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Playing around with FreeNas.

ThaedThaed
edited December 2007 in Everything Else
I set up a computer tonight running FreeNas. I successfully wrote files to it over my network from both a windows box and a Linux Box. I have this unhealthy fixation on network storage. I already have a Netgear NAS and an external USB drive that plugs into my router. I have a terabyte of existing NAS storage. So why do I need to be monkeying around with FreeNas?

Because I can, mostly. It’s fun. It’s actually very straightforward. I wanted to play around with it tonight on this test box I have with an 80 gig drive in it. Ultimately, I want to build a RAID 5 unit with 3 250 gig drives. What I don’t have is one place for all my data that is not vulnerable to disk crashes.

I really, really want a Drobo, but maybe I can build a poor man’s Drobo using FreeNas.

Comments

  • Double ZDouble Z
    edited December 2007
    We talked a little about FreeNas in my operating systems class.
    I wonder if it's just a simple solution for a home, or very very small business, I kinda want to push some sort of NAS solution for my workplace. I don't fell very comfortable with having the domain server, the application server, and the data storage all in one computer.
    Post edited by Double Z on
  • ThaedThaed
    So over the last few days, I've been pulling drives out of machines and using HD enclosures to move files around. My goal of freeing up 3 250 GB drives is just about complete. FreeNas is going to give me a RAID 5 server for no money.
  • La Petit MortLa Petit Mort
    edited December 2007
    So over the last few days, I've been pulling drives out of machines and using HD enclosures to move files around. My goal of freeing up 3 250 GB drives is just about complete. FreeNas is going to give me a RAID 5 server for no money.
    The above post is the reason numbers under ten are written out.
    Post edited by La Petit Mort on
  • ThaedThaed
    That's merely a convention, not a rule. In legal writing, for example, it would be "three (3) two hundred fifty (250)." Moreover, no one writes RAID 5 as RAID five.

    In any event, I'm finished with the NAS. The three (3) drives gave me 415 GB of usable space using RAID 5. It's very good at sharing files without bogging down the server. At this point, I'm very pleased.
  • ......
    Moreover, no one writes RAID 5 as RAID five.
    That's because it's officially written/named RAID 5. Same with Microsoft Office 2007. You don't write Microsoft Office two thousand and seven. That's just not the same. I think The wired was only bothered by the "3 250" part. Since that is just a tad harder to read then "three 250". Which you said is just a convention, to make it easier to read.

    Did you bump into any difficulties when setting it up Thaed? And are you using a software- or hardware-based RAID?
  • ThaedThaed
    edited December 2007
    It's a software RAID although FreeNAS does support RAID cards. I imagine that would be significantly faster. I blogged about my thoughts on this entire project.

    It's only the beginning of more fun!
    Post edited by Thaed on
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    An easier way to solve the whole 3 250gb drive thing would just be 3x250gb drives.
    I'm still working on my bodge-tastic server which started resonating with the floor so I stuck some tissues under the four corners. Though the main reason for my building mine isn't storage but being able to run things overnight with a lot of hard drive space (which my laptop cannot provide.).
  • ThaedThaed
    An easier way to solve the whole 3 250gb drive thing would just be 3x250gb drives.
    I'm still working on my bodge-tastic server which started resonating with the floor so I stuck some tissues under the four corners. Though the main reason for my building mine isn't storage but being able to run things overnight with a lot of hard drive space (which my laptop cannot provide.).
    And I'm following your adventures. Agree on 3x250 GB.
  • ThaedThaed
    Given the spate of luck I've been having lately, it was a bit premature to call FreeNAS the holy grail of data storage. I've had nothing but problems all day. At this point it looks like my best hope is to use it as a big NAS drive with no RAID.
  • ThaedThaed
    I went back to FreeNAS and it’s been up for over a day. I hate to start getting too excited after all I’ve been through. So here’s what I did two nights ago. I installed the RAID card I bought from CompUSA. When I wrote that I could just use the 4 drives without the RAID card, I wasn’t thinking. I would not have been able to use the CD-ROM drive. That would not have worked. Using the RAID card, however, I ended up in the same spot.

