Configuring SCALE Using the UI
15 minute read.
Last Modified 2023-03-21 12:16 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 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
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).
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.
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.TrueNAS Enterprise
For Enterprise systems, have your network information ready to provide iXsystems Support when they step 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, 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.
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.
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.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.
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 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
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.
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:
- 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.
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.
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!
Non-Enterprise users can find support for configuring directory services in the TrueNAS Documentation Hub tutorials or in the community forums.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.
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.
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.
You can update your system using an
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.
Non-Enterprise SCALE customers experiencing software bugs or instability should file an issue ticket through the Jira ticket reporting system for TrueNAS.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.
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.
Related Configuration Articles
- First Time Login
- Setting Up Data Sharing
- Backing Up TrueNAS
- Preparing for Clustering
- Configuring Virtualization and Apps in TrueNAS SCALE
Related Installation Articles
- Preparing for SCALE UI Configuration
- Preparing for SCALE UI Configuration (Enterprise)
- Preparing for SCALE UI Configuration (Home Users)
- Adding Network Settings
- Installing SCALE
- Migrating from TrueNAS CORE
- Using the Console Setup Menu
- Importing a Pool
- Importing Data