Hello FreeNAS users!

It’s been a busy month since our last update and we’ve got some great stuff to share with you this issue: a new FreeNAS plugin, a special discount from rsync, and some links from the past month we thought you’d find helpful.
But let’s be honest, if you’re reading this now, you’re probably looking for the free beer. We promise we’ll get to that shortly. In the meantime, read on. Read on for beer.

NEW Plugin Release: CrashPlan

Earlier this month, the official Crashplan plugin became available for FreeNAS. Crashplan is a cloud-based backup target. You can use it to back up the data on your FreeNAS to Crashplan and your data is kept safe in the cloud, making it easy to recover lost data later. The backup process takes place in the background on the schedule you set and all your data is encrypted before sending.
Read the forum announcement for more information. This plugin requires more work to set up than the others, so make sure you’re comfortable using Linux emulation before trying the installation.

Special rsync Discount for FreeNAS Users

A big thanks to the generous folks over at rsync who are offering a special discount rate for FreeNAS users only! Check out the forum for more details. The offer is good until at least through the end of the year, so if this is something that you’ve been meaning to do, don’t wait!

FreeNAS Mini Review in PC Magazine

In case you missed it, the FreeNAS Mini earned a great review from PC Magazine. To quote, “The FreeNAS averaged the highest Read speed tested, to-date, for any NAS at a blazing 111MBps.”
Send us a quote request if you’re interested in buying your own. Every purchase of a FreeNAS Mini supports the developers of FreeNAS, allowing us to add more features and improvements to the project.

FreeNAS – Free BEER! Join Us at Supercomputing 13

For Supercomputing 13, we’ll be providing thirsty conference-goers with free beer! You read that right, kegs of beer will be brought out on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 19 & 20 from 2-4PM.
Look for us at booth #3623 under the exhibitor name “iXsystems”. We’ll be debuting the new FreeNAS backdrop and showing off FreeNAS 9 and the new plugin system. Come meet, drink, and talk about FreeNAS with us!

Happy 20th Birthday to FreeBSD!

Speaking of free drinks, members of the FreeBSD community recently gathered on November 2 at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco, CA to celebrate the big 20th anniversary of FreeBSD.
In addition to drinks, the party included a life-sized beastie cake and a live band. Kirk McKusick, Jordan Hubbard, Matthew Olander, and Scott Long made a few opening remarks. Other notable figures in attendance included Kris Moore, Druann Lavigne, Michael Dexter, Allan Jude, and of course, many members of the FreeNAS team.
To relive the night (or to see what you missed), check out the photos of the event on Facebook or Google+. A longer and more detailed recap of the night is also available here.
A big thanks to iXsystems, Intel, Google, Netapp, FreeBSD, the FreeBSD Foundation, Netflix, LSI, No Starch Press, O’Reilly Media, and William Hurley for making this event possible!

Links of the Month

Google Fiber Now Explicitly Allows Home Servers via Arstechnica
Can Your Backup Plan Handle a Ransomware Threat? via ComputerWorld
The Ninth Episode of BSDNow – CURRENT Events via BSDNow
EconoNAS: Economically-friendly NAS Build via Brian Moses’s Blog

Connect with Us

If you need help with your FreeNAS setup or would like to show off your configuration, share your plugins, or just talk with like-minded people, join the conversation on our community forums.
For video tutorials, check out our YouTube channel.
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