Configuring Advanced Settings
Advanced Settings provides configuration options for the console, syslog, kernel, sysctl, replication, cron jobs, init/shutdown scripts, system dataset pool, isolated GPU device(s), NVIDIA drivers, system access sessions, allowed IP addresses, audit logging, and global two-factor authentication. Enterprise systems with SED drives and the appropriate license also see the self-encrypting drive option. Enterprise systems also see the security options (STIG and FIPS).
TrueNAS Enterprise
Enterprise-licensed system administrators have additional options to configure security-related settings, such as FIPS and STIG compatibility and Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) configuration.
Creating Pools
TrueNAS uses ZFS data storage pools to efficiently store and protect data.
Configuring ACL Permissions
TrueNAS provides basic permissions settings and an access control list (ACL) editor to define dataset permissions. ACL permissions control the actions users can perform on dataset contents and shares.
An Access Control List (ACL) is a set of account permissions associated with a dataset that applies to directories or files within that dataset. TrueNAS uses ACLs to manage user interactions with shared datasets. When you create a dataset, TrueNAS sets the ACL type based on the dataset preset, but you must configure the ACL before it becomes active.
TrueNAS offers two ACL types: POSIX and NFSv4. The Dataset Preset setting on the Add Dataset screen determines the type of ACL for the dataset. Datasets created with the Generic dataset preset have the ACL type set to a POSIX (Unix) ACL. Datasets created with the SMB dataset preset have the ACL type set to an NFSv4 ACL. SMB shares require the more robust configurations in an NFSv4 ACL.
Encrypting Datasets
TrueNAS offers ZFS encryption for your sensitive data in datasets and zvols.
Users are responsible for backing up and securing encryption keys and passphrases! Losing the ability to decrypt data is similar to a catastrophic data loss.
Data-at-rest encryption is available with:
- Self Encrypting Drives (SEDs) using OPAL or FIPS 140.2 (Both AES 256)
- Encryption of specific datasets (AES-256-GCM)
The local TrueNAS system manages keys for data-at-rest. Users are responsible for storing and securing their keys.
Import Pool
ZFS pool importing works for pools exported or disconnected from the current system, those created on another system, and for pools you reconnect after reinstalling or upgrading the TrueNAS system.
The import procedure only applies to disks with a ZFS storage pool.
TrueNAS supports pool imports using the WebUI or API only. Manual pool import via command line can cause unexpected behavior and system issues.
To import a pool, go to the Storage Dashboard and click Import Pool at the top of the screen.
Pools
TrueNAS pools are ZFS storage containers that combine physical disks to provide storage capacity and data protection.
Creating Fusion Pools
A fusion pool is a hybrid storage pool that mixes slow, high-capacity spinning hard drives (HDDs) and fast, low-latency solid-state drives (SSDs or NVMes) within a single ZFS storage pool to improve performance. Fusion pools are also known as ZFS allocation classes, ZFS special vdevs, and metadata vdevs (Metadata vdev type on the Pool Manager screen).
On the Storage Dashboard, click Create Pool, or click Add To Pool, then select New Pool.
SLOG Over-Provisioning
Over-provisioning an SSD distributes the total number of writes and erases across more flash blocks on the drive. Seagate provides a thoughtful investigation into over-provisioning SSDs here: https://www.seagate.com/blog/ssd-over-provisioning-benefits-master-ti/.
For more general information on SLOG disks, see SLOG Devices.
Because this is a potentially disruptive procedure, contact TrueNAS Enterprise Support to review your overprovisioning needs and schedule a maintenance window.
Customers who purchase TrueNAS hardware or that want additional support must have a support contract to use TrueNAS Support Services. The TrueNAS Community forums provides free support for users without a TrueNAS Support contract.
Storage Tiering
Storage Tiering is an Enterprise feature that operates as a share-level toggle that lets admin users decide whether to write data to flash performance tiers or regular HDD tiers within a fusion pool at any time.
What is a Fusion Pool?
A fusion pool is a hybrid storage pool that mixes slow, high-capacity spinning hard drives (HDDs) and fast, low-latency solid-state drives (SSDs or NVMes) within a single ZFS storage pool to improve performance. Fusion pools are also known as ZFS allocation classes, ZFS special vdevs, and metadata vdevs (Metadata vdev type on the Pool Manager screen).
Managing Pools
The Storage Dashboard widgets provide enhanced storage provisioning capabilities and access to pool management options to keep the pool and disks healthy, upgrade pools and VDEVs, open datasets, snapshots, and data protection screens. This article provides instructions on pool management functions available in the TrueNAS UI.
Select Storage on the main navigation panel to open the Storage Dashboard. To see if the AutoTRIM function is enabled, locate the Storage Health widget for the pool.
