FreeNAS 9.1 – LZ4 Compression

I recently upgraded to FreeNAS 9.1 once it was GA. I have always used compression on the volume that stores all of the virtual machines – instead of using DeDupe which requires considerably more RAM, and doesn’t appear to be as forgiving. That being said, the volume has been configured with LZJB compression and I was seeing about 40-50% compression ratios. Then I converted the volume to LZ4 compression. *Note: Modifying compression only effects new … Read more…

The Ultimate Windows Media Center Build and Troubleshooting Guide

After many years (and iterations) of Windows Media Center PCs, I have finally arrived to a place where the benefits outweigh the issues and I have full approval from the ‘Board’. Take a look at all of the previous posts here: http://blogs.serioustek.net/post/category/fine-tuning-media-center-7 We are now using HTPC Windows Media Center PCs on our Primary TVs and for once, everything is working perfectly, and there are ZERO ‘weird little issues’ that I have to explain away … Read more…

Intel NUC i5 HTPC Review

The Intel NUC looked appealing ever since I first saw it – it provides HD 4000 graphics, an i3 or i5 processor, an SSD, HDMI output, and 1Gb LAN all in a 4″ by 4″ by 1″ package that can even mount on the back of a monitor with a VESA mount. Here’s the Intel reference page: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/desktop-motherboards/nuc-i5.html When my son started crawling and pulling himself up on things, he became VERY interested in buttons and … Read more…