/1 --- [Home](https://www.truenas.com) › [Case Studies](https://www.truenas.com/case-studies/) › **Florida State University** [![truenas-community-edition Logo](https://www.truenas.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/truenas-enterprise-logo-logo-white-rgb-900px-w-72ppi-300x73.png "truenas-enterprise-logo-logo-white-rgb-900px-w-72ppi")](https://www.truenas.com/truenas-community-edition/) ![Community Edition dashboard](https://www.truenas.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Florida-State-University.png "Florida State University") At Florida State University, the pace of discovery depends on infrastructure that just works. For Michael McDonald, a systems administrator supporting research computing, that meant finding a storage solution built for long-term reliability, not long-term contracts. After more than a decade of use, TrueNAS has become one of the university’s most resilient and cost-effective tools. It quietly powers scientific progress behind the scenes. “Once it’s set up, it just runs,” Michael says. “That’s what we love about it.” ### Budget Constraints, Enterprise Needs As a public institution, FSU’s storage strategy is shaped by grant cycles and one-time funding. Every purchase must stretch across years, without the burden of recurring license fees or costly support renewals. When Michael joined the Research Computing Group, he was tasked with finding a solution that could handle backup systems, Linux-based NFS shares, and VM storage. Commercial options like EMC Isilon and Dell VNX were feature-rich, but didn’t fit the funding model. That’s when he turned to TrueNAS. ### An Open Platform That Just Works What started as an experiment became a foundation. The team began deploying TrueNAS on repurposed hardware, from 2012 Mac Pros to decade-old Dell servers. Despite the vintage gear, some systems exceeded 800 days of uptime. “TrueNAS wasn’t just affordable, it was powerful and adaptable,” Michael says. From hypervisor storage that enabled VM migration to resilient NFS exports for research teams, TrueNAS became a quiet workhorse across departments. ### Versatile Enough to Scale Without Complexity Today, FSU operates between 12 and 16 TrueNAS systems across multiple data centers. Each serves a different function, yet they all share the same DNA: stable performance, simple operation, and complete control. With Nagios plugins and manual security rules, the team keeps everything monitored and compliant, even without third-party endpoint protection. When university-wide IT security requirements shifted, Michael worked closely with central IT to prove that TrueNAS could meet modern compliance standards through segmentation and policy enforcement. “We didn’t need vendor software to stay secure,” he explains. “We just needed visibility and control.” ### A Hidden Community, Revealed That security audit surfaced an unexpected insight. Other teams across campus were also running TrueNAS. Independently, quietly, they had all reached the same conclusion. “That was really reassuring,” Michael says. “It told us we weren’t alone in this.” Now, Michael is exploring opportunities to collaborate with other departments, sharing best practices and potentially leveraging replication between systems to improve efficiency and redundancy. ### Advice for Higher Ed IT Teams Asked what he’d tell [other universities](https://www.truenas.com/education/), Michael doesn’t hesitate. “TrueNAS is easy to run, highly capable, and brings exceptional value. You can use old infrastructure or buy new. It’ll get the job done.” For FSU, it’s a solution that delivers dependable performance across workloads: [backup](https://www.truenas.com/backup/), NFS, [virtualization](https://www.truenas.com/virtualization/), and more. And it does so without adding layers of complexity or cost. ### Byte by Byte, It Just Keeps Going Michael McDonald’s journey with TrueNAS isn’t flashy. It’s measured in uptime, simplicity, and shared confidence. In a university setting where long-term value matters more than vendor flash, TrueNAS stands out as a practical, proven choice. No black boxes. No forced refreshes. Just storage that works. [See more TrueNAS customer case studies](https://www.truenas.com/case-studies/) TrueNAS is easy to run, highly capable, and brings exceptional value. You can use old infrastructure or buy new. It’ll get the job done. ### FAQs **Q: What does Florida State University use TrueNAS for?** A: FSU’s Research Computing Group uses TrueNAS for backup systems, Linux NFS shares and VM storage, across 12 to 16 systems in multiple data centers. **Q: Why did FSU choose TrueNAS over EMC Isilon and Dell VNX?** A: As a public institution, FSU buys storage with grant cycles and one-time funding. The commercial options had the features but didn’t fit a funding model that can’t carry recurring license fees or costly support renewals. **Q: What hardware does FSU run TrueNAS on?** A: The team started on repurposed hardware, from 2012 Mac Pros to decade-old Dell servers. Some of those systems ran for more than 800 days without a reboot. **Q: How does FSU keep its TrueNAS systems secure?** A: The team monitors systems with Nagios plugins and manual security rules, and worked with central IT to meet campus security requirements through segmentation and policy enforcement. 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