TLDR: TrueNAS is a much better option than Open Filer Community Edition.
TrueNAS OS and Openfiler Community Edition OS will be evaluated in this article, we will explore the quirks and features of both with a verdict of the winner at the end..
Storage is a very important aspect of any IT infrastructure, and choosing the right storage platform can make a significant difference in terms of performance, ability to scale, and data management.
TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition are two popular storage platforms that have gained widespread adoption in recent years.
While you are here, take a look at some of our other materials about backup below that may interest you:
We will provide an overview of TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition, highlighting their quirks and features.
Additionally, we will provide insights into the future developments of these platforms and their implications for I.T implementation service organizations.
Selecting the right storage platform that meets the unique needs of each business is one of the more important tasks of a service provider. Whether it is for small businesses or enterprise-level organizations, the right storage platform can help improve efficiency, productivity, and ultimately, profitability.
This article will serve as a guide for I.T organizations who are considering either TrueNAS or Openfiler Community Edition for their clients' storage needs. By the end of this article, readers will have a comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and be better equipped to make an informed decision.
As a secondary goal of the main discussion here, I will also discuss how documentation can help IT consulting services manage and maintain backup and data recovery solutions effectively as it specifically relates to this topic.
We can help you respond faster to your clients needs, allow less experienced staff handle tasks they otherwise could not and ultimately improve your profit margins while getting ahead of your competition.
Tech records are an essential aspect of the IT industry whether it be storage solutions discussed here or the steps involved on how you retain client data and when it should be deleted based on criteria such as their wishes along with regulations governing this activity.
It enables IT consulting advisors to manage and maintain the IT infrastructure of their clients effectively.
We have years of experience in working with service providers to document their procedures and as mentioned, there is no area more important to a service provider than how their clients' backup and disaster recovery systems are documented.
TrueNAS versus Openfiler Community Edition
As I.T implementation service organizations consider different storage solutions for their clients, it's important to compare the market leaders in open sourced storage operating systems - TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition.
Chances are you have almost made a decision on either of these two backup Operating systems solutions but are just not sure which one is the right fit for your situation. This article will help alleviate that concern.
Storage Operating System - Hardware Requirements
TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition have different hardware requirements that I.T organizations should consider when selecting a storage solution for their clients.
TrueNAS requires at least 8GB of RAM, a 64-bit CPU, and a minimum of two NAS compatible hard drives. However, for optimal performance it recommends at least 16GB of RAM, an Intel Xeon processor, and a minimum of six hard drives.
On the other hand, Openfiler Community Edition has lower hardware requirements, with a minimum of 2GB of RAM, either a 32 or 64-bit CPU, and a minimum of one hard drive.
Openfiler Community Edition recommends at least 4GB of RAM, 1GB NIC, 32 or 64-bit CPU and a minimum of 1 SSD. While the recommended specs are quite low, it should be noted that if you do run resource heavy tasks then Openfiler is capable as long as the specifications are increased appropriately. Specifications can go a lot higher than the recommended specs.
Supported Storage Protocols
Protocol
TrueNAS
Openfiler
NFS
YES
YES
SMB/CIFS
YES
YES
iSCSI
YES
YES
Fibre Channel
NO
YES
SCSI
NO
NO
SAS
NO
NO
S3
NO
NO
AFP
NO
NO
FTPS
YES
NO
SFTP
YES
NO
WebDAV
YES
NO
AoE
NO
NO
NFSv4
YES
YES
NBD
NO
NO
FCoE
NO
NO
iSER
NO
NO
IPoFC
NO
NO
NVMe-oF
NO
NO
NVMe over TCP
NO
NO
NVMe over RDMA
NO
NO
File System Compatibility
File System
TrueNAS
Openfiler
NTFS
NO
NO
FAT
NO
NO
ext4
NO
YES
NFS
YES
YES
CIFS
YES
YES
HFS+
NO
NO
APFS
NO
NO
ZFS
YES
YES
exFAT
NO
NO
XFS
NO
YES
Hardware Specifications
TrueNAS - Minimum
Openfiler - Minimum
TrueNAS - Recommended
Openfiler - Recommended
8GB Ram
2GB Ram
16GB Ram
4GB Ram
1 Hard Disks
1 Hard Disk
5 Hard Disks
5 Hard Disks
64 Bit CPU
64 Bit CPU
Xeon/EPYC CPU
Xeon/EPYC CPU
16GB Flash Drive
8GB Flash Drive
64GB Flash Drive
16GB Flash Drive
1x Gigabit Ethernet
1x Ethernet
10GbE or Higher
10GbE or Higher
Supported Storage Protocols and File Systems
TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition support slightly different protocols and file systems.
