Instructions for loading FreeNAS on boot drive

[Guinea]

I am new to the FreeNAS build setup. Is there a setup instruction or build I can follow to help me load FreeNAS on my boot drive. I built a NAS and have a Samsung 850 EVO 120GB boot drive. I was hoping to use IPMI to maintain the NAS remotely using my gaming PC. My question is, how do I get the FreeNAS OS on the boot drive and installed? After that I will be doing an 8 drive vdev on a single pool. I will be doing ZFS 2 I believe, so I can add 8 drive vdevs down the road when I need more space (24 bay NAS). I have never done this before, so I am just trying to get a handle on how to get it all started.

 

[Redcoat]

Look for the User Guide listing on the black banner at the top of this forum's pages - go to section 2 for a step-by-step - you will select the boot drive from a list of available devices during the install process. Once installed there you will have to ensure the correct boot order in the mobo bios.

 

[Guinea]

Ok that is a great guide. I guess I am just confused on the part of getting the ISO image to the boot device itself. Do I need to hook it up to another computer and transfer it over first and THEN plug it into the NAS? If I access the NAS via IPMI, can I transfer the ISO to the boot device that way? Once it is on the boot device and loaded up, it should be pretty straight forward to go through the install process.

 

[adrianwi]

You need a bootable device to put the ISO image onto, and then another device on which to install FreeNAS from the device with the ISO image. It can't be the same device.

If you're looking to install FreeNAS onto an SSD, then I would suggest a USB stick to use for the installation and then select the SSD as part of the installation process. Once installed, you won't need the USB stick.

 

[Guinea]

Ok, so I should get a bootable USB drive, burn the ISO image to that, as it says to do in the instructions and then put the SSD and the boot device into the NAS. Start it up and point the installation destination to the SSD. Am I understanding it correctly?

 

[adrianwi]

Yes! You might need to change your BIOS settings so it boots from the USB stick, and then once you've installed FreeNAS switch it back to the SSD.

 

[Ericloewe]

If you have IPMI, just open the java iKVM application from the web GUI. It has an option to mount a virtual CD drive.