This is my first time attempting to install TrueNAS. I’m aware QNAP isn’t an optimal platform for that. I wasn’t the one who picked it. I’d like to use TrueNAS if I can, but I’d also like to leave open the possibility of using QTC/Hero instead.
Get a decent durable M.2 NVME SSD such as the WD Red SN700 256 GB. Get two, even, and mirror them.
The fan control will not work. You need to live with 100% fan speed or use a third-party kernel module (which is not functionality supported by iX systems and doesn’t seem to exist for my hardware).
Are there considerations I’m forgetting? Has a better solution (than 100% fan speed) to the fan control issue been found that supports the TVS? In your opinion, are the benefits to TrueNAS over QTC or QuTS Hero enough to justify drawbacks?
different model from yours but stuff you may encounter during your setup.
But to go over your points
not necessarily. If your nas (e.g. like mine has some 2.5’’ ssd slots internally, which are then connected to the backplane in the ts-877), has ANY ssd support whether it be 2.5’’ ssd or m.2 sata ssd or m.2 nvme ssd, then you can install that internally then boot from there.
However, i tried that with a pcie addon card for adding m.2 nvme using qnaps addon, it wouldn’t boot truenas from that. Also i wanted to use m.2 nvme rather than the 2.5’‘’ ssd which is capped at sata speeds. Hence the decision why i went with the usb m.2 nvme external enclosure solution for the truenas boot drive.
yes you can get 2 of these external usb m.2 nvme enclosures, then plug both of them into the usb ports at the back of the nas, then setup a raid1 that way. i only had 1 so i couldn’t do that. it just worked, so i didn’t bother, though i probably should for a more reliable nas setup.
i STRONGLY recommend, that when you setup truenas, that you confirm the status of your fans. Is the fans working? is it on? and is the speed fast enough? if not then you need to remember to go into the bios and set the fan to MANUAL, and set it to max fan speed. I tried to adjust fan speed but the airflow was too low. Only max speed seemed to work well.
another option for fans is it you can get a fan script to work, but i never could.
If your nas has a front LED panel, you need to setup a script for that so it can show it powering on, then the led turns off itself. If you don’t the led will be on all the time. previously in truenas core the scripts for led worked for me. But since moving to truenas scale, it no longer worked. So i gave up on that. One solution was just to put black tape to cover it, if it’s annoying.
as for still being able to rollback, i suggest that when installing truenas, install truenas on SSD internal or external. There is a DOM, DO NOT install anything on that. I also recommend DO NOT, physically remove it (though you can if you want to, it’s not worth the effort).
Just go into your bios and set NOT to boot the DOM. You can also additionally go into truenas and set a script not to boot dom (so it won’t be detected as a drive). But this script fails if you plug anything new into the usb ports at the back, this changes the lettering which causes that failure, so the dom will show up again. keep that in mind. So even without the truenas script, just simply not accidentally do anything with that dom, whenever ur in the storage drive selector. You will know which is the DOM because the capacity size is very low. Just ignore it.
To rollback to QTS (most probably if you plan to sell it off), just unplug the external usb, go into bios reset back to defaults (confirm that the dom is enabled and in the boot section), then boot normally. It will then boot QNAP as normal. Then update QTS.
not necessarily. If your nas has ANY ssd support whether it be 2.5’’ ssd or m.2 sata ssd or m.2 nvme ssd, then you can install that internally then boot from there.
Alright, that’s convenient if true. The h874 does have two internal M.2 (presumably) NVME slots for cache. I’ll try that first, then. There aren’t any weird incompatibilities, are there?
More general question for anyone: If you install TrueNAS to an M.2, is that M.2 also used for cache/configuration for applications like Jellyfin? (I know NASes generally aren’t recommended for Jellyfin, but this one has an i5 with QSV, so I was considering it) I’ve heard you can’t use any part of the boot drive for storage.
i STRONGLY recommend, that when you setup truenas, that you confirm the status of your fans. Is the fans working? is it on? and is the speed fast enough?
Do you know if it works properly on some QNAP NASes? Or is it software-controlled on all of them?
How loud do the fans get? (though I suppose it depends on the model)
There is a DOM, DO NOT install anything on that. I also recommend DO NOT, physically remove it
I heard about this. There was one video that actually suggested pulling out the DOM and using the USB header it was plugged into to attach a USB stick internally for some reason. It was in the TVS-hx74 line, too. It had M.2 slots. I was pretty surprised. Videos never seem to mention the fan control issue either.
No. The boot device is only the boot device, and is not used for any other purpose. There are hack-y ways to do this, but you’re in unsupported territory if you pursue them.
fan didn’t work on 2 models i tested. had to disable smart fan, and set to manual instead. max fan speed was the only one that offered sufficient air flow.
initially yes it was so loud. but i’m use to it now. if this is a concern, you can use noise cancelling headphones which i have on hand which i tested was effective for this.
if you do a forum search for elvis dom truenas, he may have posted pic of how he removed the dom. he had to use a hair dryer to heat the stuff holding the dom in place. basically seems like a one way street for removing it, gonna be a bich to add it back if later you decide to sell it in it’s original state. it’s honestly not worth the effort. leaving it physically there as is, and simply disable it from booting in the bios is more than sufficient.
there are other qnap to truenas projects posted in the PREVIOUS truenas forum. you can try check there for any additional info for this qnap qts to truenas conversion. I only shared my experiences with it ^^
The DOM in my two QNAP rack systems are inserted in the DOM slot on the motherboard and can be removed fairly easily. On a QNAP the QNAP DOM is written to the first hard drive (slot zero) for day to day operations of the NAS. At least that is what I once found posted on the QNAP forums as to sequence of operation. The QNAP DOM can be removed and one with Truenas installed on it can be installed or you can remove the DOM and install Truenas on an m.2 if there is a slot available on the motherboard. The Truenas DOM unlike the QNAP DOM will not be written to the first hard drive. If you don’t screw up the QNAP DOM, you can go back to QNAP factory default system by reinstalling the QNAP DOM.
So, the correct solution is to get a very small (64 GB) boot M.2 drive and then a separate M.2 or SATA (in a bay) drive with more capacity (250GB?) to install all the containers on? Anything to look for in the boot drive? Does it need to be particularly write-durable? A certain speed?
Edit: Struggling to find reputable M.2s with 64GB capacity, might have to settle for an oversized drive
Not particularly. Any small and cheap drive will do—the point is that you don’t regret “wasting” on the boot device. My favourite pick for CORE are sub-$10 Optane M10 16 GB drives, and that’s not because they are Optane.
It sounds that’s just the “minimum” storage for SCALE, though. Is that good enough? Can the SCALE OS itself use some additional space for something of value? The 32GB version is ~5x more expensive ($4-6 —> $22-28) new, so it would be nice (but not a big deal either way) if 16GB was enough.
Though for some reason on the same page that it lists 16GB as the minimum, it says:
“Boot environments” being, I think, system backups?
Every time you do a system update, TrueNAS makes a new boot environment, essentially a completely new install, allowing you to switch back to previous installs if something goes wrong with the new one.
You can also clone a boot environment any time you want (including the current one)
There’s normally not much reason to have more than a handful. Unless you’re experimenting with nightlies etc.
