FreeNAS Mini E Manual

FreeNAS®Mini E and Mini XL+
Basic Setup Guide
Version 1.4

Support: 855-473-7449 or 408-943-4100 Email: [email protected]
Contents
1 FreeNAS® Mini E and Mini XL+
1.1 Become Familiar with the FreeNAS® Mini
1.2 Installing Hard Drives
1.3 Removing Drive Trays
1.4 MiniXL+ SSD Bay
1.5 Connect Network and Power Cables
1.6 Logging into FreeNAS®
1.7 Additional Resources
1.7.1 Contacting iXsystems
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Copyright © 2020 iXsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
TrueNAS®units are carefully packed and shipped with trusted carriers to arrive in perfect condition. If there is any shipping dam-
age or any parts are missing, please take photos and contact iXsystems support immediately at [email protected] or
855-GREP4-iX (855-473-7449) or 408-943-4100.
Please locate and record the hardware serial numbers on the back of each chassis for quick reference.

Support: 855-473-7449 or 408-943-4100 Email: [email protected]
Page 1
Carefully unpack the shipping box and locate these components:
1 FreeNAS® Mini E and Mini XL+
The FreeNAS®storage appliance is built to support all the features of FreeNAS®. The Mini has four hot-swappable hard drive bays,
while the Mini XL+ has eight.
1. One FreeNAS® Mini-E
or
2. One FreeNAS® Mini XL+
3. Four or eight drive trays with purchased hard drives or llers
4. One SSD tray with purchased SSD or ller and 2.5” drive screws
5. Two Ethernet cables
6. One bag of HDD screws
7. One power cord
8. One set of keys
The drive bay door can be locked for added security. To lock the door, insert one of the door keys (8) in the lock and turn the key
clockwise ninety degrees.

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Page 2
1. The Mini-E has four hot-swap hard drive drive bays.
There are two USB 2.0 ports on the MIni-E front panel (9).
10. The Mini XL+ has eight bays, with an additional low-pro-
le bay for a caching SSD.
The Mini XL+ has one USB 3.0 port (8) and one USB 2.0 port
(9).
Both systems have:
2. Power Button
3. Reset Button
4. Power Indicators
5. Disk Activity Light
6. Network Activity Indicator
7. Unit Identication Indicators
Both systems have back-panel power connectors (1), VGA
video connectors (4), and IPMI remote management net-
work ports (6).
The Mini-E has a locate/ID button (2), serial port (3), four
GbE network ports (5), and one USB 3.0 port (7).
The Mini-XL+ has two USB 2.0 ports (8) and two 10GbE
network ports (9).
The warranty is not aected by removing or cutting the
Tamper Resistant sticker to remove the case.
1.1 Become Familiar with the FreeNAS®Mini

Support: 855-473-7449 or 408-943-4100 Email: [email protected]
Page 3
1.2 Installing Hard Drives
The FreeNAS®Mini and Mini XL support hard drives up to 10 TiB. Drives designed for Network Attached Storage (NAS) are re-
quired. These drives run cooler and quieter than desktop drives. NAS hard drives are available direct from iXsystems or retailers.
When ordered without hard drives, drive trays are shipped with ller inserts to protect them. If not all bays will be lled with drives,
keep the llers in the empty trays to protect them.
To mount a hard drive in a tray, remove the two rear screws holding the ller (1). Gently spread both sides of the tray away from
the ller (2) until the pins release (3), then remove the ller.
Starting with the bottom bay, gently insert a tray into a drive bay until it stops. Swing the latch closed until it locks. Repeat for all
hard drives to be mounted. Load trays with llers into any remaining empty bays.
Mount the hard drive in the tray with four screws.
1.3 Removing Drive Trays
If a drive tray must be removed to replace a drive, release the latch by pushing the large circular button to the right. Swing the
latch to the left to eject the tray, then pull outwards on the latch to begin sliding the tray out. Grip the top and bottom of the tray
and gently remove it.

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Page 4
1.4 Mini XL+ SSD Bay
The Mini XL+ has an additional low-prole bay for a cache SSD.
Release the latch by sliding the button to the left (1). Gently swing the latch to the right (2), then slide the tray out.
To add an SSD, unscrew the two attachment screws from the SSD tray underside and remove the SSD tray ller. Attach the cache
SSD to the tray with four screws from the bag labeled 2.5” through the bottom of the tray.
Gently insert the tray into the bay until it stops and the latch is nearly shut. Swing the latch closed until it locks.

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Page 5
1.5 Connect Network and Power Cables
Connect the network cable to the router or switch and to the top Gigabit network port. Plug the power cable into the FreeNAS®
Mini and a power outlet.
If remote management through IPMI is desired, connect a network cable to the IPMI network port. A VGA monitor and USB key-
board can be connected for console access, but are not required.
1.6 Logging in to FreeNAS®
FreeNAS®uses the Multicast DNS service, also known as Bonjour or mDNS, to make the system accessible on most networks
without additional setup.
Run a web browser on another computer on the same network. Open the FreeNAS®web interface by typing freenas.local or
the IP address of the FreeNAS® Certied system into the browser address bar and pressing Enter.
Log in with:
Username: root
Password: abcd1234
Warning:
Change the root password in Account --> Users after logging in to increase system security.
When more than one FreeNAS® device is connected to the network, mDNS can experience name conicts. Give each FreeNAS®
device a unique hostname like freenas1.local and freenas2.local to avoid this problem. The hostname is changed in
Network --> Global Conguration --> Hostname in the FreeNAS®web interface.

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Page 6
1.7 Additional Resources
The FreeNAS® User Guide has complete software conguration and usage instructions. It is available by clicking Guide in the Free-
NAS®web interface or going directly to:
https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/freenas/
Additional guides, datasheets, and knowledge base articles are available in the iXInformation Library at:
https://www.ixsystems.com/library/
The FreeNAS® forums provide an opportunity to interact with other FreeNAS® users and to discuss their congurations. The forum
is available at:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php
1.7.1 Contacting iXsystems
For assistance, please contact iXSupport:
Contact Method Contact Options
Web https://support.ixsystems.com
Email [email protected]
Telephone Monday-Friday, 6:00AM to 6:00PM Pacic Standard Time:
• US-only toll-free: 855-473-7449 option 2
• Local and international: 408-943-4100 option 2
Telephone Telephone After Hours (24x7 Gold Level Support only):
• US-only toll-free: 855-499-5131
• International: 408-878-3140
(International calling rates will apply)