Enabling WireGuard

WireGuard is a popular option in the VPN marketplace due to its speed, simplicity, and modern cryptography standards. Starting with FreeNAS version 11.3-RC1 and continuing through TrueNAS 12.0, it is possible to connect your NAS directly to a WireGuard network with a few easy steps.

Go to System > Tunables > Add and use these settings to enable the service:

• Variable = wireguard_enable
• Value = YES
• Type = rc.conf

Next, create another tunable to define the networking interface:

• Variable = wireguard_interfaces
• Value = wg0
• Type = rc.conf

When finished, TrueNAS sets and enables the two variables.

Next, create a post-init script that places the WireGuard config in the correct location at startup.

Go to Tasks > Init/Shutdown Scripts and click Add. Configure the script to load the WireGuard .conf file each time the system boots:

• Type = Command
• Command = mkdir -p /usr/local/etc/wireguard && cp /root/wg0.conf /usr/local/etc/wireguard/wg0.conf && /usr/local/etc/rc.d/wireguard start
• When = Post Init

You can configure the /root/wg0.conf file and apply a WireGuard configuration to attach to whatever WireGuard network you define. It can be a single point-to-point to anything running WireGuard or even use full routing. Example use cases are:

• Access data on a NAS from your Remote Laptop
• Linking NAS to NAS for replication
• Attaching a managed NAS to a remote network
• Access to your NAS from your smartphone

Now create the /root/wg0.conf with the specific WireGuard configuration to apply at boot. These file settings depend on your specific networking environment and requirements, which is beyond the scope of this article.

There are quickstart guides and tutorials available online as well as the built-in wg-quick manpage.

After you have a valid /root/wg0.conf, rebooting the system brings up the WireGuard interface with a wg0 device in the output of ifconfig.