Download FreeNAS (latest 2021) for Windows 10, 8, 7

FreeNAS is an operating system that can be installed on almost any hardware platform for data sharing on a network. The application is the simplest way to create a central and easily accessible place for your data. Use FreeNAS with ZFS for protection, storage and back up all your data. Used everywhere, for home, small business and business.

ZFS is a business-ready open source filesystem, RAID controller, and volume manager with unprecedented flexibility and uncompromising commitment to data integrity. Eliminates most, if not all, of the shortcomings found in older filesystems and hardware RAIDs. Once you go to ZFS, you will never want to go back.

The web interface simplifies management tasks. Every aspect of a FreeNAS system can be managed from a web interface. SMB / CIFS (Windows File Shares), NFS (Unix File Shares) and AFP (Apple File Shares), FTP, iSCSI (block block) and more. Snapshots of the entire file system can be created and saved at any time. Access the files as they were when the snapshot was taken. Use the playback feature to send snapshots over the network to another system for real-time disaster recovery.

Characteristics and main points

File sharing
File sharing is what the application does best. Each major operating system is supported with SMB / CIFS (Windows Shared Files), NFS (Unix Shared Files) and AFP (Apple File Shares) as well as FTP, iSCSI (Block Sharing), WebDAV and other network data sharing methods available. . ISCSI also supports VMware VAAI, Microsoft ODX and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and 2012 R2 Clustering.

Web interface
If Free NAS has a goal, it simplifies complex administrative tasks for as wide a user base as possible. Every aspect of the system can be managed by a web user interface. The Installation Wizard further simplifies the configuration during installation or later in the installation process. Creating a volume or setting permissions on individual shares or running software updates can be done without skipping a critical step or experiencing a tacit failure.

Data protection
ZFS is designed for top-down data integrity. RAID-Z, the RAID software that is part of ZFS, offers parity protection like RAID 5, but without the “hole write” vulnerability thanks to the ZFS copy-write architecture. Additional RAID-Z2 and RAID-Z3 levels offer dual and triple parity protection, respectively. A software mirror option is also available. The Free NAS Volumes screen lists each possible parity order based on the number of disks you select when creating a new volume.

Snapshots
Snapshots can be taken as a lump sum or programmed as a cron job from the web interface. At any time, the entire file system can return to the most recent snapshot. Older snapshots can be cloned and accessed to recover data from this version of the file system. From the web interface, users can see how much space a particular snapshot takes up volume and delete, clone or return individual snapshots as needed.

Copy
ZFS snapshots are not just local backups – they can also be used to create remote backups. Playing filesystem snapshots on a remote ZFS filesystem creates a complete copy there. Additionally, additional snapshots of the same file system can be sent gradually, reducing the size of each backup to the changes made between snapshots. In the event of a catastrophic failure on a local ZFS file system (such as a disk failure exceeding parity protection or an irreparable recorder failure), any backup can be sent to a new ZFS file system. retrieval of all data up to this backup.

Encryption
FreeNAS is the first and only open source project to offer encryption on ZFS volumes! A full volume encryption option is available when creating a volume, providing AES-XTS industrial encryption, which can be accelerated by hardware (when the processor has AES-NI capability).

Additions
FreeNAS supports the basic features of an out-of-the-box NAS device. However, many users like to upgrade their NAS device to third-party software for streaming media, alternative protocols, or web applications.