Topics
Browse everything TrueNASGuide publishes by category and tag: every topic covered here, with the most recent guides listed under each one.
Tags
- #truenas 19
- #zfs 15
- #truenas-scale 7
- #homelab 5
- #hardware 4
- #nas 3
- #raidz 3
- #smb 3
- #arc 2
- #comparison 2
- #ecc-ram 2
- #jellyfin 2
- #migration 2
- #plex 2
- #pool-design 2
- #recordsize 2
- #shares 2
- #troubleshooting 2
- #truenas-core 2
- #unraid 2
- #zvol 2
- #apps 1
- #backup-strategy 1
- #backups 1
- #block-storage 1
- #budget-nas 1
- #community-edition 1
- #compression 1
- #containers 1
- #cpu 1
- #data-protection 1
- #datasets 1
- #degraded-pool 1
- #disk-health 1
- #disk-replacement 1
- #hard-drives 1
- #hba 1
- #home-media 1
- #home-server 1
- #iscsi 1
- #mirror 1
- #monitoring 1
- #nas-build 1
- #nas-drives 1
- #nas-os 1
- #nextcloud 1
- #nfs 1
- #openmediavault 1
- #performance 1
- #permissions 1
- #pool-expansion 1
- #raidz-expansion 1
- #ram 1
- #recovery 1
- #replication 1
- #resilver 1
- #samba 1
- #scrub 1
- #setup 1
- #smart 1
- #snapshots 1
- #storage 1
- #transcoding 1
- #truenas-enterprise 1
- #tuning 1
- #vdev 1
- #versions 1
- #volblocksize 1
- #zfs-send 1
- #zpool-import 1
Categories
getting-started 5 posts
- TrueNAS Community Edition vs SCALE: What ChangedTrueNAS Community Edition and TrueNAS SCALE are the same product under two names. What the rename changed, what it did not, and which version to install.
- How to Set Up TrueNAS SCALE: From Bare Metal to First ShareA practical step-by-step guide on how to set up TrueNAS SCALE — hardware, installation, pool creation with RAIDZ, datasets, SMB shares, and backups.
- Unraid vs TrueNAS for Media: Flexibility or ZFS IntegrityTrueNAS adds checksums and costs nothing; Unraid accepts mixed drives and needs less RAM. Compare Plex, Jellyfin, apps, storage growth and licensing.
- TrueNAS SCALE vs Unraid vs OMV 2026: 5 Factors ComparedTrueNAS SCALE, Unraid and OpenMediaVault compared on filesystem, expansion, apps, hardware and cost, with a clear pick for each type of home NAS build.
- TrueNAS SCALE vs CORE in 2026: Which Should You Use?TrueNAS SCALE is the active Linux platform; CORE's final release was in 2025. Compare apps, VMs, hardware support, pool portability and migration.
hardware 5 posts
- Best CPU for TrueNAS SCALE 2026Compare the best CPUs for TrueNAS SCALE in 2026 across file serving, Jellyfin transcoding, ECC support, virtual machines, and idle power.
- TrueNAS RAM Requirements by WorkloadTrueNAS RAM sizing for file sharing, apps, VMs, iSCSI, directory services, L2ARC, and deduplication, based on official workload guidance.
- Best Hard Drives for TrueNAS NAS in 2026The best hard drives for TrueNAS NAS must be CMR, not SMR — ZFS will punish the wrong choice. Here are the top picks by workload, budget, and bay count.
- Best Budget NAS Build for Home: What Actually Works in 2026A practical guide to the best budget NAS build for home use: Intel N100 platforms, ZFS-compatible drives, TrueNAS SCALE setup, and the backup plan.
- TrueNAS System Requirements: Minimum & RecommendedTrueNAS needs a 64-bit 2-core CPU, 8 GB RAM, a 16 GB boot SSD and two data drives. Compare the official minimum with practical home NAS targets.
zfs-fundamentals 4 posts
- RAIDZ1 vs RAIDZ2: Parity, Resilver Risk, and Which to PickRAIDZ1 survives one disk failure, RAIDZ2 survives two. What that means for usable capacity, resilver risk, and how to choose at each vdev width.
- TrueNAS Zvol vs Dataset: Block vs File StorageUse a TrueNAS dataset for SMB, NFS and app files; use a zvol for iSCSI or a VM's raw disk. Compare recordsize, volblocksize and snapshots.
- ZFS Performance Tuning: ARC, Recordsize & CompressionLearn when ARC size, dataset recordsize and compression affect ZFS performance, which settings fit common workloads, and what to leave at defaults.
- ZFS RAIDZ vs Mirror: Capacity, IOPS, and Resilver RiskChoose 6- to 8-wide RAIDZ2 for media and bulk storage, or two-way mirrors for VMs and databases. Compare usable capacity, fault tolerance and growth.
data-protection 2 posts
- TrueNAS Scrub: What It Does and How Often to Run ItA scrub reads all used blocks, verifies checksums and repairs bad data from redundancy. Run it every two weeks or monthly, plus SMART short and long tests.
- TrueNAS Snapshot and Replication StrategySnapshots protect against accidents. Replication protects against fires. Here is a practical TrueNAS snapshot schedule and replication setup for a home.
sharing 2 posts
- iSCSI vs NFS vs SMB on TrueNAS: The File vs Block RuleSMB, NFS or iSCSI on TrueNAS? The file-versus-block rule that decides it, which clients suit each protocol, and the honest performance differences.
- How to Set Up a TrueNAS SMB Share: Users, ACLs & AppsCreate a TrueNAS SMB share step by step: make a dataset and user, set NFSv4 ACLs, start SMB, connect clients and avoid the apps-dataset error.
troubleshooting 2 posts
- TrueNAS Degraded Pool: How to Replace a Failed DiskIdentify the failed drive by serial, confirm it with SMART, install an equal-or-larger CMR disk, resilver, and verify the pool returns to ONLINE.
- TrueNAS Pool Won't Import? 5 zpool Fixes That WorkTrueNAS pool won't import, or I/O is suspended? Decode UNAVAIL, FAULTED and DEGRADED, fix missing devices, and import read-only to rescue your data.