TrueNAS SCALE Version Documentation
This content follows the TrueNAS SCALE 23.10 (Cobia) releases. Use the Product and Version selectors above to view content specific to different TrueNAS software or major version.
Configuring SCALE Using the UI
15 minute read.
Last Modified 2024-03-19 08:38 EDTTrueNAS Enterprise
iXsystems TrueNAS Enterprise customers should contact iXsystems Support when their systems arrive to receive additional guidance on their next steps.
All TrueNAS SCALE users should follow these instructions to complete their initial system set up and configuration.
Use the information mentioned in the installation preparation instructions overview article for your SCALE installation type (Enterprise, non-Enterprise,or home use) to configure your network, SMTP, or directory service settings.
Starting with SCALE Bluefin 22.12.0, root account logins are deprecated for security hardening and to comply with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). All TrueNAS users should create a local administrator account with all required permissions and begin using it to access TrueNAS. When the root user password is disabled, only an administrative user account can log in to the TrueNAS web interface.
TrueNAS SCALE plans to permanently disable root account access in a future release.
After a fresh install from an
TrueNAS SCALE Enterprise customers should contact iXsystems support to obtain license information for their TrueNAS system. To apply the license information, go to the System Settings > General screen and use the Update License option on the Support widget (system information card).
TrueNAS SCALE Enterprise customers with Silver or Gold Coverage support contracts have the option to configure proactive support.
Customers with appropriate support contracts can configure Proactive Support after they apply their system license, and after acknowledging and signing the End User License Agreement (EULA).
The Support widget on the System Settings > General screen displays the Proactive Support option after you enter your system license.
After installing the SCALE
TrueNAS uses DHCP to assign the IP address required to access the SCALE UI and displays it on the Console Setup Menu screen, and it sets the host name to truenas.
If you do not plan to use the DHCP-assigned network addresses provided by SCALE, identify your host and domain names, the static or fixed IP addresses you plan to assign to your network interface card(s), the default gateway, subnet mask(s), and the DNS name servers in your network.
All other users should have their network information ready before starting to configure network settings. This makes the process go faster and reduces the risk of issues when you configure SCALE.For Enterprise systems, have your network information ready to provide iXsystems Support when they guide you through your configuration.
We recommend that only experienced administrators familiar with network configuration and the Console setup menu use it and that less experienced and knowledgeable system administrators use the SCALE UI to configure your network interfaces and other network configuration settings. The TrueNAS SCALE UI includes safety measures to prevent you from completely disrupting network connectivity for your TrueNAS SCALE if you make a mistake with network interface settings.
If you are unfamiliar with network services, devices, or configurations, you can find more information here to help guide you through this important and required configuration area.
You must disable failover in the UI on SCALE Enterprise HA systems to add or change any network setting. Complete network changes and test them, then re-enable failover.
Multiple interfaces connected to a single TrueNAS system cannot be members of the same subnet.
You can combine multiple interfaces with Link Aggregation (LAGG) or a Network Bridge. Alternatively, you can assign multiple static IP addresses to a single interface by configuring aliases.
If your system includes more than one network interface card (NIC) connected to your internal network (wired to your router or Internet access point), you can add an interface in SCALE. DHCP is available for only a single interface; any other physical interfaces must be configured with static IP addresses.
You can also configure virtual network interfaces such as a bridge, link aggregate (LAGG), or virtual LAN (VLAN) interface.
You can use either the Console Setup Menu or SCALE UI to configure network interfaces. We recommend using the web UI to add or change network interfaces or aliases, set up link aggregate LAGG or virtual LAN VLAN interfaces, change or configure global network settings, or set up static IP addresses on the Network screen.
Static IP addresses and aliases provide different support for various network applications.
You can configure a network interface with a static IP or add an alias IP address on the same screen in the SCALE UI. For more information on when to use an alias or a static IP address, see Managing Interfaces.SCALE Enterprise HA systems use a virtual IP (VIP) to maintain access to the UI even if the system fails over to the standby controller. This VIP address might experience a minor blip at failover, but you do not need to log in with the standby controller IP address to gain access to the UI after a failover.
TrueNAS SCALE requires at least one storage pool. We recommend creating the required pool and then planning the rest of your storage needs before you move on to adding sharing, container applications, virtual machines, or begin storing data. When planning your data storage, consider the type of data sharing you want to do, any container applications you might want to deploy, and how you want to organize stored data.
The storage creation process begins with creating a pool and then adding the datasets or zvols as needed. Creating your initial storage is explained here.
SCALE assigns the root parent dataset of the first created pool as the system dataset. If your system has enough disks to add more pools, you can change the system dataset to a different root parent dataset for another pool.
After setting up your system storage, you can configure data sharing using one of the sharing protocols available in SCALE.