TrueNAS supports NFS, SMB/CIFS, AFP, iSCSI, FC, and S3 protocols. Additionally, it also supports the ZFS file system, which provides advanced data management features such as snapshots, clones, and data compression.
Openfiler Community Edition supports NFS, SMB/CIFS, AFP, NFS-RDMA, and DAS protocols. It can also be configured to run with iSNS, iSCSI and FC with a little more effort.
Openfiler Community Edition also supports advanced data management features such as snapshots, clones, and data compression..
Storage Scalability and High Availability
Scalability and high availability are important considerations for I.T service organizations when selecting a storage solution. TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition have different approaches to scalability and high availability.
Both TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition support scale-up and scale-out architectures. In a scale-up architecture, additional hard drives can be added to a single system to increase storage capacity. In a scale-out architecture, additional systems can be added to the network to increase storage capacity.
Additionally, TrueNAS supports high availability through active-passive failover, where a secondary system takes over if the primary system fails.
**Openfiler community edition does not natively support active-passive failover; however their commercial version does offer these more advanced features.
Storage Data Protection and Management
Data protection and management are sought after aspects in any storage solution, and both TrueNAS and Openfiler Community Edition offer different features in this regard.
TrueNAS offers advanced data protection features such as virtual drive snapshots, clones, and data compression.
Snapshots allow users to take point-in-time copies of their data for backup and disaster recovery purposes. Clones allow users to create multiple copies of a dataset without duplicating data. Data compression reduces the size of data on the disk, resulting in improved storage efficiency.
Openfiler Community Edition offers simple data protection features such as RAID levels, hot spares, and replication. RAID levels provide redundancy in case of hard drive failure, while hot spares allow for immediate replacement of a failed drive. Replication allows data to be copied to a remote site for backup and recovery purposes.
Openfiler Community Edition Advantages
Openfiler Community Edition has several benefits listed below that make it an appealing choice for some users.
Storage Flexibility
One of the main advantages of Openfiler Community Edition is its flexibility. It can be customized to suit the specific needs of a particular organization or individual user. It also supports a wide range of hardware platforms and architectures, making it a versatile solution.
Open Source Based Software
Openfiler Community Edition is an open-sourced solution, which means that the source code is available and can be modified and distributed by anyone. This can be an advantage for organizations that want to customize the software to meet their specific needs, or for individuals who want to learn more about how the software works.
Openfiler Community Edition Disadvantages
However, there are also some drawbacks to using Openfiler Community Edition that we list below.
Lack of Advanced Enterprise Features
Openfiler Community Edition lacks some important features many cannot do without such as active-passive failover, lack of 3rd party integration and lack of advanced data management processes.
Limited Support
Unlike TrueNAS, Openfiler Community Edition does not offer official commercial support. This means that users are reliant on community support forums and documentation for assistance with any issues that may arise. This is always going to be an issue when time is limited.
Compatibility
Finally, Openfiler Community Edition does not have wide integration support with 3rd party storage applications generally available to other more mature offerings such as TrueNAS.
Scalability and Future Growth Potential
We have found that trying to scale or build with Openfiler is quite difficult and because of this it makes this solution impractical for larger commercial organizations when compared to TrueNAS.
Yes it is possible to expand however the extra cost in labor is not worth it.
The Verdict
TrueNAS is developed and supported by iXsystems, a reputable company with history in the data storage industry. iXsystems has committed to continuing its use of open-source software and is dedicated to the ongoing development and improvement of TrueNAS.
Their focus on continuous innovation and customer satisfaction contributes to the reliability and quality of the TrueNAS platform.
While Openfiler Community Edition also offers storage solutions, TrueNAS provides a far more comprehensive and mature feature set, better community support, scalability, and overall reliability for commercial environments.
TrueNAS is generally preferred for commercial environments and with good reason, there are no circumstances I can think of where Openfiler Community Edition may be a more suitable choice.
Even if the existing system is Openfiler, it would likely be a better strategy to remove it and put TrueNAS in its place especially if you believe there will be any sort of growth over time.
TrueNAS is head and shoulders above Openfiler. We found it easier to navigate around and use. Overall it is just a much more sophisticated and proven product than Openfiler.
The Conclusion
TrueNAS definitely wins in pretty much all areas in this head to head comparison although both have the ability to effectively run your network storage devices.
We recommend TrueNAS for serious commercial undertakings and recommend only using Openfiler on very small clients where growth is not expected. We hope this article has provided you with a solid foundation and understanding of this topic.
We have a number of other backup hardware articles listed below that will provide you with more detailed information on a number of related topics:
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