FreeNAS vs. Microsoft Windows

FreeNAS is well suited for most storage serving scenarios, whether it be for an office file server, backup destinations, data replication across the internet, or as backend storage for virtual machines. It can serve various types of clients via a plethora of standard protocols and can easily integrate with existing infrastructure using LDAP authentication and so on. It's pretty simple to use (it helps to have at least a basic understanding of the underlying technologies) and almost maintenance-free. One scenario that springs to mind that it may not be appropriate for (yet) is as S3 storage. However, S3 functionality was added in a recent release and may have improved greatly since then. I'm sure it will eventually work very well for this.

Incentivized

It is well suited in a work environment, being that an organization can set up their system to be specifically work related and only certain users can get access is really helpful. I also like that multiple users can log in on the same device and keep each account seperate without interfering with the other.

• The FreeNAS web interface is modern looking. It makes tasks like provisioning drives into raid volumes easy.
• The ZFS raid option allows you to add in an SSD as a cache drive to increase performance.

Incentivized

• Smooth operating system
• Intuitive user interface
• Easy integration of other Microsoft products
• System encryption
• Very secure

• Not good for beginners as it requires deep understanding of networking and storage.
• Most of the good and required features are not available in free version.

Incentivized

• confusing at first when shut down is under start menu
• task bar on 2 displays sometimes won't hide automatically even though set that way
• not so intuitive to set up 2 displays

Incentivized

Works fine until it stops working, then hard to troubleshoot and fix!

Incentivized

There were some things that can be found by other users on forums and Google and some things that were not.

Incentivized

support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain

Incentivized

MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.

Incentivized

FreeNAS effectively uses all resources really well and it is highly recommended for in premises NAS. It has unlimited ROI as it is really free and open-source. The only payment we need to pay is when we need any support from those guys. FreeNAS helps us to effectively do our work with the legacy systems as it manages all the components really well. FreeNAS although rebranded to TrueNAS will still be there until our legacy systems run.

Incentivized

Because of its compatibility with third-party software requirements.

Incentivized

• Low-Cost Network Attached Storage
• Provides additional network storage to support client & business operations
• FreeNAS secures our data using custom encryption keys

Incentivized

• Increased productivity
• Intuitive interface
• Quick operation
• Minimal interruption from system processes