iXsystems FreeNAS Mini Manual

FreeNAS®Mini and Mini XL
Basic Setup Guide
Version 2.1

Copyright © 2018 iXsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
FreeNAS®Mini and Mini XL
The FreeNAS®Mini 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.
Note: FreeNAS®units are carefully packed and shipped with trusted carriers to arrive in perfect condition. If there
is any shipping damage or any parts are missing, please take photos and contact iXsystems support immediately at
[email protected]or 1-855-GREP4-iX (1-855-473-7449) or 1-408-943-4100.
Please locate and record the hardware serial number on the back of the case for easy reference.
Carefully unpack the shipping box and locate these components:
• FreeNAS®Mini or FreeNAS®Mini XL
• Drive trays with preinstalled hard drives or fillers, four for the Mini or eight for the Mini XL
• Network cable
• Power cord
• Case keys
• Drive screws
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Become Familiar with the FreeNAS®Mini
The FreeNAS®Mini and Mini XL share the same capabilities except for the number of drive bays.
A lockable door covers the drive trays and front panel controls.
1: Four hot-swap drive bays (eight on the Mini XL)
2: Power button
3: Reset button
4: Power indicator
5: Hard disk drive access indicator
6: Network activity indicator (two on the Mini XL)
7: Unit identify indicator
8: USB ports
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Ports and LED indicators on the back of the Mini and Mini XL:
1: Power cord connector
2: Fan
3: Serial port
4: VGA video port
5: IPMI network port
6: Port cover
7: USB port
8: Gigabit network ports
9: Locate/ID switch
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Installing Hard Drives
The FreeNAS®Mini and Mini XL support hard drives up to 10 TiB.
When ordered without hard drives, drive trays are shipped with filler inserts to protect them. If not all bays will be
filled with drives, keep the fillers in the empty trays to protect them.
To mount a hard drive in a tray, remove the two rear screws holding the filler (1). Gently spread both sides of the
tray away from the filler (2) until the pins release (3), then remove the filler.
Mount the hard drive in the tray with four screws.
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 fillers into any remaining empty bays.
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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.
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 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 keyboard can be connected for console access, but are not required.
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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.localor the IP address of the Mini 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.
Tip: When more than one FreeNAS®device is connected to the network, mDNS can experience name conflicts. Give
each FreeNAS®device a unique hostname like freenas1.local and freenas2.local to avoid this problem. The hostname
is changed in Network →Global Configuration →Hostname in the FreeNAS®web interface.
Additional Resources
Complete FreeNAS®documentation is available on https://ixsystems.com/documentation/FreeNAS.
Additional guides, datasheets, and knowledgebase articles are available in the iX Information Library
(https://www.ixsystems.com/blog/knowledgebase_category/freenas/).
The FreeNAS®forums (https://forums.freenas.org/index.php) provide an opportunity to interact with other
FreeNAS®users and to discuss their configurations.
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