FreeNAS Capabilities

[Gamer0126]

Hello,
I am trying to finalize on which route I would go in regards to a NAS build and would like to know if FreeNAS has the Capabilities to do the following list I have below:

• Automated/Easy software upgrades for FreeNAS
• Automated Computer Back ups at Night
• Emby support for Media storage and HD Viewing of Movies
• Native Mac OS support
  • Meaning iPhoto Support and iTunes support
• Remote Login Support
• Webpage Support

I have done searches for iPhoto and iTunes support but nothing is conclusive or maybe reading through all the threads has me confused. I primarily use Windows based machines and my wife uses Mac, since recently purchasing a New Mac Pro. Currently my server does not work well with the MAC and is getting full. So to support her Mac for only home use:
I would like to know if there is a solution/plugin with FreeNAS where she would be able to mount the Network Drive to her MAC Pro and use iPhoto and iTunes as if the network drive were a hard drive on her Mac Pro?

I am thinking of using a Synology device however I am researching the same question for Synology. Unless I am misinformed I am assuming the rest of the list should be easily handled by FreeNAS, is this a correct statement?

I have done some limited programming and work in a Linux environment, but I still consider my self a relatively new user. Is FreeNAS stable enough that I wouldn't have to invest a significant amount of time fixing issues? I know new issues come up but once I get it running it wouldn't be something I have to work on every night, is that correct statement, at least based on my usage model?

Thanks

 

[DrKK]

This is a very confusing inquiry.

What does half of this stuff even mean? "Remote Login Support"? "Webpage Support"?
"Native Mac OS support"? I suspect that you are using these words in ways that are not the ways technical people would understand them, so as written, you might inadvertently get the wrong answers.

And of course, if it couldn't do the other things that I do understand on your list, then obviously FreeNAS would not be one of the world's most popular home NAS solutions.

If you clarify, I will attempt to answer some of your questions, but the nature of your questions indicates to me that you might be happier with something that assumes less technical experience, such as one of the Synology solutions.

 

[SweetAndLow]

1. your list of stuff can all be accomplished with freenas.
2. my server has been up for 2 months and I haven't touched it. Things just don't magically break so no 'fixing time' needed.
3. emby can run in a jail
4. freenas has a webpage
5. remote login can be accomplished in several ways but never put freenas on the open internet.

 

[jdong]

FreeNAS will be very similar to Synology from a NAS capability point of view -- both will primarily expose themselves as a network drive, via SMB/CIFS, NFS, or AFP. Generally speaking, the most cross-platform compatible option from the above is SMB/CIFS (aka Windows File Sharing). However, whether or not individual applications will allow you to use a network drive to store their libraries is purely up to the application and doesn't have anything to do with whether or not a NAS supports a particular operating system.


As an aside, it's worth noting that you must resist any temptations to ignore FreeNAS's requirements and recommendations. For example, using ECC RAM, having thorough redundancy either via RAID-Z2 or an appropriate number of mirrored + striped vdevs, etc. ZFS is excellent at healing and recovery when you give it the means to do so, but if you suffer beyond-critical damage either due to using a not-recommended hardware configuration or insufficient disk redundancy, you are truly on your own and likely out of luck. ZFS is a very sophisticated filesystem that primarily caters to enterprise, not consumers. You'll find a much smaller collection (read: nearly nonexistent) of ZFS data recovery tools compared to what you'd find for consumer filesystems or services from consumer NAS vendors, because, quite frankly, enterprises budget accordingly and don't get themselves into such circumstances where they need those tools.

 

[BloodyIron]

Hi Gamer0126,

There are parts I can talk about, and parts you're going to need to clarify on. Let's split it up like that.

The parts I can talk about:

1. FreeNAS has an awesome built-in mechanism for updates through the WebGUI. It's not necessarily automated, as in, updates itself. But it does make the process extremely convenient and automated. In the last few years of updates, I don't remember the last time I had to manually do anything apart from deciding if I wanted to upgrade, and then do it. It's mostly clicking really.
2. Backups of computers, that depends on what tools you have available. FreeNAS isn't _necessarily_ a backup tool, but you can have backup tools interface with it and store the backups on a FreeNAS system.
3. Emby support, well there's a few ways to do this. You can put it in a Jail on FreeNAS, and have it access the storage on the FreeNAS. Or, you can have Emby in a virtual machine hosted on another computer, and have it connect to network shares served by FreeNAS.
4. MacOSX stuff, you would probably want FreeNAS to setup AFP shares ( these docs may be out of date : http://olddoc.freenas.org/index.php/Apple_(AFP)_Shares ) and then have your Mac's connect to the shares. Then have your iPhoto and iTunes refer to the mounted shares.

The parts I need you to clarify on:

1. Webpage support.
2. Remote Login support.

I've answered as much as I can, but those two points you need to clarify as to what you mean.

FreeNAS can do a lot of things, many different ways. I'm quite confident it will be the route you want to go down.

Also, if you want further support, be it professional support or not, you can jump on IRC too ;)


-BloodyIron

Hello,
I am trying to finalize on which route I would go in regards to a NAS build and would like to know if FreeNAS has the Capabilities to do the following list I have below:

• Automated/Easy software upgrades for FreeNAS
• Automated Computer Back ups at Night
• Emby support for Media storage and HD Viewing of Movies
• Native Mac OS support
  • Meaning iPhoto Support and iTunes support
• Remote Login Support
• Webpage Support

I have done searches for iPhoto and iTunes support but nothing is conclusive or maybe reading through all the threads has me confused. I primarily use Windows based machines and my wife uses Mac, since recently purchasing a New Mac Pro. Currently my server does not work well with the MAC and is getting full. So to support her Mac for only home use:
I would like to know if there is a solution/plugin with FreeNAS where she would be able to mount the Network Drive to her MAC Pro and use iPhoto and iTunes as if the network drive were a hard drive on her Mac Pro?

