TrueNAS “Fangtooth” takes its first big step into the limelight with today’s release of TrueNAS 25.04-BETA. With new features for both Community and Enterprise users, TrueNAS 25.04 will offer an upgrade to SCALE 24.10 and CORE 13.x users alike – and the BETA release is ready for eager testers to explore the new feature set and improved performance of this unified code base.

The incredibly popular TrueNAS 24.10 release was used as the foundation for Fangtooth development. The latest release, TrueNAS 24.10.2, brings the integrated Docker support and significantly improved performance over TrueNAS 13.0 to a level where it is recommended for (and used by) the majority of the TrueNAS Community, with over 100,000 systems in operation today.

Performance, Security, and Scalability

Fangtooth unifies CORE and SCALE and introduces a number of new features to TrueNAS to improve performance, security, and scalability for users, including:

• Upgraded Linux Kernel 6.12 with improved and extended hardware support
• OpenZFS 2.3 with Fast Dedup for data reduction on flash systems
• Massive RAID-Z expansion acceleration (by 5X)
• iSCSI Block Cloning for faster VMware clusters and virtualization workloads
• New! Instances Support – LXC containers (similar to Jails) & Virtualization via Incus
• Experimental TrueNAS Versioned API for third-party application integration

For further details, see the Fangtooth introduction blog, the OpenZFS 2.3 feature highlights, and TrueNAS release notes on our Docs website.

Existing TrueCommand users should refrain from upgrading to the Fangtooth BETA at this time, as the current release of TrueCommand 3.0.2 does not yet support this. The upcoming TrueCommand 3.1 will add the ability to manage 25.04 systems, in addition to retaining backwards compatibility with other versions.

Enterprise-Specific Extensions

TrueNAS Enterprise appliances running 25.04 will also receive improved security and performance features designed for more intense Enterprise workloads:

• Improved Security (GPOS STIG) with additional logging and auditing
• iSCSI Extensions for RDMA (iSER) and NFS over RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) improves latency and IOPS for many applications
• Veeam Fast Clone for SMB backup acceleration
• Fibre Channel support for SAN transitions and extended compatibility

For more information about these features and other Enterprise benefits, including up to 24×7 support, connect with a TrueNAS product specialist to discuss available options.

More Flexible Virtualization Options

In addition to the robust Apps catalog powered by Docker Compose, the BETA release of Fangtooth leverages the Incus manager to offer both lightweight Linux containers and powerful KVM virtualization in the same management interface.

Containers, like the Jails functionality offered in TrueNAS CORE, offer lightweight, efficient virtualization by sharing the host OS kernel, providing faster startup times and reduced resource usage compared to full virtual machines. When stronger isolation, kernel independence, or a different guest operating system entirely is desired, a VM can be deployed and configured. This functionality is still under significant development in 25.04-BETA, and is suggested for early adopters who are comfortable with this emerging feature.

Fangtooth Unification Goals

The transition to TrueNAS Community Edition will allow the TrueNAS engineering team to undertake faster development of new features, provide a common codebase, and unite the community under a single release that provides a superset of the functional capabilities of CORE and SCALE.

Over 100,000 TrueNAS users have already taken the first step of migrating to the unified environment, with the transition of the Apps ecosystem from Kubernetes in 24.04 to the more stable and user-friendly Docker Compose in 24.10 laying the foundation and making TrueNAS 24.10 the most popular version of TrueNAS today. Today’s launch of TrueNAS 25.04-BETA marks the next step in the process.

When Should I Update?

If you are deploying a new TrueNAS system, we recommend TrueNAS 24.10.2 for added functionality, broad hardware support, an expanded App catalog, better performance, and an improved Web UI, all of which make managing TrueNAS easier.

Current TrueNAS 13.x users looking for the new capabilities outlined above can upgrade to TrueNAS 24.10.2 anytime, preserving data and essential NAS functionality such as SMB, NFS, iSCSI, and VMs.

Following today’s release of TrueNAS 25.04-BETA, a Release Candidate will follow in March, with the official release of 25.04 in April 2025. By July 2025, Fangtooth will be recommended to Enterprise users and available by default on our TrueNAS Enterprise hardware.

For current software recommendations, always review the Software Status page for recommendations based on your profile.

Join the TrueNAS Community

Whether you’re looking to deploy TrueNAS 24.10 or help shape the future of TrueNAS 25.04, now is the perfect time to engage with our growing community. Download your copy of TrueNAS Community Edition today and join thousands of users already benefiting from True Data Freedom. Visit the TrueNAS Community Forums or connect with us on social media to share your experiences and insights.