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Well, I finally made the time to finish reading Learning FreeNAS by Gary Sims, and I must say that I was very impressed with this book.  The simplicity of the name truly lends itself to the content of the book - simple, yet precise.  This title is packed solid from cover to cover with useful information for everyone from the beginner to the professional.

The content of the book is laid out in a very logical and intelligent manner, paving the way for easy navigation.  Many sections within this book appeal to the very novice user, such as a basic explanation of Network Attached Storage (NAS) and how it can benefit your organization.  The good news though, is that the author prefixes such content with a notification advising you that more advanced users can skip ahead to the next section.

Gary does a really great job at helping users plan their NAS implementation, using tried and tested industry formulas to help you get the most value for your money.  He also goes a long way to bring us up to speed on the best practices for managing network attached storage.  I was particularly impressed with the chapter on backing up both the data from your computers to the NAS, as well as backing up the NAS itself.

Once you get a little further into your reading, the content starts to get a little more focused on the FreeNAS product and how to use the interfaces provided.  Taking it one more step than I had anticipated, Gary devotes an entire chapter to troubleshooting FreeNAS.  For that reason, this copy of the book will be placed on the bookshelf in my server room as opposed to tucked away in the library.

I can honestly say that I learned a lot from this book, and before I read it I would have classified myself as an intermediate level NAS user.  While I am still an intermediate user, I definitely feel like I have added an extra notch to my knowledge belt.

For more info on Learning FreeNAS, visit the Learn FreeNAS website.  For information on the FreeNAS product, visit freenas.org.

To get your very own copy of this incredible book, you can visit the Packt Publishing online store or make a purchase from Amazon (Canada or US).

If you’d like to read a sample chapter from the book, check out my previous post Learning FreeNAS - The Book.