Let my TrueNAS box sit unused for months because of a problem

[Sparkey]

I could not, no matter what, connect to it from a Windows computer. Linux connected just fine but not Windows. I came here for help and found none. Yesterday I decided to dump TrueNAS and go back to Windows but before I did I checked for updates just in case this was a problem that was fixed. I happened to notice the train was a drop down, I never noticed this before. I then selected "Cobia" and upgraded. After the upgrade, I could magically connect from all my Windows computers without issues.
Due to my ignorance concerning how upgrades work I spent countless hours trying to get this to work to no avail. I later found that this problem was caused by an update. How strange that a NAS OS would suddenly break due to an update that rendered the OS useless because it could not perform the one function for which it was designed.
Equally as strange is that no one here was able to point out the simple fix.

Moving forward I've decided to never update unless there is a compelling reason to do so and then only after much research.

I'll leave you guys alone now. Thanks

 

[artlessknave]

Truenas scale is beta. Expect bugs. They don't call it beta but it is.

Reliable storage is truenas core.

 

[Bainnor]

I could not, no matter what, connect to it from a Windows computer. Linux connected just fine but not Windows. I came here for help and found none.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by this. Someone requested additional information from you on your January 17 post, but you never replied and never posted your hardware to help diagnose the issue.

Due to my ignorance concerning how upgrades work I spent countless hours trying to get this to work to no avail. I later found that this problem was caused by an update. How strange that a NAS OS would suddenly break due to an update that rendered the OS useless because it could not perform the one function for which

Truenas release notes are available, which helpfully mention new features, known bugs with the estimated version a fix is expected, as well as notification of any upcoming service removals due to various reasons (upstream discontinuations, security issues, etc). The docs also helpfully tell you how to upgrade your software, going so far as to offer links to download the iso to directly reinstall if you prefer not to do the upgrade within the software.

While certainly frustrating to have a bug be introduced after an upgrade, it would be wise to use the experience to build the expectation to check the patch notes before any upgrade, and maybe even wait a couple weeks to see the feedback from early adopters. I recall a certain update to Windows that killed the service stack, which prevented Windows Update from functioning at all. Bugs happen, even from trillion dollar companies.

Moving forward I've decided to never update unless there is a compelling reason to do so and then only after much research.

Unless there's a critical security issue, a new feature that you specifically need, or a bug fix to a problem you're having, updating shouldn't really be urgent. However, at least with TrueNas, it's fairly easy to roll back to your previous boot environment, especially if you follow best practices and save your configuration file before any updates and don't update any pool features until you're certain your system is stable and won't need to roll back. Simply select the old boot environment from the system settings menu, or do a fresh install and import your config file.

I'll leave you guys alone now. Thanks

I'm sorry your experience here has not met your expectations, but do recall that the people who help here are doing so on a volunteer basis. They're willing to help, but if people aren't willing to take the time to put in some basic effort, it becomes less of an interesting hobby and more of an 'unpaid work' situation. Keep in mind that you can also report a bug if you're having an issue with no solution.

I recall seeing your name a few times in various threads, but recall little mention of issues. I hope you're able to resolve any problems, and that you're doing well.

 

[Sparkey]

At the time of my first post I was thoroughly frustrated and angry. I did not know at the time that the problem was caused by an update. I have always been one to keep my systems up to date but have learned from this experience that that's not always a good idea. If someone here had mentioned the update breaking Windows connectivity I would have at least headed in the right direction. Maybe no one knew at the time, I don't know. Anyways, the problem is fixed and I've learned a couple of things. First, don't update TrueNAS for the sake of updating, wait until there's a compelling reason to do so. Second, always read the release notes before updating.
As I understand it, the upgrade to Cobia cannot be rolled back, this OK since I'm not having any more issues.

Networking has always been my Achilles heel when working with TrueNAS. Seems to me it and permissions is overly complicated, convoluted and difficult to get working in the first place. Every single time I have done a fresh install of TrueNAS I have struggled with it. Well, specifically with Windows connectivity, don't remember ever having a problem with Linux. Unfortunately I still need Windows for programs that are Windows only. Hopefully this will change in the future. Dumping Windows and Microsoft completely has always been a distant dream.