Openfiler, a Linux distribution designed for building Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems, is being ported to CentOS, a distribution which itself is derived from Red Hat Linux. That means when the port is completed, Openfiler will be using the yum package management system.
The current version of Openfiler uses the Conary package management system, a system developed by rPath, Inc., a technology outfit based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The development of that version was at a standstill for a very long time, that at one point, users thought that development had ceased. And I had actually given up on it and moved to FreeNAS. Even when I wrote Network Attached Storage (NAS) distributions just last week, Openfiler was not even on the list.
But some good folks have revived the distribution, releasing a new stable version of the Conary edition in April of this year. That edition was Openfiler 2.99. With the announcement that the distribution is being ported to CentOS, that appears to be the final release of that line. When the CentOS-based edition is released, it will likely be Openfiler 3.0.
A test ISO installation image of the CentOS edition is already available for download. It is based on CentOS 6.4. Here are a few screen shots from a test installation that I prepared in a virtual environment. This one shows the boot menu.
The installer uses Anaconda version 13.21.195, a very old version of the Fedora systems installer.
Openfiler is supposed to come with a Web-based management interface, but it appears that for this initial CentOS port, that interface is not yet ready for use. Configuration is via the ncurses interface shown below.
If you would like to take it for spin, you may download it from here. You may also visit the projects website at Openfiler.com. The port to CentOS was announced here.
