FREENAS REQUIREMENTS & INSTALLATION GUIDE

 

NAS device is a repository for all your documents, spreadsheets, videos, PDFs, backups, and anything else you want to store on it. A traditional file server* is a type of NAS, but such file servers are relics and are now the subject of mint-julep-assisted front porch reminisces of days gone by. NAS is where the party is these days.

Building Your NAS Device

 

The first thing you’ll need is a system to install FreeNAS and attach disks for storage. Any standard PC system will work for your NAS, as there are no special requirements for the software or storage.

However, I suggest the following hardware list for your NAS system:

ü  Pentium III or higher CPU,

ü  512MB RAM,

ü  A network interface card (NIC),

ü  As much disk space as you want.

N/B: If your hardware doesn’t support a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), FreeNAS allows you to create a software RAID configuration.

Installing FreeNAS

 

Download a FreeNAS CD image (ISO) and burn the image to a CD-R disc.

 

1.      Insert the USB drive into an open USB slot.

Boot your system with the FreeNAS CD in the CD/DVD drive.

2.      Once the system boots, select Option 9 (Install/Upgrade to hard drive/flash device, and so on.)

From the Install & Upgrade Menu, select Option 1. (Install ’embedded’ OS on HDD/Flash/USB.)

3.      Click OK on the next screen.

Select your USB drive from the Choose installation media screen and click OK. The installation takes less than five minutes.

4. When the installation is complete, restart your NAS device, making sure that your BIOS is now set to boot to the USB drive, referred to as Removable Media in some BIOS boot menus.

5. Once booted, the NAS presents you with a simple console screen where you’ll configure your network. If you’ve configured the network (LAN), go directly to your web address.

 

 

Using FreeNAS

 

Login to the FreeNAS web interface with the user’s name admin and password FreeNAS (Change the password from the text menu or the web-based menus). The web interface is your FreeNAS management application. Using this application, you’ll never need to log in directly to the FreeNAS operating system.

Let’s assume that you installed two disks into your FreeNAS system, and they are not a hardware RAID set but you want to set up a software RAID volume.

1.      To begin, mouse over Disks from the menu and select Management.

Click the + icon on the right side of the screen. Select your first disk from the Disk dropdown list, select Software RAID from the Preformatted file system dropdown menu, and click the Add button. Repeat those steps for the second drive.

Click the Apply changes button to finish this step.

2.      Mouse over Disks on the menu and select Software RAID. Enter a RAID name (RAID1, for example), Ctrl-click both disks in the Provider area, click the checkbox next to Create, initialize RAID, and click the Add button.

Click the Apply changes button to create the RAID mirror.

3.      Mouse over Disks on the menu and select Format. Select RAID1 from the Disk dropdown list.

Select UFS from the File system dropdown list. Enter a volume label (e.g., files), and click the Format disk button.

4.      Mouse over Disks on the menu and select Mount Point.

Click the + icon to add a mount point for your new volume. Select RAID1 from the Disk dropdown list. Enter a mount point name (e.g., Files) in the Mount point name field and click the Add button. Click the Apply changes button to create the mount point.

 

If you’re going to use FreeNAS as a file server and map drives to shares as you would to a Windows file server, the next steps guide you through that process.

 

5.      Mouse over Services on the menu and select CIFS/SMB.

Click the checkbox next to Enable on the right side of your screen.

 On the Settings tab, enter a NetBIOS name for your FreeNAS system and the Workgroup to which your other computers belong that will have access to this NAS system. Select No for Local Master Browser and for Time server, unless you want them to perform those functions — in most cases, you won’t.

Click the Save and Restart button to enable the CIFS/SMB services.

 

6.      To set up your RAID disk as a share to which you may map a drive from your workstation, click the Shares tab located adjacent to the Settings tab from Step5. Click the + icon on the right side of the screen.

 

                 Enter a Name, a Comment, and a Path into the appropriate fields.

                 Click the … button to select the path.

                 Click the Add button to create the new share.

                 Click the Apply changes button to restart the CIFS/SMB services.

7.      To map a drive to the new share, click Tools, Map Network Drive from My Computer on a Windows workstation.

In the Folder dropdown, type:

                

 

                                                

Click Finish to map the drive.

Your new NAS system is up, and running, and ready to serve. FreeNAS has some very advanced features: Active Directory and LDAP integration, iTunes configuration, Dynamic DNS, NFS file sharing, several remote access protocols, and firewall management. FreeNAS is a complete and featureful NAS solution for your network regardless of size or scope.

              System Configuration

1. Network and Firewall

2. Disks and RAID

3. Network Services

4. Remote Access

5. System Status and Performance

6. Diagnostics

7. File Management