    I used the card’s BIOS to set up a 0+1 array. Then I loaded FreeNAS and tried to configure it. FreeNAS recognized the drives, but not the hardware RAID. So what I ended up doing was using the software mirroring of RAID 1 built into FreeNAS to make 2 RAID 1 drives. So I got the benefit of using 4 drives with the cards, but I didn’t get the speed benefit of a 0+1 array. Considering how little money I put into this, I’m really not unhappy. I even got Vista to recognize the drives and send data to them.

    It’s still early. I thought I had had success with FreeNAS before, but I was using the beta. Here, I’m using the stable version, but there could still be problems. The one thing that I love about FreeNAS is the connectivity. It just works. I’m supporting 5 operating systems in this house and they can all talk to FreeNAS without any gymnastics. I never did get Samba to work in Fedora despite days of effort.

    I cannot say enough how cool it is to have a “real” file server. In the past when I’ve tried to use windows shares or the Netgear toaster or even a USB drive attached to my router, I’ve had problems. Often, the servers would drop or one particular type of OS wouldn’t see the shares or things would just be really slow or get bogged down. Here I have great throughput and I’m able to do lots of different things at once with multiple computers. Ahhh, it’s very satisfying.
  • am_dragonam_dragon
    I am very interested in doing this as well. Hardware is the issue. I've got nothing. I gift out my old hardware so I don't have anything laying around. Do you go with a new system, cheap used parts, something from Retobox.com (off lease corporate pc's)? Maybe we could make a template for the cheapest FreeNAS box. Another thing to consider is power consumption, this device is going to be on all the time.

    Thead: What Raid card are you using?
  • AprecheApreche
    edited December 2007
    Has anyone tried any of the FreeNAS alternatives such as OpenFiler?
    Post edited by Apreche on
  • ThaedThaed
    I am very interested in doing this as well. Hardware is the issue. I've got nothing. I gift out my old hardware so I don't have anything laying around. Do you go with a new system, cheap used parts, something from Retobox.com (off lease corporate pc's)? Maybe we could make a template for the cheapest FreeNAS box. Another thing to consider is power consumption, this device is going to be on all the time.
    Thead: What Raid card are you using?
    I got the RAID card from CompUSA for less than $20. The box is an old PIII 1 GHz machine with 256 MB of RAM. Very basic stuff, but perfect for a low end server. I think it has a 150 watt power supply. I run light bulbs that cost more. I'm keeping it on all the time.

    Scott: OpenFiler is great unless you want to use it locally (like me). It has no local computer support.
  • AprecheApreche

    Scott: OpenFiler is great unless you want to use it locally (like me). It has no local computer support.
    What do you mean no local computer support?
  • ThaedThaed
    I found this guy's explanation to be best.
  • AprecheApreche
    I found this guy's explanation to be best.
    All this means is you have to setup LDAP authentication. You can setup LDAP, use it for local auth, and use it for OpenFiler auth all on the same machine. You just need to know how PAM works. LDAP sucks, but it's really not all that bad. If you're setting up file sharing, you're going to need to setup some sort of auth, might as well be that one. Though, it does seem that OpenFiler doesn't really help you with this, which it could.
  • ThaedThaed
    I actually went through a complete OpenFiler install. I couldn't get anything to talk to it. The experience with Fedora was the same. Maybe I simply lack mad skills, but this is why FreeNAS ultimately carried the day for me. FreeNAS will talk to anything.
  • George PatchesGeorge Patches
    After half assing my storage solutions for many years I finally pulled the trigger on 3 1.5TB drives. My plan is to build a 1.5TB RAID 1 with 2 drives and have the third available for a hot swap in the event of a failure. I got some Seagate 5900 rpm low power drives. Great if you want the massive storage without needing the speed of a primary hard drive. Also sprung for a gigabit switch and NIC for the NAS.
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