Starting TrueNAS [DIY NAS] for New Users

[Elijahonli]

anyone knows if there is any cabinet for NAS storage? the HDD reading of every 5 seconds getting on my nerves.

change to slower spinning drives? I had HGST drives before and i got them replaced because they are too noisy for the bedroom

 

[Mclairs83]

change to slower spinning drives? I had HGST drives before and i got them replaced because they are too noisy for the bedroom

WD RED PLUS is 5400rpm

 

[Mach3.2]

WD RED PLUS is 5400rpm

afaik WD can sometimes use firmware to limit performance and coin it as "5400RPM class", but the platters still spin at 7200RPM. at least on drives that are derivatives of their enterprise drives.

 

[TanKianW]

afaik WD can sometimes use firmware to limit performance can coin it as "5400RPM class", but the platters still spin at 7200RPM. at least on drives that are derivatives of their enterprise drives.

Yup. Must check the actual HDD model number against to the published data sheet. Some market at 5400 but may operate at 7200. They can also have HDD with same storage capacity but different operating spec.

 

[Elijahonli]

 

[harky]

hi ya.. is TrueNAS gd?

i got a custom NAS from tb using other os.
abit ma fan if i need to move my hdd to A to B system because need to regen again

 

[TanKianW]

hi ya.. is TrueNAS gd?

To me. Yeah. In fact, no consumer NAS OS comes close. To others, maybe not as user-friendly as other OTS NAS operating systems (Eg, Xepenology, UNRAID, Synology Diskstation, QNAP, etc), so it is no good.​

i got a custom NAS from tb using other os.
abit ma fan if i need to move my hdd to A to B system because need to regen again

If your current NAS not giving you any problem, why switch? It may likely be more than "a bit ma fan."

Anyway, using TN will have some learning curve. If you're not the type willing to watch YouTube tutorials, easily feel ma fan, or not bother to spend time understanding or appreciating what is software-defined storage like ZFS, then you are probably better of with using your current set-up. The main reason for TN is "ZFS". If you do not need ZFS, then just stick to what you are comfortable with.

It is like if you only need a kitchen knife to cut an apple, you probably do not need a shinny sword to do so. And likely do not understand the need and value to using a shinny sword. But when you do need a shinny sword, the kitchen knife surely will not cut it.

Know yourself, know your needs, know your use case, and you will know what you want.​

 

[ezihome]

Hi All. Will need some advice and pointers. I have installed TrueNas Core on self-assembled PC; N5105 motherboard, 16GB RAM, 256GB nvme SSD to install TrueNas and 3 x 2TB SATA SSD for storage. My target is to use this NAS to replace Google Photos and Google Drive. Already configured Samba share and able to access the NAS from another windows PC, so thats fine. But i do have some questions and some queries on how to proceed further. For context, I have very minimal networking knowledge and have just started to DIY such projects for own personal use. I did managed to run Home Assistant, and enable remote access through DuckDNS, following through tutorials. Willing to learn and tinker to achieve said objectives.

1)My current NAS case allows for 4 storage drives. Currently, i only stick in 3 drives in RAIDZ1. So lets say in future, i would like to add in another 2TB disk, can the disk be used to join the current storage pool? and existing data will remain?

2)So if I were to replace one of the drives with another larger capacity drive, data will remain? and will overall storage pool disk space increase?

3)Would like to run Nextcloud. Enabling remote access wise, should it be done from Nextcloud or TrueNas? Or set up vpn etc from router? Confused of the various options available.

 

[TanKianW]

Hi All. Will need some advice and pointers. I have installed TrueNas Core on self-assembled PC; N5105 motherboard, 16GB RAM, 256GB nvme SSD to install TrueNas and 3 x 2TB SATA SSD for storage. My target is to use this NAS to replace Google Photos and Google Drive. Already configured Samba share and able to access the NAS from another windows PC, so thats fine. But i do have some questions and some queries on how to proceed further. For context, I have very minimal networking knowledge and have just started to DIY such projects for own personal use. I did managed to run Home Assistant, and enable remote access through DuckDNS, following through tutorials. Willing to learn and tinker to achieve said objectives.
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I will suggest you install TN Scale instead of Core for new users especially if you intend to run apps/plugins. Apps/plugin support is not great on TN Core. Most of the time, updates like PLEX and Nextcloud require you to go through Shell (console) using CLI which is not friendly to new users.

If you are already using Core, you can still migrate to Scale now. Check out the Core-to-Scale migration tutorials from Lawrence Systems.

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1)My current NAS case allows for 4 storage drives. Currently, i only stick in 3 drives in RAIDZ1. So lets say in future, i would like to add in another 2TB disk, can the disk be used to join the current storage pool? and existing data will remain?
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Nope. You can't. You've got to create another vdev (3-disk). I suggest you get another 2TB to form the pool now.

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2)So if I were to replace one of the drives with another larger capacity drive, data will remain? and will overall storage pool disk space increase?
​

Data will remain. Overall storage space will not increase. I suggest you read up more about ZFS and its "quirks" You can find the video tutorials on the front page.

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3)Would like to run Nextcloud. Enabling remote access wise, should it be done from Nextcloud or TrueNas? Or set up vpn etc from router? Confused of the various options available.​

You can do it on TrueNAS, but I suggest doing it on your router (Eg. pfsense). I will even choose using a reverse proxy if you know how to do so.​

 

[TanKianW]

**INFORMATIVE WATCH: A Peep into the World of Software-Defined-Storage (SDS)**

This video from LTT should provide a quick and less technical overview (as usual) on why enterprise storage is moving towards software-defined-storage (SDS), how they work (kind of brief). How SDS delivers blistering performance on enterprise NVMe SSDs + high-speed networking (100G/200G), high availability (HA) and "almost" bullet proof reliability. Checks and verification not only done on the HDD "SMART" level but also on the software side. Worth a watch for the tech-savvy individuals or IT Pros. There are mentions of SDS like WEKA, (some on) TrueNAS and NetApp.

