For the first time, I'm actually using FreeNAS

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Cosmo_Kramer

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I'm getting the same error saying it could not be unmounted because it is busy. I can try it again later.
 

ovizii

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@ the original thread author:

quote:
5) Use datasets for your samba shares, and set up snapshot tasks for them. FreeNAS will auotmagically configure samba to pass through the ZFS snapshots to samba. Windows will then activate the previous versions feature, available if you right click properties for any file or directory.

Can you explain the connection between the zfs snapshots and the previous versions again please? I'm struggling to understand that sentence as I don'T understand the connection but it sounds intriguing :-/
 

hunter

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Every ZFS snapshot is able to reproduce every file contained in the dataset as it was the day the snapshot was taken. If you follow the tip's advice, Windows will let you have individual files from the snapshots using the previous versions feature in Windows file properties. That feature makes it easier to access the files in old snapshots.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 

ovizii

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sorry, I must have a blonde day.

I'm familiar with Windows and how recent version work, so does this mean that windoes and recent versions are somehow aware of the ZFS snapshots?
 

Ericloewe

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sorry, I must have a blonde day.

I'm familiar with Windows and how recent version work, so does this mean that windoes and recent versions are somehow aware of the ZFS snapshots?

Yes, FreeNAS exposes ZFS snapshots to Windows as "previous versions", allowing per-file history of the snapshots.
 

cyberjock

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Be warned that what you are doing gives you access to the snapshots information directly. This is *strongly* recommended against for a bunch of reasons and this "feature", while a part of ZFS, is not documented in many places because of how incredibly dangerous it can be. Proceed at your own risk (or reward).
 

Knowltey

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Could you elaborate on why it's so dangerous?

Perhaps there is a risk of changing the data itself somehow?

That said I've never been able to do much of anything with the Windows "Restore Previous Versions" when doing it with files on the FreeNAS. Generally it'll just give me a file listing of what is in there and I can generally open them within that access mode, but if I try to copy them out as a way to restore them it comits everywhere and acts like the file doesn't exist and I generally have to go into the FreeNAS GUI and clone that particular snapshot anywhow to actually pull the file out of the snapshot.
 
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