A distribution for creating network storage OpenMediaVault 5 is available

After almost two years since the formation of the previous significant branch the the release of the distribution OpenMediaVault 5, aimed at the rapid deployment of network-attached storage (NAS). The OpenMediaVault project was founded in 2009 after a split in the developer community of the distribution FreeNAS, resulting in a fork alongside the classic FreeNAS based on FreeBSD, where developers aimed to transition the distribution to a Linux kernel and a Debian package base. For download, are prepared install images of OpenMediaVault for the x86_64 architecture (586 MB).

Key innovations:

• The package base has been updated to Debian 10 (Buster).
• A migration to a centralized configuration management system SaltStack for deploying and synchronizing settings has been implemented. For example, to deploy the configuration of a new system in accordance with the parameters from the configuration database, it is now sufficient to execute 'omv-salt stage run all'.
• Instead of the omv-mkconf utility, a new command omv-salt is offered for creating configuration files.
• In place of the omv-initsystem utility, the command 'omv-confdbadm populate' has been added, which determines the current settings and synchronizes them with the configuration database.
• The Time Machine backup mechanism has added support for SMB/CIFS shares.
• The systemd-logind has been involved to handle the shutdown button.
• To initiate reboot, shutdown, and sleep mode, systemd has been engaged.
• Instead of ntpd for precise time synchronization, chrony is used.
• For network configuration, systemd has been engaged.
• The TRIM operation (reporting unused blocks to storage devices) has been replaced with running similar work on a schedule.
• A backend for using storage based on Areca RAID controllers has been added.
• Due to stability issues, support for shared folders ('/sharedfolder/') is disabled by default for new installations. To enable it, set the variable 'OMV_SHAREDFOLDERS_DIR_ENABLED=YES' and run the commands 'omv-salt stage run prepare' and 'omv-salt deploy run systemd'.
• The size and position of windows are now remembered.
• The main screen now displays a prompt about an available update.
• A warning about rebooting has been added.

It is worth noting that OpenMediaVault prioritizes the expansion of support for embedded devices and the creation of a flexible plugin installation system, while FreeNAS focuses on leveraging the capabilities of the ZFS file system. Compared to FreeNAS, the plugin installation mechanism has been significantly reworked. Instead of replacing the entire "firmware" for updates, OpenMediaVault uses standard tools to update individual packages and a full installer that allows for the selection of necessary components during the installation process.

The management web interface of OpenMediaVault is written in PHP using the JavaScript framework ExtJS and is distinguished by loading data on demand using Ajax technology without reloading pages (the FreeNAS web interface is written in Python using the Django framework). The interface features functions for organizing data sharing and privilege separation (including ACL support). SNMP (v1/2c/3) can be used for monitoring; additionally, there is a built-in notification system for issues via email (including monitoring disk status through S.M.A.R.T. and controlling the uninterruptible power supply system).

Among the basic services related to the organization of storage work, the following can be noted: SSH/SFTP, FTP, SMB/CIFS, DAAP client, RSync, BitTorrent client, NFS, and TFTP. The supported file systems include EXT3, EXT4, XFS, and JFS. Since the OpenMediaVault distribution is initially aimed at expanding functionality through plugins, there are separate plugins for supporting AFP (Apple Filing Protocol), BitTorrent server, iTunes/DAAP server, LDAP, iSCSI target, UPS, LVM, and antivirus (ClamAV). Software RAID (JBOD/0/1/5/6) can be created using mdadm.

Source: opennet.ru