configuring freenas for cifs storage connectivity

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Configuring FreeNAS for CIFS storage connectivity13 Photos

Dec 23, 2010 7:05 AM PST

IT ninja Rick Vanover shows you how to install FreeNAS as a virtual machine and provision

it as a Windows file resource using the common internet file system (CIFS) storage protocol.

FreeNAS storage solution

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Organizations are always on the prowl for cost-effective storage solutions. In a number of

previous posts, whenever a free storage product is mentioned, TechRepublic members

frequently suggest FreeNAS as an alternative to StarWind, Openfiler and other software

storage solutions. By its name, FreeNAS is a free solution. In this gallery, FreeNAS will beinstalled as a virtual machine and provisioned as a Windows file resource using the common

internet file system (CIFS) storage protocol.
http://freenas.org/doku.phphttp://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-12849_11-493168.html


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Booting from the ISO

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In the case of a virtual machine for this example, the FreeNAS server is provisioned as an

x64 Linux distribution with 4GB of RAM and 1TB of local drive space attached to it as a

main data partition. A separate partition is locally available as a thin-provisioned disk in case

emergency space is needed for the install. If FreeNAS is to be used for anything beyond an

experiment, a trip to the FreeNAS documentation site is worthwhile.

This gallery walks through booting right from the CD-ROM .ISO. (In another gallery, I will

walk through installation options with FreeNAS to embedded and full installation types. In

the installation option, the other partition (smaller than the 1TB allocation) is ideal for the

installation of FreeNAS and its swap files.)
http://freenas.org/documentation:faqhttp://freenas.org/documentation:faq


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FreeNAS networking configuration setup console

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The FreeNAS boot sequence from the CD .ISO image is to first enumerate the hard

drives, memory, and prepare the installation. The second step of the boot sequence is

the "1. Boot [Default]" and then it runs into the setup console. This is where FreeNAS

networking is configured. Option 1 to assign interfaces is the first step. In this example,

the FreeNAS virtual machine will take a DHCP reservation that also provides a DNS entry

(freenas.rwvdev.intra).


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Detect network interfaces

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The first step in configuring the networking for a FreeNAS installation is the detection of the

network interfaces. The auto-detection feature will determine most configurations. FreeNAS

can be downloaded from Sourceforge, and this example is with the 0.7.2 stable release.

If using a virtual machine, make sure the E1000 interface type is selected as FreeNAS

may not recognize newer interfaces such as VMware's VMXNET3. The same goes for

the storage controller for a virtual machine; the newer Paravirtual SCSI adapter (PVSCI)

controller isn?t a good idea.
http://%20http//sourceforge.net/projects/freenas/files/


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Set up LAN interfaces

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The next step is to set up the LAN interfaces, which will in this example utilize the DHCP

and DNS information. Options are also presented to use IPv6, which is left to your own

discretion. Once the interface is initialized, the DHCP interface is presented on screen andyou can then to go a URL to configure the FreeNAS appliance further.


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Log in to FreeNAS

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The browser login for FreeNAS is now available after that step. The default login is "admin"

and the default password is "freenas." Of course this is the first thing you should change,

which is done in the System section by selecting Password. The Access section allows more

users to be created as well as groups.


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Provision the first disk

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To provision the first disk, select the Disks section, then the plus arrow on the right to add

a disk. Then the disk management options are presented to add them to FreeNAS. I've

selected to preformat the volume with NTFS, which is the native file system for the CIFS

endpoint.


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Format the new volume

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The next step is to format the new volume. This is from the Disks | Format menu. The

newly created disk is available for format with a name and file system. This step is data

destructive, so be careful in proceeding at this point.


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Prepare the mount point

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The last disk preparation step is to prepare the mount point. This is the path on the file

system for the disk added. Think of the mount point as the location within the Linux-based

system that contains the formatted extra disks, and is extensible.


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Configure DNS

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DNS is important for many things, and the FreeNAS configuration allows the networking

and DNS suffix configuration to be configured through the web interface. This should be

configured for the destination network, and then saved.


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Configure CIFS in Services menu

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Configuring CIFS is done through the Services menu by selecting CIFS/SMB. The

configuration is based on the parameters of either a workgroup or domain configuration.

Once these changes are entered, a message is displayed that they have been applied

successfully. This is an area where the pre-configured DNS entry and DHCP reservation

can make these steps flow more smoothly. The same goes for a static IP address and

pre-created DNS reservation, should that be the preference. A reboot is required to make

these changes take effect.


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Create a share

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The next step is to create a share to be accessible via CIFS. A good timesaver is to make

the name of the share the same as the disk, if one disk is for each share. This way, it is

easier to view what storage and shares live on what disk.


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FreeNAS virtual machine up and running

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And just like that, the FreeNAS virtual machine is providing a usable file share resource.In summary, on FreeNAS thus far along, this product is fairly intuitive and the interface is

quite refined compared to other products. Look for more galleries on point solutions with

FreeNAS.

What do you want to see done with FreeNAS? Share your comments below.

configuring freenas for cifs storage connectivity

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