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Configuring SCALE Using the UI
14 minute read.
TrueNAS Enterprise
TrueNAS SCALE users should follow the instructions provided below to complete the initial setup and configuration of their systems.
Use the information mentioned in the installation preparation instructions article for your SCALE installation type (Enterprise, non-Enterprise, or home use) to configure your network, SMTP, or directory service settings.
Root account logins are deprecated in SCALE Bluefin 22.12.0 or newer for security hardening and to comply with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). All TrueNAS users should create an administrator account with all required permissions and begin using it to access TrueNAS. When the root user password is disabled, only an administrative user account can log in to the TrueNAS web interface.
TrueNAS SCALE plans to permanently disable root account access in a future release.
After logging into SCALE, you can begin configuring SCALE using the web interface.
TrueNAS EnterpriseTrueNAS SCALE Enterprise customers should contact iXsystems support to obtain license information for their TrueNAS system. To apply the license information, go to the System > General Settings screen and use the Update License option on the Support widget (system information card).
TrueNAS SCALE Enterprise customers with Silver or Gold Coverage support contracts can configure proactive support.
Customers with appropriate support contracts can configure Proactive Support after they apply their system license, and after acknowledging and signing the End User License Agreement (EULA).
The Support widget on the System > General Settings screen displays the Proactive Support option after entering your system license.
TrueNAS uses DHCP to assign the IP address required to access the SCALE UI and displays it on the Console Setup Menu screen, and it sets the host name to truenas.
If you do not plan to use the DHCP-assigned network addresses provided by SCALE, identify your host and domain names, the static or fixed IP addresses you plan to assign to your network interface card(s), the default gateway, subnet mask(s), and the DNS name servers in your network.
All other users should have their network information ready before starting to configure network settings. This makes the process go faster and reduces the risk of issues when you configure SCALE.TrueNAS EnterpriseFor Enterprise systems, have your network information ready to provide iXsystems Support when they guide you through your configuration.
We recommend that only experienced administrators familiar with network configuration and the Console setup menu use it and that less experienced and knowledgeable system administrators use the SCALE UI to configure your network interfaces and other network configuration settings. The TrueNAS SCALE UI includes safety measures to prevent you from completely disrupting network connectivity for your TrueNAS SCALE if you make a mistake with network interface settings.
If you are unfamiliar with network services, devices, or configurations, you can find more information here to help guide you through this important and required configuration area.
TrueNAS EnterpriseYou must disable failover in the UI on SCALE Enterprise HA systems to add or change any network setting. Complete network changes and test them, then re-enable failover.
If your system has more than one network interface card (NIC) connected to your internal network (wired to your router or Internet access point), you can add an interface in SCALE. DHCP is available for only a single interface; any other physical interfaces must be configured with static IP addresses.
You can also configure virtual network interfaces such as a bridge, link aggregate (LAGG), or virtual LAN (VLAN) interface.
You can use the Console Setup menu or SCALE UI to configure network interfaces. We recommend using the web UI the Network screen to add or change network interfaces or aliases, set up link aggregate LAGG or virtual LAN VLAN interfaces, change or configure global network settings, or set up static IP addresses.
Static IP addresses and aliases provide support for various network applications.
You can configure a network interface with a static IP or add an alias IP address on the same screen in the SCALE UI. For more information on when to use an alias or a static IP address, see Managing Interfaces.TrueNAS EnterpriseSCALE Enterprise HA systems use a virtual IP (VIP) to maintain access to the UI if the system fails over to the standby controller. This VIP address might experience a minor blip at failover, but you do not need to log in with the standby controller IP address to gain access to the UI after a failover.
TrueNAS SCALE requires at least one storage pool. We recommend you create the required pool and plan the rest of your storage needs before adding sharing, container applications, virtual machines, or data storage. When planning your data storage, consider the type of data sharing you want to do, any container applications you might want to deploy, and how you want to organize stored data.
The storage creation process begins with creating a pool, then adding datasets or zvols as needed. Creating your initial storage is explained here.
SCALE assigns the root parent dataset of the first created pool as the system dataset. If your system has enough disks to add more pools, you can change the system dataset to a root dataset of different pool.
After setting up your system storage, you can configure data sharing using one of the sharing protocols available in SCALE.
These articles provide more information on configuring data sharing and the three built-in share types available in SCALE:
Share Type | Purpose |
---|---|
SMB shares | Used for Windows shares and also to set up deprecated AFP sharing. |
NFS shares | Used for Linux-based shares. |
iSCSI shares | Used for block shares. |
Configure and enable the services you need based on what you deploy on your SCALE system.
