Migrating TrueNAS CORE to SCALE

This article provides information and instructions for migrating non-Enterprise TrueNAS CORE to SCALE.

TrueNAS Enterprise

TrueNAS Enterprise customers should consult with iXsystems Support before attempting migrate to TrueNAS SCALE.

The process requires an extended maintenance window, requires executing steps in the correct order to prevent issues with system configuration and operation, and additional system review post-migration to catch and correct any configuration issues.

Contacting iXsystems Support

Customers who purchase iXsystems hardware or that want additional support must have a support contract to use iXsystems Support Services. The TrueNAS Community forums provides free support for users without an iXsystems Support contract.

iXsystems Customer Support
Support Portal	https://support.ixsystems.com
Email	support@ixsystems.com
Telephone and Other Resources	https://www.ixsystems.com/support/

Review the Migration Preparation article for detailed recommendations and preparation steps before attempting to migrate from CORE to SCALE.

Depending on system configuration, migrating from CORE to SCALE can be more or less complicated.

You can migrate from CORE to SCALE with a clean install using an iso file. With a clean SCALE install, you need to reconfigure your CORE settings in SCALE and import your data. Follow the instructions in the Install articles.

When TrueNAS SCALE boots, you might need to use the Console Setup Menu to configure networking interfaces to enable GUI accessibility. After logging in to the TrueNAS SCALE UI, use a system configuration file to restore the system settings to the SCALE installation and import the data storage pools.

This method is only available for non-Enterprise community systems.

1. Go to System > Update

2. From the Train dropdown, choose the latest stable TrueNAS SCALE release, 24.04 (Dragonfish) or newer.

3. Review the SCALE migrations warning and verify the system is ready to migrate before confirming and continuing.

4. When the latest update for that chosen TrueNAS release is loaded, click Apply Pending Update or Download Updates to begin the update process documented in Updating SCALE. It is strongly recommended to download the system configuration backup prior to starting the update.

5. After the system installs the update and reboots, log in and review the system configuration to ensure the migration was successful.

Some CORE 13.0 releases can migrate using the CORE UI Upgrade function using a SCALE update file downloaded from the website. To use this method, you must upgrade to the latest maintenance release.

Earlier releases of CORE must upgrade to 13.0 and then the latest maintenance release (U6.2) to use this method. For community users, 13.3 and the latest public release is acceptable. If this process fails, retry using the iso file method above.

1. Confirm that the TrueNAS CORE system is on the latest public release, 13.0-U6.2 (community users could have 13.3-RELEASE or newer installed).

2. Download the SCALE manual update file. See Software Releases for current recommended update paths to make sure you download and migrate to the correct SCALE version.

3. Click CHECK FOR UPDATES in the System Information card on the Dashboard or go to System > Update.

4. Click INSTALL MANUAL UPDATE FILE.

   

5. Click SAVE CONFIGURATION to download a backup file that can restore the system configuration in the event something goes wrong with the migration.

   

6. Select a Temporary Storage Location (either Memory Device or a Pool) for the manual update file. Click Choose File and select the TrueNAS-SCALE.update file you downloaded.

   

   Then click APPLY UPDATE.

7. After the update completes, reboot the system if it does not reboot automatically.

   

After TrueNAS SCALE reboots, you might need to use the Console Setup menu to configure the primary networking interfaces to enable GUI accessibility.

After gaining access to the UI, sign in with the admin user credentials created during installation.

Go to System > General Settings and upload the system config file. This migrates your CORE settings, imports your pools, shares, etc. into SCALE. The system reboots to apply the uploaded configuration.

After TrueNAS SCALE reboots, sign in with the root user credentials used in CORE. Uploading the CORE config file deletes the truenas_admin user account created during a clean install and therefore requires you to recreate an administrative user.

After uploading the config file, review each area of the UI previously configured in CORE to validate pools imported and settings migrated correctly. Begin with your network settings.

TrueNAS SCALE automatically renames components, such as disks and interfaces, migrated from TrueNAS 13, but does not modify the component Description. For example, the Name of an interface identified as igb0 in TrueNAS 13 is updated to eno1 after migration to TrueNAS 24.04, but the Description igb0 is retained. This difference is purely cosmetic and does not affect functionality.

See Component Naming for more information.

Use the information gathered during your preparation to migrate to restore settings, tasks, VMs, credentials, etc. not present in SCALE after uploading the config file.

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.

The default SCALE administrator account name changes from admin to truenas_admin in TrueNAS SCALE 24.10 (Electric Eel) fresh installations. Earlier releases of SCALE with the admin account retain this account when upgrading to 24.10 through the UI.

To improve security and minimize username discoverability, create one or more administrator accounts with unique usernames and passwords and disable password access for default administrator accounts (root, admin, or truenas_admin). Configure appropriate administrative privileges for each admin account. Follow the principle of least privilege (PoLP) and assign the lowest permissions required to perform the administrative tasks expected for that user. If a task requires SSH login or sudo command permission, temporarily enable these settings then disable when the task is complete. See Security Recommendations and Allowing Sudo Commands for more information.

After adding the admin user account and group privileges, login to confirm UI access then disable the root and/or default administrator user password(s). Go to Credentials > Users, click on the user, and select Edit. Click the Disable Password toggle to disable the password, then click Save.

Go to Credentials > Users and click Add.

Enter memorable name that is difficult to guess for the administrator account. You can create multiple admin users with different names and assign each different administration roles and privileges.

Enter and confirm the admin user password.

Select Create New Primary Group to create a group with the same name as the admin user. To assign the new admin to an existing group with appropriate administrative privileges, either assign the group as an auxiliary group or deselect Create New Primary Group and select the group as the primary group.

Add the home directory for the new admin user. Enter or browse to select the location where SCALE creates the home directory. For example, /mnt/tank. If you created a dataset to use for home directories, select that dataset. Select the Read, Write, and Execute permissions for User, Group, and Other this directory should have, then select Create Home Directory.

Select the shell for this admin user from the Shell dropdown list. We recommend setting shell to TrueNAS Console as this provides access to the Console Setup menu and the Linux shell from the SCALE Shell screen.

If required, set the sudo permissions to assign. For improved security, temporarily enable limited sudo permissions only when required to complete an administrative task and disable sudo after completing the task. See Allowing Sudo Commands for more information.

For administrator accounts generated during the initial installation process, TrueNAS SCALE sets authorization to Allow all sudo commands. For improved security, deny sudo permissions unless required for specific, recurring administrative tasks or allow sudo permissions only when needed to perform a discrete task and then deny again when finished. Do not allow sudo permissions for read-only administrators.

Alternatively, accept default user sudo permissions and apply permissions to the group.

Click Save. The system adds the user to the builtin-users group after clicking Save.