Today, I'm writing some tips I've picked up or read about since I started using FreeNAS. These are all relevant for version 0.69 of FreeNAS. I've written more about FreeNAS recently. You can find my previous posts at 9 Great Things About FreeNAS and 9 Reasons To Use FreeNAS At Work.
- Don't enable Samba Recycle Bin. Though it works, it will continue to take up disk space. If you don't mind that then go ahead and enable it.
- FreeNAS is not Linux. FreeNAS is based on FreeBSD, which is base on UNIX.
- Upgrades are usually the best way to install a new FreeNAS version.
- Downgrades may work, but may not due to new features not implemented in older versions.
- If you downloaded files using BitTorrent, you may not be able to delete them via CIFS or FTP. Use the Quixplorer file Manager feature under the WebAdmin tools. It's located under Advanced - File Manager, you need to login with an account that has the proper rights, such as the admin account.
- Always backup your configuration. Very useful if you have problems after an upgrade. You can find it in the WebAdmin under System - Backup/Restore.
- Start Simple. When configuring FreeNAS initially, use a system with one disk, one NIC, etc.. Have as few variables as possible. Once you get familiar configuring it, you will learn and know the details and how to get around certain issues.
- Running a LiveCD system works just as well as an installed version. Just remember that your settings will be gone upon Shutdown. If you need to save it, save it to a floppy disk or USB key.
- Getting a Disk up and running caused me the most amount of problems. Just remember you need to first Define a disk in Disks - Management, then Format the Disk in Disks - Format, finally Mount the Disk in Disks - Mount Point. Only after doing all this can you Share the disk via CIFS/SMB, FTP etc..
- The FTP Service via anonymous login is the easiest way to test your setup. This also will by-pass any hidden SMB shares you may have setup.
- Remember to Save and Restart the service after you make a change or enable a service. The Button is at the very bottom of the service enabling page.
For additional links to frugal tips and tricks follow me on Twitter. If you would like to contribute to FrugalNYC or FrugalTech in any way (guest posts, articles, ideas, interesting links, advice, financial assistance, or anything else), feel free to contact me via email. Click here to add this to your RSS reader or Subscribe to FrugalTech by Email.
9 comments:
I do not live in New York, but I love your site and the information you dissiminate. Your site is clean, organized and your writing is compelling. There is so much for the reader here. I'm teaching a workshop next week on setting up a blog and am using your site as an example of a well-organized and written weblog.
Thanks!
Hi alekhouse,
Thank you very much for your kind remarks. You have just made my day :) I wish you best of luck on your workshop. I had a look on your blog and you have a very simple layout, with great content for your audience. I'll have to try some of your great cooking recipes :)
Just thought I'd point out that both Linux & FreeBSD are based on the original UNIX (which is Trademarked) FreeBSD is based the original BSD implementation while Linux began life as its own project.
Hi Anonymous,
Yes. Unix is pretty much the "root" of all *Nix and BSD flavors. I personally have no used BSD much, though I do use linux regularly since it is more mainstream and easier to access.
I think FreeNAS is a great step for a BSD based system to get a foothold :)
Hi
first at all ... I'm sorry about my english.
Thanks for your site and your tips and advices.
Searching info about FreeNAS I find this site. It helped me a lot of.
I'm checking FreeNAS and I supose in a few days I'll start working with it on my office (for backup server use)
Now I'd like to make a question: how often do you think I should reboot my FreeNAS server (asuming I will have my drives cyphred)?
Thanks for your time
Hi Anonymous,
Lots of anonymous comments recently. Your English is fine, well, I can make it out :)
I'm glad you find my blog site helpful. Using it for backup is a great idea. Once you have the server up and running, you don't really need to reboot it much. If you want to save power, then you can schedule shutdown or reboots. The system is built very well, and memory handling is great. I've had systems up for months without a reboot.
Hope that helps.
Hi
First off, let me thankyou for your blog which informed me about freeNAS. Im not great with this kinda stuff but love promoting it. I have a friend who has a wireless isp and he would like to use freenas to enable his users to upload media files for everyone to share. Allthough he is an ISP all users are esentially just on one big network. I figured he could use freenas for this purpose and we built a server with freenas loaded. Only problem is he does not allow users to see the workgroup they are in (which i didnt think about before now) so now everyone can webacess into the gui but how do these individuals upload files to it. The FTP does not seem to work and apparently is too complex. He needs it to be very simple to access and upload/download files. Any suggestions?
I am sorry if this is not the appropriate place for questions like this but im kinda stuck. Thanks and keep up the good work
NetWeb
Hi Dave,
I'm glad to be of help.
FTP should work. Check the logs for any errors.
If you are logged in properly and using a friendly FTP client such as CuteFTP, things should work fine. Most people can probably use Windows Explorer as their FTP client for ease of use.
I hope that helps.
Post a Comment