Do I have to able to write in power shell or in script in order to fully implement Truenas

[harridly]

Hello

Just before I go all out and buy all the components to build my nas with the truenas software do I have to be able to write in script or powershell as I am a bit at sea with using script and prefer to use the gui. Would I be able to get help with using script or would you recommend I do not use truenas I am coming from a windows base pc I can use windows dos but this truenas is something much different. If I can use the Gui no problem but if certain emplements require the use of being able to use the script then i would be all at sea. Advice needed before going all out on this nas build. Thank you to all who reply.

 

[Arwen]

TrueNAS Core or SCALE are not necessarily for beginners. However, scripting is NOT needed in general. Command line usage may be needed if you need to trouble shoot something in depth. Generally we, (the people in the forums), can give you the exact command, like zfs list -t all or such, to use.

If you have no experience in Unix, Linux or FreeBSD, you can still use TrueNAS but beware that if something goes wrong, you will need to end up learning more than you might have wanted. TrueNAS uses ZFS, which is different enough from everything that came before that people sometimes make mistakes configuring their NAS.


In Unix, (which applies to Linux and FreeBSD), a script is just a text file with commands in it. I have some 2 liner scripts that I needed for a cronjob. Now the power of scripting is combining the output from one command into the input of another. Or performing loops.

 

[harridly]

TrueNAS Core or SCALE are not necessarily for beginners. However, scripting is NOT needed in general. Command line usage may be needed if you need to trouble shoot something in depth. Generally we, (the people in the forums), can give you the exact command, like zfs list -t all or such, to use.

If you have no experience in Unix, Linux or FreeBSD, you can still use TrueNAS but beware that if something goes wrong, you will need to end up learning more than you might have wanted. TrueNAS uses ZFS, which is different enough from everything that came before that people sometimes make mistakes configuring their NAS.


In Unix, (which applies to Linux and FreeBSD), a script is just a text file with commands in it. I have some 2 liner scripts that I needed for a cronjob. Now the power of scripting is combining the output from one command into the input of another. Or performing loops.

Looks like thsi has killed my truenas home server as you say if things go pear shaped I would certainly be at a loss and would have not the foggiest of ideas as to what I am doing. I am glad I asked that particular question as no sense in delving into something I know literally nothing about. Thank you for the reply.

 

[Arwen]

@harridly - I understand. In someways a pre-packaged NAS is better for some people. Hope you find something that works well for you.


Sometimes I would rather see someone end up not selecting TrueNAS, if it saves them problems in the future. We, (the users of TrueNAS), like the flexibility and the power of ZFS, and accept the extra work it takes to make it reliable and safe for our data.

 

[harridly]

Well I dont mind the extra work as I have read quite a bit concerning truenas and have invested a lot of tiem reading up until now, if I can get some help here on the forums then there should not be a problem, I cant see it being that difficult myself if I am being totally honest, or I would nto even consider it it was just the script kind of threw me.

I will downlaod truenas and run with it, nothing ventured nothing gained, give it a whirl so to speak. If I did go with Synology or Qnap and those boxes go bad then you have to replace the whole nas box by rebuying it again that is an expense I can do without hopefully the only component I will need to replace on my home build nas box is a case fan or a hard drive.

Thank you for the reply.

 

[Arwen]

Try TrueNAS in a VM, (though not for "production"). It's a great way to learn some of the details. Plus, figure out some more questions to ask. You can even make a check list of things you think you need, and how to find them on the GUI.

 

[pschatz100]

As a non-technical person who has been using FreeNAS and TrueNAS for a long time, here is my 2¢...

I got involved with FreeNAS many years ago because I wanted to learn about Linux. At the time, I didn't even know there was a difference between Linux and FreeBSD. I followed documentation and used recommended hardware for my system. I built a basic system to use as a file server and loaded data to it. I made certain I was comfortable with my setup before loading critical and irreplaceable data. Eventually, I became interested in Jails and added Plex and some other capabilities.

The key to all of this was 1) I wanted to learn something new, 2) I was patient and worked methodically to configure my system using hardware that I knew would work OK, and 3) I did not try to do anything fancy - just stuck to the basics until I had a better understanding of the system and tools at my disposal. Support on the forum is excellent as long as you make an effort to find information yourself and respect the folks who attemp to help you.

Good luck.

 

[harridly]

As a non-technical person who has been using FreeNAS and TrueNAS for a long time, here is my 2¢...

I got involved with FreeNAS many years ago because I wanted to learn about Linux. At the time, I didn't even know there was a difference between Linux and FreeBSD. I followed documentation and used recommended hardware for my system. I built a basic system to use as a file server and loaded data to it. I made certain I was comfortable with my setup before loading critical and irreplaceable data. Eventually, I became interested in Jails and added Plex and some other capabilities.

The key to all of this was 1) I wanted to learn something new, 2) I was patient and worked methodically to configure my system using hardware that I knew would work OK, and 3) I did not try to do anything fancy - just stuck to the basics until I had a better understanding of the system and tools at my disposal. Support on the forum is excellent as long as you make an effort to find information yourself and respect the folks who attemp to help you.

Good luck.

Well thank you for your words of wisdom. Yes indeed I have been learning quietly in the background I doubt I would buy a nas as a nas is to my mind a total waste of money when you understand the components nas manufacturers install into their nas boxes. So with that knowledge in mind I will build my nas server play about with it as you say before committing critical data to it nothing fancy the simpler the better hopefully all will go swimmingly. I understand if I need help well it is here on the forums I have been reading a lot of forums to understand what it is I will be doing and the best practice for future disc upgrade path so I will create a pool and add to that pool to see the end result delete the pool and create a new pool so on and so forth.

Tell me have you ever written in script or do you stick exclusively to the GUI. Thank you for replying by the way.

 

[pschatz100]

I stick to the GUI as much as possible. For external backups and jail updates, I run jobs from the Shell.

I don't like running scripts. I document the jobs I want to perform and save the steps to a file, from which I can copy and paste the commands to the Shell. I don't do anything particularly complicated.