OpenMediaVault

OpenMediaVault (OMV) is a free Linux distribution designed for network-attached storage (NAS).^[3][4] The project's lead developer is Volker Theile, who instituted it in 2009. OMV is based on the Debian operating system, and is licensed through the GNU General Public License v3.^[5]

OpenMediaVault

Web interface (2025)
Developer	Volker Theile
Written in	Web interface: PHP, JavaScript (Ext JS)
OS family	Unix-like
Working state	Current
Source model	Open source
Initial release	17 October 2011; 13 years ago (2011-10-17)
Latest release	7.7.7[1]  / 9 May 2025; 7 days ago (9 May 2025)
Repository	github.com/openmediavault/openmediavault/
Marketing target	Home user Small office / home office
Available in	English, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian[2]
Update method	APT
Package manager	dpkg
Platforms	IA-32 x86-64 ARM
Kernel type	Monolithic (Linux)
Userland	GNU
Default user interface	Web-based
License	Free software (GPL v3)
Preceded by	FreeNAS v0.7
Official website	www.openmediavault.org

Background

By the end of 2009, Volker Theile was the only active developer of FreeNAS, a NAS operating system that Olivier Cochard-Labbé started developing from m0n0wall in 2005.^[6][7][8] m0n0wall is a variation of the FreeBSD operating system, and Theile decided he wanted to rewrite FreeNAS for Linux. The project team had known for months that FreeNAS needed a major rewrite in order to support crucial features.^[7] Since Cochard-Labbé preferred to stay with a FreeBSD-based system, he and Theile agreed that Theile would develop his Linux version under a different name;^[6] that name was initially coreNAS, but within a matter of days Theile discarded it in favour of OpenMediaVault.^[8]

Technical design

Theile chose Debian because the large number of programs in its package management system meant that he wouldn't have to spend time repackaging software himself.^[9] OpenMediaVault makes a few changes to the Debian operating system. It provides a Web-based user interface for administration and customisation, and a plug-in API for implementing new features. One can install plug-ins through the Web interface.

Features

• Multi-language, Web-based graphical user interface^[10]
• Protocols: CIFS (via Samba), FTP, NFS (versions 3 and 4), SSH, rsync, iSCSI, AFP and TFTP
• Software-RAID (levels 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, and 10, plus JBOD)
• Monitoring: Syslog, Watchdog, S.M.A.R.T., SNMP (v1, 2c, and 3) (read-only)
• Statistic reports via e-mail
• Statistic graphs for the CPU-workload, LAN transfer rates, hard disk usage and RAM allocation
• GPT/EFI partitioning >2 TByte possible
• File systems: ext2, ext3, ext4, Btrfs, XFS, JFS, NTFS, FAT32
• Quota
• User and group management
• Access controls via ACL
• Link aggregation bonding, Wake-on-LAN
• Plug-in system

Plug-ins

By default, OpenMediaVault comes with a limited set of plug-ins. These include:

• AirPlay – Stream music wirelessly to your iPod/iPad/iPhone/iTunes.
• ClamAV – Antivirus software^[11]
• Diskstats – Complementary plugin to extend system statistics collection by adding I/O statistic graphs.
• Digital Audio Access Protocol (DAAP) – provides audio files in a local network (also for iTunes)
• FileBrowser – File managing interface.
• FTP – Provides a modular FTP/SFTP/FTPS server.
• Logical Volume Manager – enables the possibility to create and administrate dynamic partitions
• Network UPS Tools, to support the use of an uninterruptible power supply
• OneDrive – Synchronizing a shared folder with Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage.
• PhotoPrism – AI-powered app for browsing, organizing & sharing your photo collection.
• Podman – A tool for managing containers and images, volumes mounted into those containers, and pods made from groups of containers.
• S3 – MinIO based high-performance, S3 compatible object storage.
• ShareRootFs – Provides shared directories on root file system.
• SNMP
• TFTP
• USB Backup – Allows (automatic) backups to external USB hard disks
• WeTTY – Terminal access in browser over HTTP/HTTPS.

Third-party plug-ins

Additional plug-ins are available via additional package repositories. The majority of those Plug-ins are developed by a group called OpenMediaVault Plugin Developers.^[12] The status of all Plug-ins can be viewed online.^[13] In October 2014 there were around 30 plugins available. In June 2015 there were more than 70 stable plug-ins available.

