Reporting

TrueNAS has a built-in reporting engine that provides helpful graphs and information about the system.

Reporting data is saved to permit viewing and monitoring usage trends over time. This data is preserved across system upgrades and restarts.

TrueCommand offers enhanced features for reporting like creating custom graphs and comparing utilization across multiple systems.

Click on and drag a certain range of the graph to expand the information displayed in that selected area in the Graph. Click on the icon to zoom in on the graph. Click on the icon to zoom out on the graph. Click the to move the graph forward. Click the to move the graph backward.

Click Netdata from the Reporting screen to see the built-in Netdata UI. This UI bases metrics on your local system and browser time, which might differ from the default TrueNAS system time.

The Netdata UI opens in a new browser tab and automatically logs in.

A Netdata dialog also opens in the TrueNAS SCALE UI. If automatic log in fails, use the generated password from this dialog to access the Netdata UI.

A new password generates each time the Netdata button is clicked on the Reporting screen. Click Generate New Password on the dialog to force regeneration. The Netdata UI opens a login prompt. Enter the newly generated password to regain access.

See Dashboards and Charts from Netdata for more information about the Netdata UI.

You can configure TrueNAS to export Netdata information to any time-series database, reporting cloud service, or application installed on a server. For example, Graphite, Grafana, etc., installed on a server or use their cloud service.

Creating reporting exporters enables SCALE to send Netdata data reporting metrics, formatted as a JSON object, to another reporting entity.

For more information on exporting Netdata records to other servers or services, refer to the Netdata exporting reference guide.

Graphite is a monitoring tool available as an application you can deploy on a server or use their cloud service. It stores and renders time-series data based on a plaintext database. Netdata exports data reporting metrics to Graphite in the format prefix.hostname.chart.dimension. For additional information, see the Netdata Graphite exporting guide.

To configure a reporting exporter in SCALE, you need the:

• IP address of the reporting service or server. If using another TrueNAS system with a data reporting application, this is the IP address of the TrueNAS running the application.
• Port number the reporting service listens on. If using another TrueNAS system with a reporting application, this is the port number the TrueNAS system listens on (port:80)

For more information on reporting exporter settings, see Add Reporting Exporter.

Go to Reporting and click on Exporters to open the Reporting Exporters screen. Any reporting exporters configured on the system display on the Reporting Exporters screen.

Click Add to open the Add Reporting Exporter screen to configure a third-party data reporting integration.

Enter a unique name for the exporter configuration in Name. When configuring multiple exporter instances, give each a distinct name.

Select the report object format from Type. At present, only GRAPHITE is available. The screen shows the exporter configuration fields.

Select Enable to send reporting metrics to the configured exporter instance. Clearing the checkmark disables the exporter without removing the configuration.

Enter the IP address for the data collection server or cloud service.

Enter the port number the report collecting server, etc. listens on.

Enter the file hierarchy structure, or where in the collecting server, etc. to send the data. First, enter the top-level in Prefix and then the data collection folder in the Namespace field. For example, entering DF in Prefix and test in Namespace creates two folders in Graphite with DF as the parent to Test.

You can accept the defaults for all other settings, or enter configuration settings to match your use case.

Click Save.

To view the Graphite web UI, enter the IPaddress:Port# of the system hosting the application.

SCALE can now export the data records as Graphite-formatted JSON objects to the other report collection and processing application, service, or servers.

SCALE also populates the exporter screen with default settings. To view these settings, click Edit on the row for the exporter.