General

What is SoftNAS?

SoftNAS is a hybrid cloud data integration product, combining a software-defined, enterprise-class NAS virtual storage appliance, backups and data movement; and data integration/replication for IT to manage and control data centrally. Customers save time and money while increasing efficiency. 

What is the latest version of SoftNAS?

The latest major release of SoftNAS is SoftNAS 5.  For the latest release number see Release Notes. There you will find notes on the latest release, and any fixes or improvements to the product.

What platforms does SoftNAS support? 

SoftNAS supports Cloud deployment on AWS and Azure, and on-premise deployment via VMware. 

Moving to SoftNAS 5 FAQ

Buurst is excited about our SoftNAS 5 release and we think you will be too. To help you understand the value and key points of moving from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5, we have created this SoftNAS 5 FAQ to quickly get you the information you need to help with your move to SoftNAS 5.

What’s new in SoftNAS 5?

For a more comprehensive list, please see the SoftNAS Release Notes

• SoftNAS 5 is now running CentOS 8.2
• SoftNAS 5 is now running a newer kernel
• SoftNAS 5 has an updated Samba server for CIFS/SMB
• Enhanced performance

What are the new SoftNAS 5 updates important to me?

• CentOS 8.2: Previous versions of SoftNAS used CentOS 6, which has reached end of support. Thus, CVE and other fixes to CentOS 6 are no longer being provided. CentOS 8.2 is supported and provides the ability to obtain CentOS updates and patches allowing for better support of your SoftNAS environment.

• New kernel and Samba: Moving to CentOS 6 also allowed us to use new versions of the kernel and Samba. As a result of the newer components, and a few other modifications we made, we are seeing measurable performance gains in SoftNAS 5. In certain scenarios with the new Samba, we have seen a specific benchmark that achieved a 60% gain in performance. While you may not see this level of improvement for every scenario, we do see measurable improvements across the board in our SoftNAS 4 vs SoftNAS 5 benchmarks. 

• Also note that moving to SoftNAS 5 now will help ensure that you are still within the Buurst End of Support policies. The official End of Support for SoftNAS 4, by policy, is scheduled for January 2022.

Is 1-click upgrade from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5 supported?

• No, 1-click upgrade from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5 is not supported. Due to the changes in SoftNAS 5 with the new CentOS Linux, you will not be able to use 1-click upgrades.

Is moving from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5 hard to do?

• Not at all, with the assistance of Buurst Support, moving from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5 is a straightforward process and can usually be completed in less than 30 minutes. There is an automated migration tool that will make this a smooth transition, including HA pairs.

What is the process to move from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5?

• To move from SoftNAS 4 to SoftNAS 5, the first step is to open a ticket with our Buurst Support team to plan and schedule time to have them assist you with your move. The Support team is here to help you ensure a quick and successful move to SoftNAS 5.

• The Buurst Support team has a simple-to-use tool to automate the move to SoftNAS 5 that is based on years of experience with manually performing such migrations to new SoftNAS instances and VMs.

• The process is straight forward using the tool:
  
  
  • Schedule a maintenance window to ensure all activity to the existing SoftNAS servers is quiesced. The tool we use will also double-check that the system is in a state ready to move to SoftNAS.
    
    
  • Once the existing SoftNAS 4 systems are quiesced, the disk devices attached to SoftNAS 4 systems will be detached.
    
    
  • New SoftNAS 5 systems will be started in the cloud and the configuration data from the SoftNAS 4 systems will be moved to the new SoftNAS 5 systems.
    
    
  • The detached disk devices will be attached to the new SoftNAS 5 systems (no manual copy of the data to new storage devices is required. It is rather a detachment of disk devices from SoftNAS 4 and attachment of the same disk devices to SoftNAS 5.
    
    
  • If SoftNAS was running in an HA environment, the HA configuration is re-established on the new SoftNAS 5 environment, including moving the virtual IP, so existing NFS and CIFS mount point continuity is maintained with no unmount/remount required by clients.
    
