Connecting to and using an iSCSI share can differ between operating systems.
This article provides instructions on setting up a Linux and Windows system to use the TrueNAS iSCSI block share.
In this section, you start the iSCSI service, log in to the share, and obtain the configured basename and target. You also partition the iSCSI disk, make a file system for the share, mount it, and share data.
TrueNAS Enterprise
Fibre Channel is a TrueNAS Enterprise feature. Only TrueNAS systems licensed for Fibre Channel show iSCSI Fibre Channel screens and settings found by going to Sharing > Block Shares (iSCSI).
Enterprise systems with fibre channel hardware can access fibre channel settings and screens through various iSCSI wizard and share screens.
The Block (iSCSI) Shares Targets widget shows iSCSI shares configured for fibre channels. The Wizard button on the header opens the Wizard iSCSI wizard on the Target screen. See Target Screens - Fibre Channel below.
Users of TrueNAS 24.04 (Dragonfish) or newer can migrate data from a third-party NAS solution onto TrueNAS using the Syncthing Enterprise application. The Syncthing Enterprise application can mount remote SMB shares in a manner that preserves relevant metadata. TrueNAS 24.10 (Electric Eel) also adds migration support for SMB alternate data streams (ADS), used to store application-specific metadata.
Third-party data ingest is available to TrueNAS Enterprise customers with TrueNAS 24.04 (Dragonfish) and newer deployed, as well as the appropriate applications license. TrueNAS Enterprise Support staff are available to assist with deploying the Syncthing Enterprise Application and migrating data. Please contact TrueNAS Enterprise Support to learn more and schedule a time to deploy the app and begin migration.
Increasing iSCSI Available Storage
TrueNAS lets users expand Zvol and file-based LUNs to increase the available storage in an iSCSI share.
To expand a Zvol LUN, go to Datasets and click the Zvol LUN name. The Zvol Details widget displays. Click the Edit button.
Setting Up Data Sharing
After setting up storage on your TrueNAS, it is time to begin sharing data! There are several sharing solutions available in TrueNAS, but in this article we discuss the options to create the share and dataset from the Shares screens.
When creating a share, do not attempt to set up the root or pool-level dataset for the share. Instead, create a new dataset under the pool-level dataset for the share. Setting up a share using the root dataset leads to storage configuration issues.TrueNAS provides three types of sharing methods:
Windows Shares (SMB)
SMB (also known as CIFS) is the native file-sharing system in Windows. SMB shares can connect to most operating systems, including Windows, MacOS, and Linux. TrueNAS can use SMB to share files among single or multiple users or devices.
