Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question

Ubuntu Server or FreeNAS Server

Last response: in Linux/Free BSD
Share
March 30, 2014 7:06:45 AM

Hey folks,

I'm building my first home server tonight :D !

I'm trying to decide on 2 things, first is whether to use something like freeNAS, or Ubuntu Linux.

freeNAS does pretty well everything I want it to, but where it seems to lack is providing a local web hosting service.

I want to do the basics: store data, movies, pics etc.. and be able to stream them to devices in the house, possibly have access to them from outside the house and to eventually be able to have a local php/mysql development environment.

Which one would better suit my needs in these areas? It seems like most of the plugins for freeNAS will work with Ubuntu so I might be able to go that route.

One thing I REALLY like about freeNAS though is that it has a webportal interface that you can use to admin it and it doesn't require the system to have a monitor/m & kb.

If I go with Ubuntu is there something similar that would allow me to admin remotely? I'm not good, or patient enough to do everything command line based so a gui would be ideal.

My second issue is the RAID setup.

My mobo supports hardware RAID, my question is, should I use the board's RAID system or freeNAS/Ubuntu's software RAID system?

I realize performance is better with h/w, but my concern is what happens when a drive fails? I want to go with whatever option allows me to keep the data accessible after failure.

I.E. drive 1 of a RAID 1 pair fails, I want the second drive to still be accessible to me if a) I swap a new drive in and or b) I take the good drive out and put it in another system.

Phew! Alright, that's all I think!

More about : ubuntu server freenas server

March 31, 2014 4:25:47 AM

If your objection to Ubuntu is web portal interface then you have several options in Ubuntu. You can use secure shell, ssh for command line work or you could install webmin on the server via ssh and have a gui remote control. I use both to control my ubuntu server that does not have the desktop installed. I used a monitor/keyboard only for the initial install and setup.
m
1
l
March 31, 2014 4:30:12 AM

stillblue said:
If your objection to Ubuntu is web portal interface then you have several options in Ubuntu. You can use secure shell, ssh for command line work or you could install webmin on the server via ssh and have a gui remote control. I use both to control my ubuntu server that does not have the desktop installed. I used a monitor/keyboard only for the initial install and setup.


That's good to hear, does the webmin allow you full functionality over the server? My kicker right now is that I haven't used either yet, or built my own server in the past so I have no experience with either of them. I do have linux experience and I could likely figure out the details on my own, but at the same time FreeNAS seems to do what I want, however it doesn't appear to be as flexible as a Ubuntu install would be.

They're both free, it all comes down to just trying it, I hesitate to dive in only because I'm planning to use this as my main back up server, as well as other peripheral functions so I just don't want to mess with it too much and maybe lose data down the road you know?

Guess we'll see how it goes.
m
0
l
Related resources
March 31, 2014 7:30:08 AM

Webmin is not as comprehensive as the FreeNAS web interface. The overwhelming advantage of FreeNAS is that it offers you ZFS, easily the best file system for a NAS (or pretty much any other server). ZFS also handles the RAID question as very efficient RAID is built in to the file system. Being just FreeBSD at heart there is no problem in running a web server on FreeNAS, but you might then need something like Webmin to administer it if you don't like editing configuration files.

If your main aim is a NAS then FreeBSD is probably the best choice (or even better, go for Nas4Free).
m
0
l
July 7, 2014 5:28:42 AM

I have Freenas for my movie server and works great, although it really takes some time getting used to the jargon once you get the hang of it is just awesome just make sure you have tons of RAM for some reason. I am also trying Ubuntu Server on a separate machine and give them both a try.
m
0
l
!