Today I will show you how to connect your FreeNAS server to Active Directory. For the basis of this tutorial I will use Small Business Server 2011 as my primary DNS server on the network and a NAS box running FreeNAS 8.
First thing we need to do is configure the appropriate DNS record in Active Directory so on your primary DNS server (SBS2011 in my case) open up the DNS Management Console. To do this go to:
Start – Administrative Tools – DNS (shown below)
Now we need to expand the dns zone (shown below) and then right click to add A New Host (A or AAAA) record.
Enter the hostname and ip address of your FreeNAS server (as shown below)
Then click add host and your FreeNAS server should now have an A record in DNS.
Now we need to access your FreeNAS server via the web interface so open up a browser and type the ip address of your FreeNAS server (as shown below).
We now have to add the ip address of the primary DNS server to the FreeNAS network configuration. To do this go to:
Network – Global Configuration (shown below)
Enter the ip address of the primary DNS server (in my case 10.0.0.199) into the Nameserver 1 row and then click ok.
Next we need to configure the Active Directory settings so go to:
Services – Active Directory Settings (as shown below)
This should bring up the next box.
You need to enter your specific details which are relevant to your domain. When you have finished click ok. This will take you back to the Services screen where you need to turn the Active Directory Service ON. Now restart the system.
Once restarted your FreeNAS server will be connected to your Active Directory domain and a computer account will be set up in Active Directory Users and Computers.
About the Author
Hi I’m Chris Wakefield the owner of ComTech IT Support. I provide Windows, Mac and Linux based IT Support to small businesses in Stirling, Alloa and Falkirk.
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The user should be an active directory user with administrative privileges.
The user used in the administrator field from the activedirectory dialogue box is a active directory user or a freenas local user,if it is the last, with which privileges?
If you’re having issues with getting freenas to sync with AD, chances are that the clock on the freenas system is off. Active Directory uses Kerberos for authentication and as such is very time sensitive. If your clocks are off by too much, you can’t authenticate.