Do I continue to spend time learning 9.10...

[GBillR]

So I've built my first server, and now I'm slowly learning how to use FreeNAS... migrating data and building jails, etc, etc. My time is limited, and I emphasize that I am taking it slow. Everything is going well, and I'm working through my issues. Nothing major, just spending a lot of time researching solutions to problems that others have already documented in the forums. And by problems I mean to say: My inexperience with FreeNAS.

I still have all of my data in it's original locations as I play around with migration and permissions and jails.

So my question: Should I bother to continue down this path, or should I just leap to FN10? Is FN10 that different (which it sounds as if it is) that I will have to spend this time re-learning how to do what I've been doing with 9.10? I am sure there will be an upgrade path for my pool and configuration once FN10 hits release, but I'm also sure there will be plenty of cases where that path doesn't work for some and the configuration has to be rebuilt from scratch... and probably even a few who totally goon it up and have to recreate their data pools.

I understand it's Beta. I know the risks. My hardware is standard and all supported very well with 9.10.

How close is the release? If the current build is close to release, it seems it would be best for me to just go ahead and make the leap now.... suggestions?

 

[Spearfoot]

@GBillR, I'm an old-timer, and the primary lesson I've learned about computing is that you don't want to be a pioneer, because pioneers are the ones lying dead on the ground stuck full of arrows!

FreeNAS 9.10 is very stable and will probably be supported for at least a year, possibly more. FN10 isn't out of Beta yet; in order to avoid being a pioneer, I don't plan on using it in production until it's been out in the field for a while and had an update or two...

Just my two cents worth.

 

[GBillR]

@GBillR, I'm an old-timer, and the primary lesson I've learned about computing is that you don't want to be a pioneer, because pioneers are the ones lying dead on the ground stuck full of arrows! :)

Thanks for the input.

Funny... same advice I give my kid when he wants to drop a ton of cash on the latest GPU that just hit the market.
And you're right... I waited until the last possible moment to leap to Winblows 10... and I'm still not convinced I made the right decision there.

I guess I need to figure out if there is something in FN10 that isn't there in 9.10 that I really want. Which I'm not sure there is...

My use case is pretty basic... file shares, centralized storage, and plex for my family. I would love to get an Open VPN server setup so I can feel comfortable with accessing shares remotely someday. Still not sure if a FreeNAS Jail or PfSense plugin is going to be the best answer for that. I would also like to move my syslog server off the old laptop I have running down in the basement... which will have no other reason to be running 24/7 once I get my plex jail working.

 

[JoshDW19]

They are essentially two separate products. Each will have its strengths. Learning 9.10 will only stand to benefit you. There will be some differences, but I think it will help with your learning curve by educating yourself more on 9.10.