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  9. Setting Up Storage

Setting Up Storage

  4 minute read.

Last Modified 2023-03-15 10:52 EDT

Now that you are logged in to the web interface, it is time to set up TrueNAS storage. These instructions describe a simple mirrored pool setup, where one disk is for storage and the other for data protection. However, there are a vast number of configuration possibilities for your storage environment! You can read more about these options in the in-depth Creating Storage Pools.

Minimum Storage Requirements

At minimum, the system needs at least two disks of identical size to create a mirrored storage pool. While a single-disk pool is technically allowed, it is not recommended. The disk used for the TrueNAS installation does not count toward this limit.

You can configure data backups in several ways and have different requirements. Backing data up in the cloud requires a 3rd party cloud storage provider account. Backing up with replication requires you to have additional storage on the TrueNAS system or (ideally) another TrueNAS system in a different location.

Setting Up Storage

Your system must have one storage pool configured.

After installing SCALE and when you have the IP address assigned by DHCP during the installation process, enter that IP address into a browser window URL address field to access the SCALE sign-in splash screen where you can log into SCALE.

Begin by configuring your first storage pool.

See Creating Storage Pools for more information on how to plan for and create pools on SCALE. If you want to create additional pools with other disks not assigned to a pool, you can do that now or as you have a need for them.

Creating a Storage Pool

To create a pool using the Pool Manager you:

  1. Enter a name.
  2. Move disks to a data VDEV.
  3. Add any other VDEV to the pool you want to include and then add disks to them.
  4. Click Create

You access the Pool Manager from the Storage Dashboard. Click Storage on the main navigation panel on the left of the screen.
Click Create Pool to open the Pool Manager screen for new pools.

CreatePoolPoolManagerScreen

If you already have a pool created on your system you can use either the Create Pool button at the top right of the screen or click the Add To Pool button on the Unassigned Disks widget to create a new pool.

AddToPoolWindow

The root dataset of the first pool you create automatically becomes the system dataset.

After adding your first pool, you can move on to creating datasets for data sharing, applications you plan to deploy, or other uses cases.

Adding Datasets or Zvols

New pools have a root dataset that allows further division into new non-root parent and child datasets, or into storage volumes (zvols). A dataset is a file system that stores data and has specific permissions. A zvol is a virtual block device (like a virtual disk drive) that has a predefined storage size. Zvols are used by virtual machines (VMs) for their data storage needs.

To create a dataset or zvol, you can click Datasets on the main navigation panel or go to Storage and click Manage Datasets on the Usage widget to open the Datasets screen.

To create a dataset using the default settings, go to Datasets. Default settings includes the settings datasets inherit from the parent dataset.

Select a dataset (root, parent or child), then click Add Dataset.

AddDatasetNameAndOptions

Enter a value in Name.

Select either Sensitive or Insensitive from the Case Sensitivity dropdown.

Select either SMB for the Share Type or leave set to Generic, then click Save.

AddDatasetEncrytionAndOtherOptionsBasic

You can create datasets optimized for SMB shares or with customized settings for your dataset use cases.

Review the Share Type and Case Sensitivity options on the configuration screen before clicking Save. You cannot change these and the Name setting after clicking Save.

Organize the pool with as many datasets or zvols you need according to your access and data sharing requirements before moving data into the pool.

See Adding or Managing Datasets for more information on configuring datasets, or Adding or Managing Zvols for more information on zvols.

Taking the Next Step

After you finish creating your initial pool and the datasets or zvols, you can continue building and organizing your TrueNAS pools and datasets, or move on to configuring how the system shares data

If you do not plan to set up data sharing, you can set up backup solutions for your system and stored data.

Related Configuration Articles

Related Storage Articles

Have more questions or want to discuss your specific configuration? For further discussion or assistance, see these resources:

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