For more information on configuring data sharing and the three built-in share types available in SCALE:
| Share Type | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SMB shares | Used for Windows shares and also to set up deprecated AFP sharing. |
| NFS shares | Used for Linux-based shares. |
| iSCSI shares | Used for block shares. |
Services you need to configure and enable are based on those you want to deploy on your SCALE system. All SCALE systems should enable SSH service as part of the initial UI configuration.
Enterprise or SCALE systems with large numbers of disks should also enable SMART service and configure SMART testing. SCALE Enterprise HA systems should enable and configure the failover service.
All systems can take advantage of the SMART service and testing if your disks support this service. Disks that do not support SMART testing do not display the option to set up testing.
See Managing SMART Tests for information on running or managing scheduled SMART tests or Managing Disks for more information on running a manual test from a selected disk.
After completing your initial system configuration and before you begin day-to-day operations, we recommend you configure the system and data storage backup. These include:
- Save the system configuration file, described here.
- Save or create a new boot environment to use as a restore point if system issues cause you to lose access to the SCALE UI.
- Download a system debug to capture system information to use as a comparison against future debug files. To download a system debug file, go to System Settings > Advanced and click Save Debug to begin the download.
Keep both the system configuration file and the initial system debug file in a safe location where important files are regularly backed up. You can use the boot environment in an SSH session to restore your system to the point where you completed your system configuration and then import data or pools to recover stored data.
For Enterprise customers with High Availability (HA) systems, the HA restore process requires recovering both controllers. Contact iXsystems Support for assistance before attempting to recover your system. If you choose to restore access to controller 1 and the SCALE UI, contact iXsystems Support to get assistance with properly recovering your second controller.
Enterprise HA customers should not start issuing CLI commands to recover the system!
Contact iXsystems Support after you restore access to controller 1 to request further assistance and before taking actions that could disrupt or damage system access further and result in requiring a complete reinstall to recover.
After saving both files, we recommend you set up snapshots, remote replication, or add a cloud storage provider service and set up a cloud sync task to back up your storage data.
You can view system alerts, configure the alert service and settings you want to use, and enter an email account to receive alerts from SCALE from the Alerts dropdown panel accessed by clicking the alert icon on the top toolbar.
The alert icon on the top toolbar displays a red circle with a number in it if SCALE encounters a configuration error or exceeds a threshold that you set (such as a temperature or a usage level). The Alerts icon number indicates the number of new alerts that have occurred. Click on the alert icon to open the Alerts dropdown panel.
The Alerts dropdown panel also includes a gear Settings icon that provides access to the alert settings configuration screen and a system email account screen where you enter the address to receive messages when a system event triggers an alert.
- Click Alert Settings to configure an alert service such as PagerDuty or customize alert settings that determine the threshold for trigging an alert.
- Click Email to assign an email address to receive system alert notifications.
The Alert Settings screen includes access to the Enterprise HA setting options to customize the event thresholds that produce alerts or send emails.
TrueNAS SCALE allows you to configure an Active Directory or LDAP server to handle authentication and authorization services, domain, and other account settings. SCALE allows you to configure either directory server but not both.
We do not recommended that you switch between directory services. This can result in configuration issues that could disrupt your system!
However, it is possible to change from either directory service to the other. If you want to migrate from LDAP to Active Directory, you must disable LDAP in SCALE and then remove the current directory server settings. To change from Active Directory to LDAP, use the Leave Domain option and disable the service before attempting to configure and enable LDAP.
Non-Enterprise users can find support for configuring directory services in the TrueNAS Documentation Hub tutorials or in the community forums.iXsystems Support can assist Enterprise customers with configuring directory service settings in SCALE with the information customers provide, but they cannot configure customer Active Directory system settings.
For TrueNAS Enterprise customers with compatible hardware, the TrueNAS SCALE main Dashboard displays an image of the TrueNAS system server on the System Information widget. Click on the image to open the View Enclosure screen, or select the System Settings > Enclosure option on the main menu navigation panel.
The View Enclosure screen provides details about the system disks, the pools and VDEVs they are in, the hardware, and the disk status. Click on a drive to view the disk details. If the TrueNAS system has an expansion shelf, an image of the expansion shelf populated with disks also displays.
If using SCALE on servers not provided by TrueNAS, the System Information widget on the Dashboard displays the TrueNAS SCALE logo and the System Settings > Enclosure option does not exist on the menu navigation panel.
SCALE provides a list of applications you can deploy on the Apps > Available Applications screen.
See the Apps tutorials for procedures for generically deploying and managing apps, App catalogs, custom apps, and specific app deployment and notes.
You can update your system with an
There are a few ways to find available updates for your instance of TrueNAS SCALE:
- The main Dashboard > System Information widget alerts you when a SCALE update is available to download and install. Click the update option to open the System Settings > Updates screen.
- Go to System Settings > Updates to check if an update is available.
For all update options and procedures using the SCALE UI see Updating SCALE.
Always save the system configuration file and save a new boot environment for your current release and configuration before updating to either a new incremental or full release.
It is also good practice to download a fresh debug file before and after a system update.