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Accessing NAS from a VM or Apps
3 minute read.
If you want to access your TrueNAS directories from a VM or within an app container, you have multiple options:
- If you have only one physical interface, you must create a bridge interface.
- If your system has more than one physical interface you can assign your VMs to a NIC other than the primary one your TrueNAS server uses. This method makes communication more flexible but does not offer the potential speed of a bridge.
Before making network interface changes:
- Stop running apps.
- Power off running virtual machines (VMs).
- Remove active NIC devices for VMs.
Sharing services such as SMB that use the IP address(s) assigned to the primary interface might cause issues with testing network changes. To resolve issues, stop sharing services such as SMB, make the interface change and test the connection, and when complete restart the service.
If your system only has a single physical interface, complete these steps to create a network bridge.
Go to Virtualization, find the VM you want to use to access TrueNAS storage, and toggle it off.
Go to Network > Interfaces and find the active interface you used as the VM parent interface. Note the interface IP Address and subnet mask. Click the interface to open the Edit Interface screen.
If enabled, clear the DHCP checkbox. Note the IP address and mask under Aliases. Click the X next to the listed alias to remove the IP address and mask. The Aliases field now reads No items have been added yet. Click Save.
The Interfaces widget displays the edited interface without IP information.
Add a bridge interface.
Edit VM device configuration.
Go to Virtualization, expand the VM you want to use to access TrueNAS storage, and click Devices. Click more_vert in the NIC row and select Edit. Select the new bridge interface from the NIC to Attach dropdown list, then click Save.
You can now access your TrueNAS storage from the VM. You might have to set up shares or users with home directories to access certain files.
If you have more than one NIC on your system, you can assign VM traffic to a secondary NIC. Configure the secondary interface as described in Managing Interfaces before attaching it to a VM.
If you are creating a new VM, use the Attach NIC dropdown menu under Network Interface to select the secondary NIC.
To edit the NIC attached to an existing VM:
Go to Virtualization, expand the VM you want to use to access TrueNAS storage, and click Devices.
Click more_vert in the NIC row and select Edit.
Select the secondary interface from the NIC to Attach dropdown list, then click Save.