FreeNAS

FreeNAS is a free and open-source network-attached storage operating system designed to turn a computer into a centralized storage server. It is built on FreeBSD and uses the ZFS file system, which provides features such as data integrity verification, snapshots, replication, and storage pooling.

The system provides a web-based graphical user interface for configuration and management, making storage administration accessible without a command-line. It supports multiple network file sharing protocols, including SMB/CIFS for Windows networks, NFS for Unix-like systems, and AFP for older macOS networks, as well as iSCSI block storage and FTP/WebDAV. It includes features such as user access control, encryption, replication between systems, and scheduled scrubs for data integrity.

FreeNAS can be installed on commodity hardware or run in a virtual machine and is designed to work with a wide range of hardware supported by FreeBSD. It supports data redundancy through ZFS-based configurations such as RAID-Z1, RAID-Z2, RAID-Z3, and mirrored vdevs, offering options for reliability and capacity depending on hardware choices.

History and branding: FreeNAS originated as an open-source NAS project and gained significant community adoption. In 2013, iXsystems acquired the project and continued development. In 2020, the FreeNAS branding was folded into the TrueNAS line, with current releases branded as TrueNAS CORE for the open-source edition. As a result, ongoing development and distribution are carried out under the TrueNAS CORE name, while the FreeNAS designation remains associated with legacy releases and historical references.