“This article is by no means a complete treatment of FreeNAS, but it is a start in the right direction and introduces you to the wonderful world of NAS. If you started with nothing on this project, purchasing everything new would cost an estimated $350 for a fully mirrored 1TB NAS. Its nearest commercial competitor would be approximately three times that price but with far fewer features than FreeNAS. Including download and burning time, the total project time for this FreeNAS solution is about two hours.
We’ve all been on the wrong end of a solution that was sold as inexpensive, free, time-saving, energy saving or one that offered a quick return on investment only to end up spending more on that alternative solution than a mainstream one. For some technologies, you’re better off with a brand name, but for a select few, generic is the only way to go. FreeNAS is one of those surprising projects that not only saves you a huge amount of money but is so simple to use that you’ll wonder why there’s so much mystery surrounding network-attached storage(NAS).
FreeNAS is a free NAS solution. Put simply, a 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 on which to install FreeNAS and to 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: Pentium III or higher CPU, 512MB RAM, a network interface card (NIC) and as much disk space as you want. If your hardware doesn’t support Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), FreeNAS allows you to create a software RAID configuration.
Serial ATA (SATA) disks, if your system supports them, are inexpensive, fast and recommended for a NAS solution. 500GB SATA disks cost approximately $50 US, and 750GB SATA disks will set you back only a cool $60 US each. When you purchase disks for a storage solution, always purchase in pairs so that, at the very least, you’ll be able to create a disk mirror (RAID level 1). If you’re paranoid about disk failure, buy a couple of spares for replacements since disk technology changes often.
Your hardware should be new enough to support USB, devices since you’ll want to install FreeNAS to a USB drive. Pick up a 256MB USB drive for $10 US at any office supply or discount store, or online.”
Continue reading (serverwatch.com) to find out how to install and use FreeNAS