    
  • All the details of the process will be explained to you by our Buurst Support team to ensure you clearly understand the process in the planning phase of the effort.

What is involved to complete the move to SoftNAS 5?

• First, please contact Buurst Support. They will work alongside you to ensure you have a frictionless experience.

Why should I move to SoftNAS 5?

There are several reasons to move off the older versions of SoftNAS and on to SoftNAS 5 including:

• Performance improvements of up to 60% have been benchmarked for certain workflows
• Azure OMS and OMS Azure Extensions are now supported
• Improved baseline security
• Upgrade process improvements that no longer checks and interrupts the process based on SnapReplicate version differences on paired instances
• Samba updated to version 4.12.10-15
• Linux version change from CentOS 6.9 to CentOS 8.2 ensures security and other Linux fixes continue to flow normally as expected.

How do I perform a move from an earlier version to SoftNAS 5?

• You need to contact Buurst Support to perform the move to ensure it is successful. They will work alongside you to complete the move.  In the event something arises, Buurst support will be there to address it.

If an outage/maintenance window is required, what is the anticipated length of time needed to accomplish this?

• Most moves to SoftNAS 5 take less than 30 minutes to complete. Buurst Support will be able to provide additional guidance specific to your configuration.

What if something goes wrong with the move, can I get back to my original SoftNAS deployment and data?

• Yes, because new SoftNAS 5 instances are created, and the actual disk devices are moved and connected to them, the original SoftNAS instances/VMs still exist and in the event a surprise issue arises, the disk devices can be easily moved back and reset back to their original configuration.

Why do I need to contact support to upgrade to SoftNAS 5?

• Buurst wants to make sure everyone that is moving from SoftNAS 4 to 5 has a smooth transition. Buurst Support will help to ensure all your specific configuration and system states are migrated correctly.

Will Buurst continue to support SoftNAS 4.x products?

• Buurst supports up to 2 major releases back.  However, with the retirement of the CentOS 6 distribution, we recommend everyone move to the SoftNAS 5 release for the later, supported version of CentOS, and the related patch and CVE fixes that come with it.

Will Buurst fix CVEs, security problems, bugs, or other issues in the CentOS 6 part of SoftNAS 4.x products?

• It depends, we can support SoftNAS specific bugs and other issues, however due to the retirement of CentOS 6 CVEs specific to the underlying Linux OS cannot be addressed. Therefore, we recommend everyone move to SoftNAS 5 as soon as practical.
  
  

Will Buurst add new features to SoftNAS 4.x products?

• No, all new feature development will be focused solely on SoftNAS 5.

What are best practices for migrating from SoftNAS v4.x to v5.x to ensure NO data loss and minimum downtime?

• Contact Buurst Support and they will work with you to ensure the migration is completed in the minimum amount of time and ensure the data transferred is intact.

Will I need to reinstall 3^rd party apps currently installed on v4.4.5 like Cloudberry Backup for Linux, CarbonBlack endpoint etc. and if so, will CentOS versions install on your new kernel?

• Yes, as with any new server deployment, this is a standard process that needs to be performed. These applications should not have any installation issues, provided they support and are supported by CentOS 8.

I have over 200TB of pool data being replicated as part of my HA pair configuration. Will I have to re-seed from the beginning after an upgrade or will the system recognize the previous SnapReplication status of my pools?

• No, please work with Buurst Support to ensure replication states are maintained. You will not have to re-seed from scratch after the SoftNAS 5 move.

Are my IP addresses retained?

• No, your instance/VM IP addresses will change with the move to SoftNAS 5.
• Yes, your Virtual IP (VIP) addresses will remain the same.
• Buurst Best Practice recommends using DNS instead of using direct IP access.

What about Active Directory?  Do I have to do any else to ensure the volumes are available?

• Yes, any time you deploy a new SoftNAS instance/VM you will have to join that new computer to the Active Directory Domain from a security administration perspective.