Install FreeNAS

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Installing FreeNAS is straightforward and takes only a few steps. Further configuration after installation is then carried out via the integrated web interface. This article shows the Installation and other basic configuration of FreeNAS in version 11.1-U4.

Download FreeNAS

An installation medium from FreeNAS can be downloaded as ISO image and used to create a bootable USB flash drive, for example. Transfer it to the USB stick under Linux/BSD/MacOS with dd or via physdiskwrite under Windows. Under Linux, for example, execute the following commands (use the device name of your USB stick instead of /dev/sdX):[1]

sudo dd if=FreeNAS-11.1-U1.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=64k
sync

Installation

The following section shows the installation of FreeNAS.

Installing from an installation medium

For installation, for example, boot from the previously created USB stick.

Restart after installation

The installation media can now be removed and the newly installed FreeNAS system can be restarted. The following screenshots show the steps after the reboot until the FreeNAS console is displayed.

Configuration

Initial configuration after a new installation is easy with the integrated wizard. The following screenshots show an exemplary initial configuration.

Backing Up and Restoring the Configuration

In the web interface of FreeNAS the configuration can be downloaded as an archive. This can reduce the configuration effort for a new installation. An existing backup can also be easily imported.

Save configuration

The existing configuration can be easily saved via the FreeNAS web interface.

Restore configuration

The screenshots below show how to restore a backed up configuration.

Update

FreeNAS can easily be kept up to date via the web interface. The built-in update function can be found under the menu item System in the tab Update. The system can be updated manually using the downloaded update archive or the integrated update function. It is more convenient to use the integrated update function. FreeNAS can automatically check for available updates by setting the appropriate update branch. It is recommended to stay on the "stable" branch in production environments. For test environments Nightly versions can be used if you want to test new features in advance.

Manual Update

You can update manually via update file by downloading the corresponding file *-manual-update.tar.

Automatic Update

The following screenshots show the function of the integrated update function of FreeNAS. The update from FreeNAS 11.1-U1 to 11.1-U3 is shown here.

Foto Thomas Niedermeier.jpg

Author: Thomas Niedermeier

Thomas Niedermeier working in the product management team at Thomas-Krenn, completed his bachelor's degree in business informatics at the Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences. Since 2013 Thomas is employed at Thomas-Krenn and takes care of OPNsense firewalls, the Thomas-Krenn-Wiki and firmware security updates.


  1. On FreeBSD or Linux (doc.freenas.org)

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