Configuring SCALE Using the UI

15 minute read.

Last Modified 2023-03-21 12:16 EDT

TrueNAS Enterprise
iXsystems TrueNAS Enterprise customers should contact iXsystems Support when their systems arrive to receive additional guidance on their next steps.
Contacting Support
Customers who purchase iXystems hardware or that want additional support must have a support contract to use iXystems Support Services. The TrueNAS Community forums provides free support for users without an iXsystems Support contract.
Contact Method Contact Options
Web https://support.ixsystems.com
Email support@ixsystems.com
Telephone Monday - Friday, 6:00AM to 6:00PM Pacific Standard Time:

US-only toll-free: 1-855-473-7449 option 2
Local and international: 1-408-943-4100 option 2
Telephone After Hours (24x7 Gold Level Support only):

US-only toll-free: 1-855-499-5131
International: 1-408-878-3140 (international calling
rates apply)

Contact Method	Contact Options
Web	https://support.ixsystems.com
Email	support@ixsystems.com
Telephone	Monday - Friday, 6:00AM to 6:00PM Pacific Standard Time: US-only toll-free: 1-855-473-7449 option 2 Local and international: 1-408-943-4100 option 2
Telephone	After Hours (24x7 Gold Level Support only): US-only toll-free: 1-855-499-5131 International: 1-408-878-3140 (international calling rates apply)

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 the permissions it requires 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. A future update of TrueNAS SCALE will permanently disable root account access.

After a fresh install from an iso file, administrators log in with the admin account created during install and should no longer log in as the root user. After you log into SCALE with the administrator account you can begin to configure SCALE using the web interface.

Applying TrueNAS Licenses

TrueNAS Enterprise
This content applies to TrueNAS Enterprise customers only.
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).

Setting up Proactive Support

TrueNAS Enterprise
This content applies to TrueNAS Enterprise customers only.
TrueNAS SCALE Enterprise customers with Silver or Gold Coverage support contracts have the option to configure proactive support.
Configuring 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.

Setting Up Networking

After installing the SCALE iso file, the SCALE installer provides the DHCP-assigned IP address for the web UI and displays it at the top of the Console setup menu screen. TrueNAS uses DHCP to assign the primary web UI IP address and provision the other required global network addresses. If you have more than one network interface card installed and connected to your network, you need to assign an IP address and configure it in 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.

TrueNAS Enterprise
For Enterprise systems, have your network information ready to provide iXsystems Support when they step you through your configuration.

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.

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, configurations, you can find more information here to help guide you through this important and required configuration area.

TrueNAS Enterprise
You must disable failover in the UI on SCALE Enterprise HA systems to add or change any network setting. After completing network changes and testing them, then re-enable failover.

Adding Network Interfaces

If your system includes more than one network interface card (NIC) installed and connected to your internal network (wired connecting it 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.

Adding an Interface

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.

Adding Aliases or Static IP Addresses

Static IP addresses and aliases provide different support for various network applications.

TrueNAS Enterprise
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.

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.

Setting Up Storage

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.

Setting the System Dataset

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.

Setting Up Shares

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 four share types available in SCALE:

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
WebDAV shares

Configuring System Services

Services you want 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.

TrueNAS Enterprise
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.

Configuring Services

Configure and enable these services based on your SCALE system:

SSH service
Set this service to allow SSH login for administration users (admin or, if also enabled, the root user) on all SCALE systems.
SMART service and SMART tests
SMART service and tests are important for systems with large numbers of disks. Managing systems with large numbers of disks can present challenges when determining the disk with issues if SMART service and testing is not set up.
Failover service on SCALE Enterprise High Availability (HA) systems
The failover service enables an HA system to fail over to the standby system controller after a disruption to the primary controller.
This service is not included on non-Enterprise and non-HA systems.
Enterprise customers should not make changes to failover settings or the service on their own except when disabling failover to make changes to network settings. Contact iXsystems Support for assistance before making any changes to other failover settings.