I am thinking of using a Synology device however I am researching the same question for Synology. Unless I am misinformed I am assuming the rest of the list should be easily handled by FreeNAS, is this a correct statement?

I have done some limited programming and work in a Linux environment, but I still consider my self a relatively new user. Is FreeNAS stable enough that I wouldn't have to invest a significant amount of time fixing issues? I know new issues come up but once I get it running it wouldn't be something I have to work on every night, is that correct statement, at least based on my usage model?

Thanks

 

[gpsguy]

As SweetAndLow said, your statement is correct.

You do need to ensure that you set it up correctly. For example, you can get email notifications from it, scrubs and SMART tests are enabled, etc. And, if you do receive a notification, act on it in a timely manner. If you don't understand the message, post it on the forum and we can interpret it for you.

As an example, one user who has been running a 6 disk RAIDz2 volume (the equivalent of 2 parity drives), had one fail. He removed it and ran it that way for a couple of weeks. Then a second drive failed (then he has no redudancy) and he's been working on getting it replaced (I think he did). In the meantime, before he addressed the original problem, another drive is starting to have problems. He's been sweating bullets for days.
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?members/sweetandlow.34238/
If he had addressed the pre-existing problem (temperature related) and replaced the first failed drive within a day or so, I don't think the situation would be as tense as it is.

Note: RAID isn't a substitute for backups. Speaking of that, what OS does your server run? You might be able to incorporate it as part of your backup strategy.

I know new issues come up but once I get it running it wouldn't be something I have to work on every night, is that correct statement, at least based on my usage model?

 

[Gamer0126]

Thank you so much for the answers and apologies for the lack of clarity in my description. Here is what I plan to build:
Motherboard: SUPERMICRO MBD-X10SL7-F-O
CPU: i3 - 4160.
Memory: 32 GB ECC DRAM
Case/Power Supply: SUPERMICRO CSE-743TQ-865B-SQ
SSD: 80GB (Spare) Intel SSD
HDD: 8 x WD Red 6GB 5400RPM

If there is any recommendations or issues with the build I am open to feedback.

The biggest draw for me to FreeNAS is the ability to upgrade the hard drives without having to create a new system like I have to do with my current system.
In regards to the following questions:

• MAC OS Native Support
  • The AFP share information which was provided has answered my question.
• Remote Login Support
  • I would like to access the full features from a remote location in case I need to fix something while I am away from my house. It sounds like I would have to setup a Windows Machine to be able to remote desktop into it first then access the WebGUI via the Windows Machine. I current am able to remote desktop to my WHS machine to fix anything that might have been an issue like a missed backup or add new folder with pictures.
• Webpage Support
  • I would like to have access to specific folders and/or files on the FreeNAS through a webpage so if I need download the files I can from anywhere. My WHS 2012 Machine allows me to do this so if I ever need some files I have access to them.

Hope this clears things up and again thanks for the information. The more I learn the more FreeNAS sounds like a better solution for me due to being able to configure it the way I want.

 

[SweetAndLow]

You can't just add disks to freenas but you can expand using more disk, you should read the noob guide to help explain this.

You probably don't want afp for your Macs because Apple has switched to smb for the most part.

For web access to your data you can use WebDAV or any application that is supported on freebsd in a jail.

 

[jdong]

"Remote login": you should be able to accomplish these needs by Port Forwarding -- the web admin port on the FreeNAS (port 80 by default) provides the ability to administer the box, as well as get a shell prompt for doing basic UNIX command line management of your files.

"webpage support": this is likely handled by WebDAV sharing which the FreeNAS supports but is likely not the ideal mechanism to accomplish your goals. You should look at a cloud syncing solution like OwnCloud (which has a FreeNAS plugin) or alternatively consider a VPN type solution to get you access as if you're on your home network no matter where you go.

 

[danb35]

I would like to access the full features from a remote location in case I need to fix something while I am away from my house. It sounds like I would have to setup a Windows Machine to be able to remote desktop into it first then access the WebGUI via the Windows Machine. I current am able to remote desktop to my WHS machine to fix anything that might have been an issue like a missed backup or add new folder with pictures.

Certainly possible, but it really doesn't have anything to do with FreeNAS. The best way to do this would be to set up your router as a VPN server, and make a VPN connection from wherever you happen to be. Alternatively, you could set up SSH port forwarding.

 

[pirateghost]

"Remote login": you should be able to accomplish these needs by Port Forwarding -- the web admin port on the FreeNAS (port 80 by default) provides the ability to administer the box, as well as get a shell prompt for doing basic UNIX command line management of your files.

This is bad advice. Don't do this. FreeNAS is not hardened or meant to be exposed to the internet like this. We never suggest this as an option for remote management.

 

[anodos]

This is bad advice. Don't do this. FreeNAS is not hardened or meant to be exposed to the internet like this. We never suggest this as an option for remote management.

QFT.

There are basically two good ways of doing remote management:
1) Set up and configure a VPN
2) Set up and configure an SSH server on your LAN, secure it, port-forward to it, and use an SSH tunnel to access your webgui.

The former is preferable because it will give you full access to all IPMI features on your server's motherboard.