Overall Satisfaction with TrueNAS
It allows me to make use of older hardware to make secondary / primary NAS /iSCSI Servers.
I also use these servers to do nightly backups of all our VMs. The ability to use TrueNAS Core software
has really helped us out in the last 3 years especially.
We don't have to wait on new expensive hardware to get a new NAS / iSCSI server running. The chip shortage
has made it a very scary proposition to try and acquire new hardware in the face of such a shortage should we
have a failed server. It has let me leverage previous investments in hardware to cover any shortages in storage
availability.
Pros
- iSCSI Datastores for virtualization.
- NFS store for unix storage or backups over networking.
- Very fast performance, sometimes outclassing SSD arrays even in NFS.
- The ZFS filesystem has given use much greater flexibility.
- Using their newer servers we could in theory scale to any height of required storage.
Cons
- Better explanations of what a 'jail' is.
- Update the UI to support easier creation or clearer creation of new arrays.
- More plugin integrations.
- The ability to run scripts to copy things locally such as to a usb RDX hard drive.
- Proper USB 3.0 support.
- NFS backup stores.
- iSCSI datastores.
- Available to install on any hardware (TrueNAS core).
- If we bought the TrueNAS servers themselves the advance replacements of hdd's.
- General support available outclasses any storage solutions I've seen.
- Zero downtime while switching company storage.
- Due to the availability I was able to avoid overtime as I was able to work during the day and the users were none the wiser.
- Synology DiskStation and QES (QNAP Enterprise Storage)
Do you think TrueNAS delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with TrueNAS's feature set?
Yes
Did TrueNAS live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of TrueNAS go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy TrueNAS again?
Yes
Using TrueNAS
Myself, as sysadmin use the other features such as NFS and iSCSI etc. We have a rack mounted R20 as our main storage at our sister company. At our main location I've used a combination of TrueNAS Scale on bare metal systems to leverage previous assets to create a NAS with great specs.
I also have two installations of TrueNAS Scale installed as VMs for testing purposes and dedicated NFS stores.
We also have a paid support contract for our R20 install.
- NFS Storage for nightly backups
- iSCSI Shared Storage for VM disks.
- SMB Shares for file sharing
- Installing and running apps without the need of VMs
- The ability to aggregate 4 port network cards into a 40Gb connection
- Free Storage server software.
- The ability to reuse our old servers instead of retiring them every 4 years.
- More apps to reduce the need for VMs on vmware.
- Virtual Machines on TrueNAS instead of relying on VMWARE which we are likely not renewing.
- Networking and Storage practice / learning.
Evaluating TrueNAS and Competitors
Also our company wanted support availability and we also wanted to learn more about TrueNAS for our main company as well.
- Integration with Other Systems
- Ease of Use
- Other
So far TrueNAS has accomplished all of this. I just wish there was a better way to pickup their hardware here in Canada.
I'd also ensure that the drives are actually supported for boot AND storage.
I'd also start the machine off with 4x10Gb SFP cards next time. I'd also give greater weight to whether or not they can ship from inside Canada. The times to ship parts were not ideal.
TrueNAS Implementation
- Implemented in-house
I'm the only one who handles the configurations etc. To the users it just looks like a mapped drive on their windows workstation.
- wrong boot drive shipped with server
- fans were gearing up and down repeatedly when no load was present. they had to be RMA'd
- Networking issues during setup made it difficult as this was supposed to be a headless setup.
TrueNAS Support
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed Immediate help available Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | Slow Resolution Escalation required Need to explain problems multiple times |
I had a new power supply shipped out the next morning and it arrived within about 3 business days.
I ended up sick so it was a few days before I could install it but they followed up with me to make sure that the PSU got installed and it was indeed working.
Using TrueNAS
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Like to use Easy to use Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using | Requires technical support Slow to learn Lots to learn |
- SMB Integration with Active Directory
- iSCSI setup
- NFS storage setup.
- Networking setup with VLANS
- Permissions with ACLs / Active directory.
Comments
Please log in to join the conversation