Some of the software that is controllable via third-party plug-ins are:^[14]

• File synchronization: BitTorrent Sync and Syncthing
• Calibre – e-book manager
• Backup: Borg, Clonezilla, duplicati, rsnapshot and SystemRescueCD
• CUPS – print server
• Docker
• eXtplorer – Web-based file manager
• Greyhole, Union mount, and SnapRAID
• KVM
• Let's Encrypt
• Database servers: MySQL / MariaDB and PostgreSQL
• Nginx – Web server
• virtual private networking: OpenVPN and WireGuard
• Media servers: minidlna, Plex and Subsonic
• Download managers: pyLoad and JDownloader
• RDP
• Roundcube – Web-based mail client
• SYSLINUX – Preboot Execution Environment (PXE)
• Usenet download managers: Sickbeard, SABnzdb, Headphones, Couch Potato
• Transmission – a BitTorrent client
• Video Disk Recorder
• VirtualBox – virtual machine host
• WebDAV
• WordPress – blog software
• ZFS – an advanced file system
• and many more

Minimum System requirements

• Any Architecture/hardware^[15][16] that is supported by Debian
• 1 GiB RAM
• 4 GiB hard drive, solid-state drive, or USB flash drive with static wear leveling support for the OS.
• 1 hard drive, solid-state drive, or USB flash drive for storing user data

Release history

For each OpenMediaVault release, Theile chooses a project code name from Frank Herbert's Dune novels.^[17]

Version	Name	Release Date	EOL Date	Base	Notes
Old version, not maintained: 0.2	Ix	2011-10-17[18]	?	Debian 6	Named for the planet Ix.
Old version, not maintained: 0.3	Omnius	2012-04-18[19]	2012-12-30[20]		Introduced multi-language web interface and graphical user prompt for rights administration via Access Control List. The release is named for Omnius, a sentient computer network in the Legends of Dune trilogy.
Old version, not maintained: 0.4	Fedaykin	2012-09-21[21][22]	2013-12-09[23]		Named for the Fedaykin commandos of the Fremen people.
Old version, not maintained: 0.5	Sardaukar	2013-08-25[24]	?		Revised API renders v0.4 plugins incompatible.[25]
Old version, not maintained: 1.0	Kralizec	2014-09-15[26]	2015-12-26[27]	Debian 7	Improves support for weaker systems; adds a dashboard with support for widgets; improved infrastructure for plug-ins. This release is named for Kralizec, a battle predicted to occur at the end of the universe.
Old version, not maintained: 2.0	Stone burner	2015-06-29[28][29]	2017-12-06[30]		Sencha ExtJS 5.1.1 Framework for the WebGUI; revised GUI supports configuration of WiFi, VLAN, et al. This release is named for the stone burner, a nuclear weapon held by House Atreides.
Old version, not maintained: 3.0	Erasmus[31]	2017-06-13	2018-07-09[32]	Debian 8	Named for the robot Erasmus.
Old version, not maintained: 4.0	Arrakis[33]	2018-05-08	2020-06-30[34]	Debian 9	Named for the planet Dune.
Old version, not maintained: 5.0[35]	Usul[36]	2020-03-30	2022-06-30[37]	Debian 10	Named for the secret name of Paul Atreides (Usul) in Dune.
Old version, not maintained: 6.0[38]	Shaitan	2022-05-04[39]	2024-07-31	Debian 11	Named for the Fremen term for demon and later to the transformed God Emperor Leto Atreides II.
Latest version: 7.0	Sandworm	2024-03-03[40]	?	Debian 12	Named for the sandworm creature.
Legend: Old version, not maintained Old version, still maintained Latest version Latest preview version Future version

See also

• Direct Attached Storage (DAS)
• Storage Area Network (SAN)
• TrueNAS (formerly FreeNAS) - the FreeBSD-based NAS from which OpenMediaVault was originally forked
• NexentaOS - open source OS and enterprise class NAS with kernel based ZFS
• Openfiler - CentOS-based NAS operating system
• XigmaNAS - another FreeBSD-based NAS operating system, XigmaNAS is a continuation of the original FreeNAS code which was developed between 2005 and late 2011