Managing storage infrastructure can be challenging, especially for those without deep command-line experience. The complexity of setup, risk of errors, and time-consuming tasks often make the process frustrating and inefficient.
Houston UI addresses these challenges as an open-source storage management tool built on the Cockpit Project. It simplifies storage administration with a user-friendly interface for configuring, managing, and scaling ZFS storage on Linux distributions like Rocky Linux, Proxmox, and Ubuntu.
With advanced ZFS features and seamless storage sharing options such as SMB, NFS, and iSCSI, Houston UI makes storage management accessible and efficient for both technical and non-technical users. Houston also enables exporting ZFS via these protocols and includes clustering functionality to deliver high-availability, SMB, NFS, and iSCSI for failover and load balancing, streamlining workflows and reducing barriers to effective infrastructure management.
Houston UI works directly with your 45Drives storage server, offering a simple and easy-to-use alternative to complicated command-line tools. Its tight integration with hardware makes even advanced setups straightforward, so you can optimize your storage system without needing specialized technical skills.
With Houston UI, you can handle tasks like assigning disks, creating storage pools, and fine-tuning performance—all from one central dashboard. Important details like disk health, performance metrics, and storage usage are clearly displayed, making it easy to keep your system running at its best.
Single Pane of Glass:
Single point of view for streamlined system management.
Open-Source Foundation:
Built on the Cockpit Project for a robust and transparent base.
ZFS Storage Management:
Intuitive UI for easy setup, monitoring, and administration.
Task Scheduler:
Automate tasks like snapshots, backups, scrubbing, and more
Built-In File Explorer:
Fully-featured file explorer to easily traverse and modify your file and folder structure.
Active Directory Integration:
Ability to join an Active Directory domain for seamless permission management.
Tightly-Integrated with 45Drives Hardware:
Seamless compatibility with hardware insights for optimal performance.
Network Management:
Comprehensive UI to configure network settings and enhance security.
Regular Updates:
Stay current with the latest module additions and improvements.
Virtual Machine Management:
Easily create and manage virtual machines.
Take a look at the screenshots below for a preview of Houston UI
The overview tab quickly gives you a view of which server you're accessing and its general status.
The 45Drives Disks tab gives you a view into your server's drive bays.
The Motherboard tab shows a live view of your server's motherboard.
The System tab is where you can see what model, chassis, serial number, motherboard and motherboard serial number are within your server.
The ZFS tab gives you control over ZFS management without using the command line.
The Identities Tab provides a clean and simple place to add more accounts to your server or view/modify your existing accounts, including group management.
The File Sharing tab provides you with a simplified management experience for Samba and NFS.
The Navigator functions similarly to any file explorer you've experienced, such as those in Windows or Mac.
The Networking tab allows you to see your server's current activity, showing you a live graph of the data your server sends and receives.
With Houston's Benchmarking tab, you can easily stress-test your servers.
Love the command line? In the Terminal tab you can run command line tool to your OS.
With the Storage Devices tab you can see how much your drives are working at a glance. It displays a live view of your devices (reading/writing)
Easily deploy Ceph from a guided module
In recent months, Houston UI has been updated with new features and modules, including ZFS and iSCSI, giving administrators enhanced control over their storage infrastructure.
To learn more about these updates, watch these videos where our technical experts provide an in-depth look.
45Drives delivers enterprise storage and virtualization solutions that combine the reliability, simplicity, and seamless integration of legacy vendors with the flexibility, innovation, and freedom of open-source technologies—free from the risks of vendor lock-in or project uncertainties.
Our modular, mass-custom approach ensures solutions that are highly tailored to your needs yet feel as effortless as off-the-shelf options. This unique model enables us to provide the convenience of a one-stop-shop and the assurance of a single point of accountability.
