no active internet connection - how to be notified in case of errors?

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264
Hello,

I have a build without an active internet connection (on purpose).

What options do I have to get a messge in case of system errors, i.e. pool degradation?

I can think of:

  • periodical manuel login into the web interface / TrueNAS dashboard
  • SNMP
  • ...
 

Spearfoot

He of the long foot
Moderator
Joined
May 13, 2015
Messages
2,478
We have a secure LAN at work where we run several FreeNAS servers. We configured the free Postfix email server on a virtual machine booting CentOS (also free). The FreeNAS servers send status email messages to the Postfix server and we check these emails from other Windows-based machines on the secure LAN using Outlook.
 

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264
Hello @Spearfoot,

thank you for sharing the setup.

What I was thinking of is something App-alicious, like a status forwarding from the TrueNAS dashboard itself.

That might be an idea for iXsystems
 

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264

Arwen

MVP
Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
3,611
Hello @Spearfoot,

thank you for sharing the setup.

What I was thinking of is something App-alicious, like a status forwarding from the TrueNAS dashboard itself.

That might be an idea for iXsystems
The people at iXsystems have a remote dashboard program called True Command. It has it's own dedicated forum:
iXsystems - Forum - TrueCommand
That may not be what you are looking for, but you need to remember, TrueNAS Core and the community version of TrueNAS SCALE are in essence test versions of their Enterprise products. So, any "forwarding of dashboard" feature should consider how it could be used with Enterprise products, in data centers by SysAdmins.

If you still want to pursue something, then open a Jira ticket for the feature request. Then publish the ticket number here with more details of what you are asking. Forum members can review and if they like it, "vote" on that Jira ticket.
 

John Doe

Guru
Joined
Aug 16, 2011
Messages
633
i recommend an air compressor hooked to a trainhorn with an air valve, controlled by an SNMP card, just to make sure you really dont miss it.
A boring alternative could be a syslog server
 

Patrick M. Hausen

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
7,776
Seriously, cellphone messaging? Here's a nice piece of software that can easily be integrated with postfix or Sendmail to generate a self-hosted messaging gateway:

Cell modem or old-fashioned phone with serial connection required, of course. Otherwise you could just send mail out to the Internet.
 

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264
Would Zabbix be of use?

 

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264
Is there a plugin / jail available for the mail server?

My pool got degraded recently, and I only got notice of this by checking manually.
 

Patrick M. Hausen

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
7,776
Is there a plugin / jail available for the mail server?
What do you mean? You can configure the mail server to use for sending mail in TrueNAS. Do you want to run a mail server on the NAS? What good would that be without an outgoing Internet connection?

Anyway, every standard jail you create, e.g. FreeBSD 12.2, contains a mail server, that you just need to activate.

What precisely do you have in mind?
 

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264
@Patrick M. Hausen

My goal is to have an automated message sent without using the internet in the first place. This message is received in my home network by different clients.

Easiest would be an E-Mail, stating that the TN host / server needs attention, like mentioned degraded pool.

"Do you want to run a mail server on the NAS?"

As mentioned here:


a mail server was set up on the TN host; however imho I find that overkill just for the purpose of sending out a message. Is there a way to achieve this from the current TN Core installation which is not connected to the internet?


Re: SNMP - I would have to start from scratch - MIB Browser on macOS doesn't seem the way to go for me.

I also have found in TN Core the following services - however I would need to check if they can be used without active internet connection:

System > Alert Services
Slack, PagerDuty, AWS, InfluxDB, Mattermost, OpsGenie, VictorOps

Zabbix sounded also a way to go, but then again all I need is an Email message as the most simple form of communication meaning that an EMail client is already available on the machines I am using to check / receive such messages.
 

Patrick M. Hausen

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
7,776
So create a standard jail. That comes with Sendmail, to which TrueNAS can send via SMTP, then pkg install dovecot which delivers mail to clients via POP3 or IMAP ... trivial to configure, although you won't get a mail when the jail is not running.
 

flashdrive

Patron
Joined
Apr 2, 2021
Messages
264
I see - TN Core itself does not have an E-mail / Sendmail server out of the box to utilize?
 

jgreco

Resident Grinch
Joined
May 29, 2011
Messages
18,680
I see - TN Core itself does not have an E-mail / Sendmail server out of the box to utilize?

No. It also doesn't have a web server, a Usenet server, an (accessible) NTP server, a Jabber server, a Plex server, or any other servers that aren't clearly related to fileservice. You are expected to be able to add these things as services, either in jails or in VM's, if you wish to have them.

It is better to do one thing and do it swimmingly well than it is to try to be a jack of all trades.
 

sretalla

Powered by Neutrality
Moderator
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
9,700
I see - TN Core itself does not have an E-mail / Sendmail server out of the box to utilize?
Well... System | Alert Services | Email... would seem to indicate that it does...

And it has built-in monitoring of a number of things (controlled from System | Alert Settings)... if all you're doing is putting in a jail what's already there (and I should point out that SNMP is there too), you're just reinventing a wheel and still have the problem of no internet connection.
 

Patrick M. Hausen

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
7,776
I haven't checked, possibly there is, because it is part of FreeBSD. But Sendmail does the SMTP part, only. You still need an IMAP server to get the mails to some email client. And you cannot install additional standard packages on TrueNAS so a jail is the way to go.

But the again ... so you have this isolated NAS running 24x7 and you have a desktop system also running 24x7 that continuously polls email ... and then what? A human looking at the inbox 24x7? That same person could watch the NAS web UI ...

I still have difficulties to understand the scenario.
 

Patrick M. Hausen

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
7,776
Well... System | Alert Services | Email... would seem to indicate that it does..
That does not mean it is running a mail server, only that it can send mail to a mail server.
 

sretalla

Powered by Neutrality
Moderator
Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
9,700
That does not mean it is running a mail server, only that it can send mail to a mail server.
The question was asking if it had sendmail... it does.

But you're right... if the idea is to keep the output somewhere (which I would suggest must be somewhere not on the potentially failing box), then a mail server is needed as a target for sendmail.
 

Patrick M. Hausen

Hall of Famer
Joined
Nov 25, 2013
Messages
7,776
Guessed as much, because it is FreeBSD. How do you enable Sendmail in a supported way? How do you change the configuration? And then how do you get the mail with e.g. Thunderbird?
 
Top