Storage
10 minute read.
The Storage Dashboard screen allows users to configure and manage storage resources such as pools (VDEVs) and disks. The dashboard widgets organize functions related to storage resources.
The No Pools screen displays before you add the first pool.
The Create Pool button in the center of the screen opens the Pool Creation Wizard screen.
The buttons at the top right of the Storage Dashboard screen provide access to pool and disk functions:
Import Pool
Import Pool opens the Import Pool screen.
Select a pool from the Pool dropdown list. These are ZFS storage pools previously created and stored on disks connected to the TrueNAS system. TrueNAS detects these as present on the system but not yet connected in TrueNAS.
Import starts connecting the pool and bringing it into TrueNAS.
Disks opens the Disks screen.
Create Pool opens the Pool Creation Wizard.
After adding pools, the dashboard shows storage widgets and two more buttons.
Export/Disconnect
Export/Disconnect opens the Export/disconnect pool: poolname window where users can export, disconnect, or delete a pool.
The Export/disconnect pool window includes a warning stating data becomes unavailable after export and that selecting Destroy Data on this pool destroys data on the pool disks.
Exporting/disconnecting can be a destructive process! Back up all data before performing this operation. You might not be able to recover data lost through this operation.This window displays the share type (i.e., SMB share, etc.) affected by the export/disconnect operation if a share uses the pool.
Disks in an exported pool become available to use in a new pool but remain marked as used by an exported pool. If you select a disk used by an exported pool for use in a new pool, the system displays a warning message about the disk.
Setting Description Destroy data on this pool? Select to erase all data on the pool. A field displays where you enter the pool name to confirm the operation before the Export/Disconnect button activates. Delete configuration of shares that use this pool Enabled by default to remove the share connection to this pool. Exporting or disconnecting the pool deletes the configuration of shares using this pool. You must reconfigure the shares affected by this operation. Confirm Export/Disconnect (Required) Select to confirm the operation and accept the warnings displayed. Activates the Export/Disconnect button. Export/Disconnect executes the process and begins the pool export or disconnect. A status window shows progress. When complete, a final dialog states the export/disconnect completed successfully.
After adding a pool, the screen displays storage widgets. The same set of four widgets and the Export/Disconnect and Expand buttons display for each pool created on the system. The Unassigned Disks widget at the top of the Storage Dashboard only shows when disks are available to add to a new or existing pool.
Each set of pool widgets provides access to screens for disks, datasets, VDEVs, snapshots, quotas, and pool ZFS functions for the pool. For example, Manage Devices on the Topology widget opens the Devices screen with the VDEVs configured for only that pool.
The Unassigned Disks widget displays the number of disks available on your system to use in pools. The disk count includes disks assigned in an exported pool. If you attempt to use a disk assigned in an exported pool, a warning message prompts you to select a different disk.
To see information on each disk on the system, click Manage Disks on the Disk health widget
Add To Pool Window
Add to Pool on the Unassigned Disks widget opens the Add to Pool window. It displays the number of unassigned disks and provides the option to assign these disks to a new or existing pool.
The Add To Pool window has three radio buttons:
- New Pool opens the Pool Creation Wizard.
- Existing Pool shows the Existing Pool dropdown list of available pool options.
- Existing Pool (Legacy) adds the Existing Pool dropdown list of available pool options.
Add Disks opens the Pool Manager screen if the existing pool was created with the Pool Manager, otherwise it opens the Pool Creation Wizard. If you select New Pool, Add Disks opens the Pool Creation Wizard screen.
The Topology widget shows information on the VDEVs configured on the system and the status of the pool.
The widget lists each VDEV type (data, metadata, log, cache, spare, and dedup). A Data VDEV includes the data type (stripe, mirror, RAID, or mixed configuration), the number of disks (wide), and the storage capacity of that VDEV.
Manage Devices opens the Devices screen where you can add or manage existing VDEVs.
The Usage widget shows information on the pool space datasets consumed and the status of pool usage.
The widget includes a color-coded donut chart that illustrates the percentage of space the pool uses. Blue indicates space usage in the 0-80% range and red indicates anything above 80%. A warning message displays below the donut graph when usage exceeds 80%.
Usable Capacity details pool space statistics by Used, Available, and Used by Snapshots.
View Disk Space Reports opens the pool usage reports for the selected pool.
Large (>1 petabyte) systems could report storage numbers inaccurately. Storage configurations with more than 9,007,199,254,740,992 bytes round the last 4 digits. For example, a system with 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 bytes reports the number as 18,446,744,073,709,552,000 bytes.
