What is FreeNAS and why choose it?

FreeNAS is a free, open source, Network-Attached Storage operating system based on FreeBSD.

What is Network-Attached Storage?

Network-Attached Storage (NAS) is a computer attached to a network that is dedicated solely to providing data storage for other devices on the network. This is often done either to save space, increase storage space cheaply, or provide convenient file-sharing.

What is FreeBSD?

FreeBSD is a free, open source Unix-like operating system. It is noted for being one of the most reliable unix-like systems. To learn more about FreeBSD, visit  https://www.freebsd.org/

So what is FreeNAS?

FreeNAS uses a custom version of FreeBSD and a web-based interface to provide a fully-featured NAS environment. FreeNAS offers software-based storage and backup solutions for a variety of applications, from home to enterprise. 

FreeNAS is the world’s most popular open source storage operating system not only because of its features and ease of use but also what lies beneath the surface: The ZFS file system. With over seven million downloads, FreeNAS has put ZFS onto more systems than any other product or project to date and is used everywhere from homes to enterprises.

But why ZFS?

FreeNAS uses ZFS because it is an enterprise-ready open source file system and volume manager with unprecedented flexibility and an uncompromising commitment to data integrity. ZFS is a truly next-generation file system that eliminates most, if not all of the shortcomings found in legacy file systems and hardware RAID devices. Once you go ZFS, you will never want to go back.