TrueNAS EnterpriseEnterprise or SCALE systems with large numbers of disks should enable SMART service and configure SMART testing. SCALE Enterprise HA systems should enable and configure the failover service.
All systems can take advantage of the SMART service and testing with compatible attached disks. Disks that do not support SMART testing do not display the option to set up testing.
See Managing SMART Tests for information on running or managing scheduled SMART tests or Managing Disks for more information on running a manual test from a selected disk.
After completing your initial system configuration and before you begin day-to-day operations, we recommend configuring the system and data storage backup. Recommended backup options:
- Saving the system configuration file.
- Saving or creating a new boot environment to use as a restore point if system issues cause you to lose access to the SCALE UI.
- Downloading a system debug to capture system information to use as a comparison against future debug files. To download a system debug file, go to System > Advanced Settings and click Save Debug to begin the download.
Keep both the system configuration file and the initial system debug file in a safe location where important files are regularly backed up. You can use the boot environment in an SSH session to restore your system to the point where you completed your system configuration, and then import data or pools to recover stored data.
TrueNAS EnterpriseFor Enterprise customers with High Availability (HA) systems, the HA restore process requires recovering both controllers. Contact iXsystems Support for assistance before attempting to recover your system. If you choose to restore access to controller 1 and the SCALE UI, contact iXsystems Support to get assistance with properly recovering your second controller.
Enterprise HA customers should not start issuing CLI commands to recover the system!
Contact iXsystems Support after you restore access to controller 1 to request further assistance and before taking actions that can disrupt or damage system access further and result in requiring a complete reinstall to recover.
After saving system configuration and debug files, we recommend setting up data storage backups using any or all of the following methods:
- Taking regular snapshots or creating periodic snapshot tasks
- Setting up replication to another system (remote replication)
- Adding a cloud storage provider service and setting up a cloud sync task
You can take single snapshots or schedule periodic snapshot tasks to capture changes to stored data without the storage overhead that comes with backing up through data replication, or you can use one of the replication options SCALE provides.
Another option is to create an account with a cloud storage service provider, then let SCALE manage the backups. Use the Backup Credentials screen Cloud Credentials to add authentication credentials for a supported cloud service provider, and go to Data Protection to schedule a Cloud Sync Tasks that regularly backs up your storage data to the cloud.
You can view system alerts, configure an alert service, and enter an email account to receive alerts from SCALE through the Alerts icon found on the top toolbar.
TrueNAS SCALE allows you to configure an Active Directory or LDAP server to handle authentication and authorization services, domain, and other account settings. SCALE allows configuring either directory server but not both.
We do not recommended that you switch between directory services. This can result in configuration issues that could disrupt your system!
However, it is possible to change from either directory service to the other. If you want to migrate from LDAP to Active Directory, you must disable LDAP in SCALE and then remove the current directory server settings. To change from Active Directory to LDAP, use the Leave Domain option and then disable the service before attempting to configure and enable LDAP.
TrueNAS EnterpriseiXsystems Support can assist Enterprise customers with configuring directory service settings in SCALE with the information customers provide, but they cannot configure customer Active Directory system settings.
Non-Enterprise users can find support for configuring directory services in the TrueNAS Documentation Hub tutorials or in the community forums.
TrueNAS EnterpriseFor TrueNAS Enterprise customers with compatible hardware, the TrueNAS SCALE main Dashboard displays an image of the TrueNAS system server on the System Information widget. Click on the image to open the View Enclosure screen, or select the System > Enclosure option on the main menu navigation panel.
The View Enclosure screen provides details on the system disks, the pools and VDEVs disks are in, the hardware details, and the disk status. Click on a drive to view the disk details. If the TrueNAS system has an expansion shelf, the Enclosure screen also displays an image of the expansion shelf populated with disks.
If using SCALE on servers not provided by TrueNAS, the System Information widget on the Dashboard displays the TrueNAS SCALE logo, and the System > Enclosure option does not exist on the menu navigation panel.
SCALE provides a list of applications you can deploy on the Apps > Discover screen.
See the Apps tutorials for procedures on generically deploying and managing apps, app catalogs and images, custom apps, and specific app deployments and notes.
You can update your system with an
There are a few ways to find available updates for your instance of TrueNAS SCALE:
- The main Dashboard > System Information widget alerts you when a SCALE update is available to download and install. Click the update option to open the System > Updates screen.
- Go to System > Updates to check if an update is available.
For all update options and procedures using the SCALE UI see Updating SCALE.
Always save the system configuration file and save a new boot environment for your current release and configuration before updating to a new incremental or full release.
It is also good practice to download a fresh debug file before and after a system update.