Manage Datasets opens the Datasets screen.
The ZFS Health widget shows health-of-the-pool information.
Widget details include:
- Pool Status shows the pool status as online or offline.
- Total ZFS Errors shows the number of ZFS errors detected for this pool.
- Scheduled Scrub Task shows the status of the next scrub task as set or not.
- Auto TRIM shows the auto trim feature as on or off.
- Last Scan shows the date and time of the last completed scrub.
- Last Scan Errors shows the number of errors detected during the last scrub.
- Last Scan Duration shows the time, in minutes and seconds the last scrub ran.
- Deduplication Table shows the size of the deduplication table only if a dedup VDEV is added to the pool.
Scrub opens the Scrub Pool dialog. Run a check on the data integrity of the pool from this dialog.
View all Scrub Tasks opens the Data Protections > Scrub Tasks details screen. This lists all scheduled scrub tasks and allows you to add a new or edit an existing task.
Prune and Set Quota only show if the pool has a dedup VDEV and it contains duplicated files in the pool.
Scrub Pool Dialog
The Scrub Pool dialog allows you to run an unscheduled scrub task. If TrueNAS detects problems during the scrub, it either corrects them automatically or generates an alert in the web interface.
By default, TrueNAS automatically checks every pool to verify it is on a reoccurring scrub schedule.
To schedule a single or a regular pool scrub operation, click View All Scrub Tasks to open the Data Protections > Scrub Tasks details screen and add or manage scrub tasks configured on your system.
Confirm activates the Start Scrub button.
Auto TRIM Dialog
The Edit Auto TRIM option on the ZFS Health widget opens a dialog to set Auto TRIM.
When enabled, Auto TRIM allows TrueNAS to periodically review data blocks and identify which empty blocks of obsolete blocks it can delete. Leave unselected to incorporate day block overwrites when a device write is started (default). Select Confirm to activate Save.
For more details about TRIM in ZFS, see the
autotrimproperty description in zpool.8.Prune Deduplication Table Dialog
The Prune Deduplication Table dialog shows pruning measurement options the system should use when pruning the deduplication table (DDT). Options are Percentage and Age.
Percentage shows a slider to set the size (maximum amount of storage) percentage threshold the DDT is filled before it reaches the maximum size. When reached the system prunes the table.
Age shows the Age (in days) field where you enter the number of days between pruning processes the system waits before automatically pruning the DDT.
Deduplication Qutoa Dialog
The Deduplication Quota for poolname shows the Quota dropdown list with three options for setting the maximum size limit the deduplication table can reach.
Auto is the default option, which allows the system to set the quota and the size of a dedicated dedup VDEV. This property works for both legacy and fast dedup tables.
Custom shows the Custom Qutoa field where you enter the maximum size of the DDT (quota).
None disables the quota.
The Disk Health widget shows information on the health of the disks in a pool. The details on the widget include the non-dismissed disk temperature alerts for highest, lowest, and average temperatures.
Manage Disks opens the Storage > Disk screen.
View Reports opens the Report screen for the disks in the selected pool.
View all S.M.A.R.T. Tests opens the Data Protection > S.M.A.R.T. Tests screen.
Each pool widget includes a color-coded icon just to the right of the header. This icon indicates the status of the pool as healthy (green checkmark), offline (orange triangle), or in a warning state (purple warning sign).
This same information displays on both the Storage widget and a pool widget you can add to the Dashboard.
The Storage Dashboard shows the Upgrade button for existing pools after an upgrade to a new TrueNAS release that includes new OpenZFS feature flags. Newly created pools are always up-to-date with the OpenZFS feature flags in the installed TrueNAS release.
Storage pool upgrades are typically not required unless the new OpenZFS feature flags are deemed necessary for required or improved system operation. Consider these factors before upgrading a storage pool to the latest OpenZFS feature flags.
Upgrading can affect data. Before performing any operation that affects data on a storage disk, always back up data first and verify the backup integrity.
New OpenZFS feature flags are permanently applied to the upgraded pool. An upgraded pool cannot be reverted or downgraded to an earlier OpenZFS version. A storage pool with the latest feature flags cannot import into another operating system that does not support those feature flags.
Upgrading a ZFS pool is optional. Do not upgrade the pool when reverting to an earlier TrueNAS version or repurposing the disks in another operating system that supports ZFS is a requirement.
The upgrade itself only takes a few seconds and is non-disruptive. It is not necessary to stop any sharing services to upgrade the pool. However, it is best to upgrade when the pool is not in heavy use. The upgrade process suspends I/O for a short period but is nearly instantaneous on a quiet pool.