A look at the FreeNAS server

NewsForge has a quick look at FreeNAS, an open source network attached storage server that can be deployed on pretty much any old PC you have sitting around the house. From the article:

FreeNAS, an open source NAS server, can convert a PC into a network-attached storage server. The software, which is based on FreeBSD, Samba, and PHP, includes an operating system that supports various software RAID models and a Web user interface. The server supports access from Windows machines, Apple Macs, FTP, SSH, and Network File System (NFS), and it takes up less than 16MB of disk space on a hard drive or removable media.

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The FreeNAS server has lots of potential and is under active development; there were 11 point releases in the first four months of 2006 alone. It's a good alternative for building a simple network server without having to install a full-blown version of Linux or FreeBSD. It is also a good way to make use of aging hardware, as its system requirements are quite modest by today's standard.

Sounds like not too much troulbe to set up, even with its limitations (no granular user access control, and some easy ways to hose the system if you ignore the warnings...) - there's a good FreeNAS setup and user guide to follow as well.