FreeNAS vs. Microsoft Windows

FreeNAS suited really well in managing our legacy systems and it handled all our network flows really well, less maintenance is required on our part. FreeNAS also gave the option to switch to TrueNAS for free as now its support is limited. The major issue that we faced was with the installation as it is really complex and required lots of time. Rest all is good and FreeNAS still works well on our systems.

Incentivized

I highly recommend it because it's the most used operating system in the world. If you work with other organizations or share info, it's easier if you have the same system instead of Linux, for example. Also, a large number of employees know how to use it, but not so many know how to use Linux or macOS.

Incentivized

• The FreeNAS web interface is modern looking. It makes tasks like provisioning drives into raid volumes easy.
• The ZFS raid option allows you to add in an SSD as a cache drive to increase performance.

Incentivized

• Great integration with my business accounting software Quickbooks
• Great integration with Microsoft Office 365
• Easy to find files that I haven't used in awhile with search feature
• Simple, easy to find listing of programs available

Incentivized

• Not good for beginners as it requires deep understanding of networking and storage.
• Most of the good and required features are not available in free version.

Incentivized

• Forced updates occasionally have bad timing when ignored for too long
• Microsoft Edge Web Browser is a bit clunky
• The 3D desktop still needs some improvement

An all-purpose operating system for business or personal users. Overall, the OS is very user-friendly and intuitive, enabling even new users to quickly utilize the system. The same can be said about the apps within Windows. There is also good cross-functionality between applications, although the ease of use could be improved.

Incentivized

There were some things that can be found by other users on forums and Google and some things that were not.

Incentivized

support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain

Incentivized

MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.

Incentivized

Before swapping to FreeNAS, we'd been using plan old Linux servers running Samba and NFS with ZFS storage underneath. This worked really well for our requirements at the time but required a lot of administration when new versions came along, or new users had to be added or drives needed replacing, and so on. FreeNAS did away with 95% of that work and does a much better job too.

Incentivized

We selected Microsoft Windows because of the user friendly nature of it and a big factor is that other user never used macOS or Ubuntu so the productivity will decrease a lot because you have to explain a whole new OS. I always only recommend macOS or Ubuntu if you are a graphic designer of a developer. But for the day to day office work Microsoft Windows is the way to go.

Incentivized

• Low-Cost Network Attached Storage
• Provides additional network storage to support client & business operations
• FreeNAS secures our data using custom encryption keys

Incentivized

• As a a windows-based app, with a windows-using customer base, working in the environment is extremely helpful.
• Relatively easy to develop on, there is documentation and support widely available.
• VERY wide hardware compatibility, any replacement parts we need for our machines are easy to use.
• Windows updates frequently fail requiring our MSP or more often one of our customer support staff to intervene to get them running again.
• Poor performance and inefficient resource utilization requires frequent upgrades.
• Windows 10's service ending next year has required company-wide hardware upgrades due to the Windows 11's excessive requirements.

Incentivized