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[ry4nnnn]

Hi all, quick update on my low power build journey, I gave up on that as it has been difficult to say the least despite researching for hours and hours. Following the advice here, I went with something similar to the "Enterprise Setup for TrueNAS Storage System." Big shoutout to TS and everyone who chimed in. TrueNAS has been super reliable and getting the hardware myself saved a ton of cash compared to buying direct which I once considered.

For anyone on the fence, especially beginners, It's not as tough as it looks with all the guides here and on YouTube. Now, I'm trying to learn the system and mimic Unraid's apps feature in a Ubuntu VM. I'll keep y'all posted on how that goes. Just thought that I should thank everyone here for helping directly or indirectly to get my system going.

 

[TanKianW]

**Recent Hype on UGREEN NAS: With the Flexibility of Installing Other NAS Operating Systems (such as TrueNAS) on an Off-the-Shelf NAS**

As more and more manufacturers (like Ugreen) offer OTS NAS hardware with the flexibility of installing other opensource NAS operating systems, we will get to see more home users who were not ready to build their own NAS in the past will find it much more accessible to move to DIY NAS (UNRAID, OMV, TN, etc) in the future. Consumer NAS market really need a good shake-up from the unreliable RAID/file systems, slow software/security updates, mediocre hardware and lock down users to proprietary NAS HW.



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[TanKianW]

**Lawrence Systems: Quick Run-down for TrueNAS Scale Dragonfish 24.04**

Been a while since I update this thread. This could be a good thing as both my TN Scale and Core are still rock solid to this day, which I frequently deploy for my homelab and enterprise work applications. For those who do not have much time to read through the change log, feel free to catch up by watching through this video from Tom of Lawrence Systems. The good news is that the ARC memory issue (50% limitations) has been fixed this time round and does not require going through the terminal (CLI) to fix it manually. Will be covering a recent 12x 16TB TN scale project for my new rack when I have more free time.

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[TanKianW]

**INFORMATIVE WATCH: For those deciding between TrueNAS and Unraid - Which one is the BEST NAS OS for my HomeLab/Home-use**​

Adding onto this thread. Seemed relevant here too.

Frequently received queries from DIY NAS users are whether TrueNAS or UNRAID is suitable for them, and why choose one over another. Techno Tim provides a good overview in this video. There is no perfect NAS OS, only one that "better" suits your use case, whether it is reliability, app/plugin support, dashboard/WebGUI, instant snapshots, data integrity, specific use case (iSCSI), flexibility in drive setup and scaling, or you are just another diehard ZFS fanboy (like me). Do consider the priorities and decide on which one is more suitable for you.​

 

[morimorimori]

Main factor: Truenas is Free.

Although I went with a paid Unraid license I don't quite remember why I chose it. Maybe it felt more user friendly?

 

[hwzlite]

unraid gem: flexibility of Mix and match hard drives of any size to form a storage pool and expand it anything with ease

 

[TanKianW]

**UPDATED on Page 1: Setting up 10G capable DIY (production) NAS running TrueNAS Scale

For future reference in my TrueNAS Core/Scale thread.

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/...etwork-upgrade.6341518/page-11#post-153069584

Will be covering some of the TN Scale configurations when I have the time to do so.​

 

[d3adc3II]

hi ya.. is TrueNAS gd?

i got a custom NAS from tb using other os.
abit ma fan if i need to move my hdd to A to B system because need to regen again

Yes, TrueNas is ultra good because of ... zfs. Take zfs out , truenas is an OK Nas OS, but because its built around zfs ,it has reached god tier level, because:

- Hardware-independence: no need to care sata cable order in the Raid, no need to care about raid controller, it doesnt matter. Even if the whole NAS crash , or controller spoilt , you can just bring the all zfs HDD to another computer, and do zfs import and it will work. Lets say you have 2 vm: Truenas and Unraid , you can just bring thoe whole pool of zfs hdds from 1 vm to another vm like nothing happens

- Scalability:

- ZFS is volume manager + raid function: its features are unmatched, Copy on write, snapshot, checksum verification

- ZFS can be block storage and also file storage, very flexible.

- Zfs dont really cost that much compare to other solution, all it need is ram , alot of ram.

I love zfs, even though im exploring Ceph currently.

P/s: forgot to mention zfs send and receive

 

[TanKianW]

**Tutorials: SyncThing OSS File Sync Tool and Configuring SyncThing on TrueNAS Scale**

Updated videos on SyncThing configurations and set it up on the TrueNAS Scale by Tom of Lawrence Systems. Not much difference in terms of TrueNAS just one uses jails (core) another uses app (scale). App being the much easier and straightforward way. Still one of my preferred ways to sync files and back up some work-critical folders. I also configured it to sync my IoTs platform configuration files onto my smb which could be easily accessed on my desktop/laptop Windows PC. For someone looking for a really fast sync tool and who owns a NAS, do give it a try.​

Example: Using SyncThing to sync my Home Assistant configuration files and backups.

 

[evildoctor]

Looking to build a new setup with most of the parts recycled from my previous build.

Should i got for Ryzen 5600G or i5-14500?
Rams are reused.

5600G with 64GB DDR4 ECC Ram
Pros - Cheaper by $180
Cons - Does not support ECC

i5-14500 with 32GB DDR5 non-ECC Ram
Pros - Latest and faster speed
Cons - Does not support ECC, more expensive. 32GB of ram only

Need your humble opinions.