When you add data sharing the system prompts you to enable the appropriate sharing service as part of the configuration and set up process.

If your installation includes a UPS, configure and enable the UPS service as well.

Setting Up SMART Testing

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.

Setting Up Backup Solutions

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:

Saving the system configuration file described here
Saving or creating a new boot environment to use as a restore point if system issues cause you to lose access to the SCALE UI.
Downloading 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 save regularly backed up important files. You can use the boot environment in and SSH session to retore your system to the point where you completed your system configuration and then import data or pools to recover stored data.

TrueNAS Enterprise
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.

Data Storage Backup Solutions

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.

Backup Solutions

TrueNAS SCALE provides options to back up your stored data:

Snapshots and periodic snapshot tasks
Replication to another system (remote replication)
Cloud storage provider access and cloud sync tasks

You can take single snapshots or [schedule periodic snapshot tasks](/scale/scaletutorials/dataprotection/periodicsnapshottasksscale/ to capture changes to stored data without the storage overhead that comes with backing up through data replication, or you can use one of the replication options SCALE provides.

Another data storage backup option is to create an account with a cloud storage service provider, then let SCALE manage the backups. Use the Backup Credentials screen Cloud Credentials to add authentication credentials for a supported cloud service and then schedule a Cloud Sync Tasks to regularly back up your storage data to the cloud.

Checking System Alert Settings and Services

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.

Configuring Alerts

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 (such as a temperature or a usage level) that you set. 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 configuration alert services and alert settings screens, and a system email account screen where you enter the address to receive messages when a system event triggers an alert.

Click Alert Services to configure an alert service such as PagerDuty.
Click Alert Settings to customize alert settings that determine the threshold for trigging an alert.
Click Email to assign an email address to receive the system alert notifications.

TrueNAS Enterprise
The Alert Settings screen includes access to the Enterprise HA setting options to customize the event thresholds that produce alerts or send emails.

Setting Up Directory Services

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.

While unlikely, you can change from either directory service but 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. Switching from one service to the other is not recommended and can result in configuration issues that could disrupt your system!

TrueNAS Enterprise
iXsystems Support can assist Enterprise customers with configuring directory service settings in SCALE with the information customers provide, but they do not configure customer Active Directory system settings.

Non-Enterprise users can find support for configuring directory services in the TrueNAS Documentation Hub tutorials or in the community forums.

Using Enclosure Management

TrueNAS Enterprise
This content applies to TrueNAS Enterprise customers with compatible hardware.
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 main System Information widget on the main Dashboard displays the TrueNAS SCALE logo and the System Settings > Enclosure option does not exist on the menu navigation panel.

Using Applications in SCALE

SCALE provides a list of applications you can deploy on the Apps > Available Applications screen.

You can deploy an application using the Custom Install option. See the Apps tutorials for procedures for generically deploying and managing apps, App catalogs, custom apps, and specific app deployment and notes.

Updating SCALE

You can update your system using an iso file using the system administration console or an update file installed through the SCALE UI.

There are a few ways to update 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 on 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.

When updating to either a new incremental or full release, before you update always save the system configuration file again, and save a new boot environment for your current release and configuration.

It is also good practice to download a fresh debug file before and after a system update.

Getting Support

TrueNAS Enterprise
Enterprise SCALE customers with support contracts should contact the iXsystems Support using the Commercial Support option on the top header of the TrueNAS Documentation Hub website.

Non-Enterprise SCALE customers experiencing software bugs or instability should file an issue ticket through the Jira ticket reporting system for TrueNAS.

When reporting an issue, download a system debug file taken immediately following the issue occurrence. This captures the system configuration information and logs iXsystems needs to help resolve your issues. Upload this debug to the private attachments area using the link provided when you open a Jira ticket. After uploading the file, link the attachment to the Jira ticket number before you click Save.

Support is also available through the TrueNAS Community Forums, blog, and Discord. These options are accessible on the top header of the TrueNAS Documentation Hub website and from the links at the bottom of all articles.