TrueNAS Scale Storage
Overview
Manage, create, and utilize storage in TrueNAS Scale.
Assumptions
TrueNAS Scale Setup completed.
Logged in as administrative user.
Pools
Navigate to the Storage tab in TrueNAS to access the Storage Dashboard. Displayed will be the number of unassigned disks that are available. Create a new pool or import an existing pool with the TrueNAS management tools.
Create Pool
A new dataset can be created from unassigned disks. This example will create a Raid-z2 array across 8 disks.
In the Storage Dashboard, select Create Pool to open the Pool Manager.
Configure the new pool in the Pool Manager.
| Setting | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Name | pool01 | Name the pool. |
| Encryption | true | Read the warning from TrueNAS and refer to the TrueNAS Scale encryption documentation before enabling encryption. This encryption offers protection in transport and disposal of drives. If you lose the generated keys you will lose access to your data. |
| Encryption Standard | AES-256-GCM | Encryption algorithm to use if encryption is enabled. |
| Add VDev Type | Data | Data is the default type, and the one to use for storage VDev’s. |
When configured, select Create to create the pool to your specifications.
Import Pool
Import existing ZFS pools easily with the built in Import Pool tool.
In the Storage Dashboard, select Import Pool.
Hot Spare
Optionally, dedicate a drive to be a hot spare in the system. When a drive in the configured VDev fails, this drive will automatically be used to start rebuilding.
In the Storage Dashboard, find the pool to add the hot spare, and under Topology select Manage Devices.
Select Add VDev from the Devices page, found in the upper right.
In the Pool Manager, select Add VDev and navigate to the Spare section.
Select the disk to use as the hot spare from the available devices.
Once assigned, select Save And Go To Review to apply the configuration. Verify the spare assignment and Update Pool.
Pool Status
When the creation or import process has completed, the pool will be listed in the Storage Dashboard.
Datasets
With a created pool, datasets can now be created for data storage.
Navigate to the Datasets tab in the TrueNAS dashboard, select the created pool pool01. The pool itself is the top level dataset.
Create Datasets
Select Add Dataset on the pool details page.
Configure the new dataset using the wizard.
| Setting | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parent path | pool01 | Will be the name of the parent dataset. |
| Name | test | Name of the dataset to create. |
| Comments | | Optional comments for your memory. |
| Sync | Inherit (standard) | Determines when to wait for data writes to complete. |
| Compression level | Inherit (lz4) | Set compression level, LZ4 recommended. |
| Enable Atime | Inherit (off) | Update file access time when read. |
| Encryption Options | Inherit | Inherit unless the dataset being created needs to have a different key. |
| ZFS Deduplication | Inherit (off) | Deduplicate data when stored. Do not use if on a resource-light system. |
| Case Sensitivity | Sensitive | Choose filename case sensitivity. |
| Share Type | Generic | Change to SMB if required for your application. |
Select Save to create the new dataset.
Manage Datasets
With the datasets created, configuration and management tools become available on the dataset Details page. View and modify dataset details by navigating to it in the Datasets tab. Available tools include the following and are self-explanatory. Refer to the documentation and your own environment for configuration.
- ZFS Encryption: Encryption properties.
- Data Protection - Snapshots, replication, cloud sync, rsync.
- Dataset Space Management - Quotas, space reservations.
- Permissions - File permissions, access control lists.
Storage
After completing pool setup, verify the configured storage locations for TrueNAS services to use. If you have an SSD pool for applications and an HDD pool for data storage, use the SSD pool for the following configurations.
System Settings - Advanced
In advaned system settings there is a Storage section, select the Configure button, and read the prompted warning.
| Setting | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Select Pool | pool00 | Pool that the TrueNAS system should use. This pool will be indicated by the TrueNAS Scale logo in the roles column of the datasets dashboard. |
| Swap Size | 2 | Swap size for disks added, does not impact existing disks. |
Select Save to apply configuration.
Applications Settings
On the Applications page of the TrueNAS dashboard (Apps on the menu), select the Settings button in the upper right and select Choose Pool. Choose the pool the system should store Kubernetes configuration and containers.
| Setting | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Pool | pool00 | Pool to store applications in. Will create an ix-applications dataset in the selected pool. |
Select Choose to apply configuration.
References
iXsystems. “TrueNAS Documentation.” 2024. ↩︎