OpenMediaVault has finally released the stable version of their distribution, OpenMediaVault 7.0, after almost two years since the formation of the last significant branch. This distribution allows for quick expansion of network storage, specifically NAS (Network-Attached Storage). The OpenMediaVault project was created in 2009 after a split from the FreeNAS developers, with the goal of transitioning the distribution to the Linux kernel and Debian package base. The OpenMediaVault images x86_64 can be downloaded from SourceForge (981 MB).
One of the priority areas for development in the OpenMediaVault distribution is the expansion of support for built-in devices and the creation of a flexible add-on system for installation. Unlike FreeNAS, the installation process has been redesigned to include tools for updating individual packages and a full-fledged installer where necessary components can be chosen during installation. This system eliminates the need to change the “firmware” for updates.
The Web interface of OpenMediaVault, written in PHP, stands out for its data loading using AJAX technology without page reloading (in contrast to FreeNAS Web interface written in Python using the Django framework). The interface includes functions for organizing shared data access, privilege separation (including ACL support), monitoring using SNMP (V1/2C/3), email notifications for system problems (including disk condition monitoring via S.M.A.R.T. and UPS monitoring).
Basic storage services provided by OpenMediaVault include SSH/SFTP, FTP, SMB/CIFS, DAAP, RSYNC client, Bittorrent, NFS, and TFTP client. Various file systems such as Ext3, Ext4, XFS, and JFS can be used. Additionally, the distribution supports software RAID creation using mdadm, and plugins are available for AFP support, ITUNES/DAAP server, ISCSI TARGET server, LVM, antivirus (CLAMAV).
Notable innovations in OpenMediaVault 7.0 include the update of the base to Debian 12, the introduction of unattended-upgrades package for automatic installation of updates and notifications about new versions, replacement of Cron-Apt with Unattended-Upgrades and Apticron, and the inclusion of APT-Listchanges package for sending statistics on automatically installed updates. Software RAID management (MDADM) has been separated into a dedicated plugin.