iXsystems Launches FreeNAS Corral, an Open Source Solution for Building Hyper-converged Infrastructures

FreeNAS Corral, the latest version of FreeNAS, combines sophisticated storage, virtualization, containers, and GUI management in a brand new interface


SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwired - March 15, 2017) - iXsystems, the industry leader in storage and servers driven by Open Source, today released FreeNAS™ 10 and unveiled the FreeNAS Corral brand. With FreeNAS Corral (formerly FreeNAS 10), iXsystems introduces the next generation of the world's most popular Open Source software-defined storage software. FreeNAS Corral extends FreeNAS' enterprise-grade storage capabilities by adding virtual machine and Docker container management. FreeNAS Corral enables the integration of software-defined storage into VMs and provides persistent storage for Docker containers. These enhancements are provided through a re-designed graphical user interface (GUI) and a powerful command line interface (CLI), making FreeNAS both easier to use and more capable than ever. The new Corral name represents what this release does best: corralling data, virtual machines, containers, and storage services under one management interface.

In addition to the new name for FreeNAS 10, iXsystems introduced the new FreeNAS Corral logo and logomark.

"FreeNAS Corral catapults the world's most popular storage OS into a new category by combining FreeNAS' renowned storage services with Docker containers and full-machine virtualization capabilities. We're now enabling users and developers to build hyper-converged solutions to support their web-scale applications," said Brett Davis, Executive Vice President of iXsystems. "The Corral name represents the next generation in enterprise-grade services contributed by iXsystems to the Open Source community. Only a new name could do justice to such a giant evolutionary step."

FreeNAS Corral introduces an intuitive new graphical user interface, a scriptable command line interface, and a powerful websocket API that can automate and control every aspect of the FreeNAS Corral software. It also includes the bhyve hypervisor for virtualization and Docker container services. FreeNAS Corral includes easy to use VM templates, which provide fully set up, pre-installed versions of multiple guest operating systems including TrueOS, FreeBSD, SmartOS, and several GNU/Linux distributions, including CentOS, Debian, and Ubuntu. VMs can also be created for a variety of Windows environments using user-provided installation media.

Rather than using the cloud to develop, test, and deploy applications, FreeNAS Corral, with its storage, VM, and container services, can be easily used instead.

When it comes to storage, early users found provisioning storage with FreeNAS Corral to be more intuitive and accomplished in a shorter amount of time than with previous versions of FreeNAS. These early users also found that FreeNAS Corral's VM and Docker container support enabled them to easily host their application solutions while using FreeNAS Corral's storage services. FreeNAS Corral seamlessly supports Docker containers from dockerhub, enabling DevOps teams to manage, deploy, and scale trusted and business-ready applications across FreeNAS Corral instances cooperatively with the cloud.

"Thousands of early FreeNAS 10 testers have already seen and deployed many of the revolutionary enhancements that FreeNAS Corral is delivering. This release of FreeNAS Corral gives even more users the opportunity to see all the revolutionary enhancements that continue to make FreeNAS the world's leading Open Source storage system. It provides all the features of FreeNAS while remaining 100% Open Source, also fully leveraging other open source infrastructures like GitHub and Docker Hub," said Jordan Hubbard, CTO of iXsystems and head of the FreeNAS Corral project. "We look forward to continued collaboration with the Open Source development community!"

FreeNAS Corral is a ground-up rewrite of FreeNAS that allows for future innovation in the product, while supporting all the storage features of FreeNAS 9.10. Users can download FreeNAS Corral at freenas.org/download or upgrade their 9.10.x systems in place by selecting the FreeNAS-Corral-STABLE train from the Update tab of the FreeNAS GUI or installing FreeNAS Corral from the ISO image and picking the option to install into a new Boot Environment.

About iXsystems:

By leveraging decades of expertise in hardware design, its contributions to many Open Source software communities, and corporate stewardship of leading Open Source projects (FreeNAS and TrueOS), iXsystems has become an industry leader in building innovative storage solutions and superior enterprise servers for a global marketplace that relies on open technology.

Thousands of companies, universities, and government organizations have come to rely on iXsystems' storage, servers, and consultative approach to doing business. Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley since its founding in 1996, the dedication to white-glove customer service, industry-leading support, and transparent technological contributions has never wavered and continues to help lay the foundation for a new era powered by open technology.

FreeNAS is a registered trademark of iXsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.

CORRAL is a common law trademark of iXsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Contact Information:

For more information:
Denise Ebery
Director of Public Relations
denise@iXsystems.com

FreeNAS Corral logo FreeNAS Corral Dashboard