Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring TrueNAS CORE

This guide will walk you through a detailed TrueNAS CORE installation and configuration, covering storage pools, networking, and services like SMB, NFS, and iSCSI.

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🔹 Step 1: Install TrueNAS CORE

If you haven’t installed it yet, follow these steps:

1. Download the ISO → TrueNAS CORE Official Site
2. Create a Bootable USB → Use balenaEtcher or dd
3. Boot from USB and follow the installation wizard
4. Set root password and reboot

Once installed, TrueNAS will display an IP Address on the console screen.

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🔹 Step 2: Access the Web Interface

1. Open a browser and enter:
2. cpp
3. http://<TrueNAS-IP>
4. Log in using:
   • Username: root
   • Password: (Set during installation)

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🔹 Step 3: Configure Storage (ZFS Pool)

1️⃣ Create a Storage Pool

1. Go to Storage > Pools
2. Click Add → Choose Create New Pool
3. Select available disks
   • RAID Options:
     • RAIDZ-1 (1 disk redundancy)
     • RAIDZ-2 (2 disk redundancy)
     • RAIDZ-3 (3 disk redundancy)
     • Mirror (like RAID 1)
     • Stripe (RAID 0, no redundancy)
4. Set the Pool Name
5. Click Create (this will erase all data on selected drives)

2️⃣ Configure Datasets (Folders with Permissions)

1. Go to Storage > Pools
2. Click the 3-dot menu next to the pool and select Add Dataset
3. Set a Dataset Name
4. Choose:
   • Compression (LZ4 recommended)
   • Case Sensitivity (Insensitive for Windows)
5. Click Save

3️⃣ Configure User Permissions

1. Go to Accounts > Users
2. Create a new user (e.g., nasuser)
3. Assign Home Directory inside the dataset (e.g., /mnt/storage)
4. Go to Storage > Datasets
5. Click Edit Permissions and set:
   • Owner: nasuser
   • Group: wheel or users
   • Permissions: Full Access (770)

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🔹 Step 4: Configure Network

1. Go to Network > Interfaces
2. Click Add and select your network interface
3. Set:
   • DHCP (default) or Static IP
   • Netmask (e.g., 255.255.255.0)
   • Gateway (your router’s IP, e.g., 192.168.1.1)
4. Click Apply

If using multiple NICs:

• LACP/Link Aggregation → Combines multiple NICs for speed
• VLANs → Isolate storage traffic

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🔹 Step 5: Configure File Sharing

1️⃣ Enable SMB (Windows File Sharing)

1. Go to Services > SMB and enable it
2. Go to Sharing > Windows (SMB)
3. Click Add:
   • Path: /mnt/storage
   • Name: SharedFolder
   • Guest Access: (Enable if needed)
   • Permissions: Ensure the dataset is owned by nasuser
4. Click Save & Restart SMB
5. Access from Windows:
   • Open Run (Win + R) and enter: php-templateCopyEdit\\<TrueNAS-IP>
   • Login using nasuser

2️⃣ Enable NFS (Linux & Unix File Sharing)

1. Go to Services > NFS and enable it
2. Go to Sharing > Unix (NFS)
3. Click Add:
   • Path: /mnt/storage
   • Maproot User: root
   • Authorized Networks: (e.g., 192.168.1.0/24)
4. Click Save & Restart NFS
5. Mount on Linux: bashCopyEditsudo mount -t nfs <TrueNAS-IP>:/mnt/storage /mnt/nas

3️⃣ Enable iSCSI (For VMs & ESXi)

1. Go to Services > iSCSI and enable it
2. Go to Sharing > Block (iSCSI)
3. Click Add Target:
   • Target Name: iscsi_target
   • Auth Method: None or CHAP
4. Go to Extents > Add Extent:
   • Extent Name: iscsi_extent
   • Device Type: File or Zvol
   • Path: /mnt/storage/iscsi.img
5. Go to Targets > Associate Target & Extent
6. On ESXi → Add as iSCSI Datastore

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🔹 Step 6: Enable Security & Backups

1️⃣ Enable Automatic Snapshots

1. Go to Tasks > Periodic Snapshot Tasks
2. Click Add:
   • Dataset: /mnt/storage
   • Schedule: Hourly, Daily, Weekly
   • Retention: 30 Days
3. Click Save

2️⃣ Setup Replication to Another NAS

1. Go to Tasks > Replication Tasks
2. Click Add:
   • Source Dataset: /mnt/storage
   • Destination: Remote TrueNAS
   • SSH Key Exchange
3. Click Start Replication

3️⃣ Setup Cloud Backup

1. Go to System > Cloud Credentials
2. Choose Google Drive, AWS, Backblaze B2, etc.
3. Go to Tasks > Cloud Sync Tasks
4. Click Add:
   • Direction: PUSH
   • Remote Storage: Select Cloud Provider
   • Schedule: Daily/Weekly

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🔹 Step 7: Monitoring & Maintenance

1️⃣ Enable Email Alerts

1. Go to System > Alerts
2. Setup Email:
   • SMTP Server: (e.g., smtp.gmail.com)
   • Username/Password
   • Send Test Email

2️⃣ Enable SMART Monitoring

1. Go to Storage > Disks > Edit Disk
2. Enable SMART Monitoring
3. Go to Tasks > SMART Tests
4. Schedule Weekly Tests

3️⃣ Monitor Performance

• Go to Reporting for CPU, RAM, Disk, Network usage
• Use CLI: bashCopyEdittop zpool status zfs list

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✅ TrueNAS CORE is Now Fully Configured! 🎉