FreeNAS 9.1.0 is an update to the open source Network Attached Storage system. Key updates include support for the latest ZFS features like LZ4 compression, an improved volume manager, and easier installation of plugins and software using a new AppCafe browser. The update also features alerts that can be dismissed, enhanced shell functionality, and other administrative improvements. FreeNAS is based on FreeBSD and provides enterprise-grade file sharing and storage capabilities for home or business use.

1. What's New in
FreeNAS 9.1.0
Dru Lavigne
Documentation Lead, iXsystems
ILF, July 27, 2013

2. Outline
Introduction to FreeNAS Releases and Features
Brief ZFS Overview
What's New in 9.1
Additional Resources

3. Introduction
Open source NAS (Network Attached Storage)
based on an embedded version of FreeBSD
(nanoBSD) and released under 2-clause BSD
license
Enterprise-grade appliance (TrueNAS) is also
available in 2U/4U form factors with tiered
professional support

4. Releases
8.0 was released in May, 2011 with a focus on
NAS core functionality (redesign of .7x which was
EOL'd in 2011)
8.2.0 introduced the original Plugins architecture
for installing non-core software (July 20, 2012)
8.3.0 introduced ZFSv28 (October 26, 2012)
8.3.1 introduced full disk encryption (March 20,
2013)
9.1.0 is at RC2, release expected early August

5. Features
Create UFS or ZFS volumes (ZFS recommended)
Import existing UFS/ZFS RAID/z volumes
Import existing UFS, DOS, NTFS, EXT2/3
volumes
Create shares using Appletalk, NFS, and SMB
protocols
Configure access through FTP/SFTP, SSH, and
iSCSI

6. Features
Integration with OpenLDAP, Active Directory
Automated, secure replication via rsync/ssh
Automated ZFS snapshots and scrubs
Front-ends to cron, sysctls, loader.conf
Reporting graphs, scheduled S.M.A.R.T. tests,
automated alerts, UPS

7. Features
Link aggregation, failover, and VLAN support
DDNS, SNMP, and TFTP support
Control panel to stop/start and view the status of
services
PDF of Users Guide published with each release
(per-release documentation)

8. Features
Supports OSX Time Machine and Windows
Shadow Copies
OS is installed on USB stick/CF and is separate
from data on storage disks
Upgrades keep a backup of the old OS, allowing
for rollback
Administrative GUI accessed through a web
browser; 8.2 added a web shell for command line
operations

9. ZFS
128-bit filesystem designed to be “self-healing”
with checksums to provide data integrity
Snapshots (point in time) only store what has
changed since the last snapshot (COW)
Scheduled scrubs verify integrity of disks and data
Deduplication saves space (removes duplicate
data)
Datasets have properties (quotas, compression)

10. ZFS
RAIDZ* levels designed to overcome hardware
RAID limitations
RAIDZ1: equivalent to RAID5
RAIDZ2: double-parity solution similar to RAID6
RAIDZ3: triple-parity solution
Caveats: resilvering takes time and can stress
disks

11. What's New in 9.1.0
Based on FreeBSD 9.1-STABLE:
Latest drivers and bug fixes
Adds new ZFS feature flags (ZFSv5000),
including LZ4 compression
Same ABI as PC-BSD PBIs (over 1100) means
that there is more software available for
installation and conversion to FreeNAS PBIs

12. What's New in 9.1.0
Redesigned Volume Manager:
UFS and ZFS now have separate managers
How to extend a ZFS pool, create multiple pools,
or add log/cache devices is more intuitive
Easier to manage a large amount of disks
Estimated storage capacity of ZFS pool is
displayed for selected RAIDZ* layout and GUI will
not let you create an unsupported layout

13. ZFS Volume Manager

14. Plugins Easier to Use
Users no longer have to first configure a jail as the
Plugins mechanism automaticaly creates and
uses a default jail
New integrated AppCafe browser lists available
FreeNAS PBIs, simply highlight the app and click
its Install button
Appcafe.org (launching soon) will make it easy to
find PC-BSD, pfSense, and FreeNAS PBIs

15. Plugins Easier to Use

16. Jails for Advanced Users
Users who want more control over software
installations now have a choice of what type and
how many jails to create and can install software
using FreeNAS PBIs, PC-BSD PBIs, FreeBSD
packages (traditional and pkgng), or FreeBSD
ports
The only required parameter when creating a jail
is the name, however users can choose to
configure the IPv4 and/or IPv6 address(es), MAC
address, and whether or not to use vimage

17. Jails for Advanced Users

18. Jails for Advanced Users

19. What's New in 9.1.0
GUI now available over IPv6 and can specify
alternate port

20. What's New in 9.1.0
Shell now supports paste and resizing

21. What's New in 9.1.0
Alerts can now be dismissed

22. What's New in 9.1.0
Init/Shutdown Scripts

23. What's New in 9.1.0
Can now configure replication user

24. What's New in 9.1.0
Can now change SFTP logging level/facility

25. What's New in 9.1.0
Can now specify NFS bind ports

26. What's New in 9.1.0
Ability to boot into a debug kernel

27. What's New in 9.1.0
Directory Services menu added

28. What's New in 9.1.0
zilstat utility added for testing dedicated ZIL:
http://www.richardelling.com/Home/scripts-and-
programs-1/zilstat
Easy-RSA has been added to the base, making
it easier to create and manage RSA keys for
use with OpenVPN

29. Resources
Website: http://www.freenas.org
Forums: http://forums.freenas.org
Bug tracker: http://support.freenas.org
Source code: https://github.com/freenas/freenas
Documentation: http://doc.freenas.org
IRC: #freenas on Freenode

30. Questions
Contact:
dru@freebsd.org
URL to Slides:
http://slideshare.net/dlavigne/ilf2013