TrueNAS SCALE is open source storage that enables hyperconvergence and scale-out storage. Supporting file, block, objects, and applications, the latest TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin 22.12.3 is now available after over 60,000 deployments with over 1.2 Exabytes of data and is on track to surpass 100,000 deployments and two Exabytes of data in 2023.

UPDATE:  After release, a minor update to TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.3.1 was provided. This update included a few bug fixes, including a PCI-pass-though virtualization bug.

TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.2 was a significant release with its new Enterprise feature pack and the option of Gold / Silver / Bronze Enterprise support, which are now both available for SCALE. The Enterprise feature pack includes HA (dual controllers), Proactive Monitoring, Enclosure Management, and many other features and tools that ensure a highly reliable deployment in production environments.

TrueNAS 22.12.3 adds official (WebUI) support for SMB Multichannel and increases maturity and quality. SMB multichannel is used where systems have multiple LAN interfaces and can take advantage of more bandwidth than a single LAN interface. A customer can aggregate 4 x 1GbE ports, 2 x 10GbE ports, or 2 x 25GbE ports on TrueNAS. The resulting multichannel connection uses the aggregate bandwidth and makes more efficient use of  the client’s CPU by reducing the dependence on the performance of a single processor core.

After upgrading to TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.3, SMB Multichannel can be enabled from the (SMB Service Screen) menu by toggling the “Enable SMB Multichannel” option. For additional information on system configuration and requirements, visit the TrueNAS SCALE SMB Documentation page.

SCALE 22.12.3 Squashes Bugs

This third update (22.12.3) includes many significant improvements and bug fixes that are listed in the release notes. Highlights include:

• App reliability: There have been numerous cases where Apps have not reliably restarted after reboots and upgrades. A kernel/kubernetes race condition has been found and fixed.
• Samba update: Samba has been updated from 4.17.5 to 4.17.8. This includes about a dozen bug fixes and corrects several security CVEs.
• NVDIMM: Earlier versions of NVDIMM firmware prematurely predicted End-of-life for the NVDIMM. The latest version reduces these alerts and simplifies the firmware update process.
• 100+ Bug Fixes (most are minor) with several having a significant impact on system usability

In addition to the bug fixes, there are several security CVEs that have been addressed. There is also an update to the TrueNAS security page to improve searchability and navigation. More information is also available in this recent blog post.

Recently, we’ve provided additional tools for creating and distributing a much larger collection of Apps. These tools (Catalogs and Trains on Github) are improving the general user experience with Apps and we’re looking forward to continuing this progress.

SCALE 22.12.3 Prepares for Cobia

The next version of TrueNAS SCALE will be called Cobia, another fish, and starting with “C”. Cobia is currently in its internal Alpha stage and will get to BETA in CY Q3 2023. It will be a very exciting release with more information forthcoming next quarter. Some early testers have been using TrueNAS SCALE nightly builds while the development team is busily preparing for BETA status.

TrueNAS SCALE Cobia is going to improve its security posture and reduce the number of attack vectors. Part of this is reducing the number of built-in services and choosing to have them deployed as Apps. Apps — run as Kubernetes pods — have much more constrained access to the host system, and can only access the specified datasets provided to them. This improves system security and, in the end, provides greater flexibility for TrueNAS deployments. Each App can represent a different tenant or use-case.

Where services are being deprecated in favor of Apps, TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin will now report warnings to users in these cases. Where possible, users should migrate their Bluefin systems to use the substitute Apps and disable the internal services. This will allow for simpler updates to Cobia.

Examples of the Services that will become Apps are:

• Rsync Host App: The built-in rsync host capability in TrueNAS will be replaced by an official SCALE App. The built-in rsync task UI and the ability to rsync over SSH will be maintained.
• OpenVPN App: Complex VPN needs are best addressed by external firewall products, though we understand that TrueNAS SCALE is often leveraged to provide an endpoint for some VPN solutions. Where needed, Apps will be available for several VPN software products, such as OpenVPN, Tailscale, Wireguard, Zerotier, and more.
• Minio App: The Minio S3 target apps can be embedded or run as an App. We’ve been improving the App model and find it is more flexible for Enterprise deployments. Multiple copies of the Minio App can be run with different erasure coding groups and policies, allowing for additional flexibility in redundancy choices.
• FTP, TFTP, DynDNS, and WebDav Apps: These services are not commonly used and are more securely provided by Apps.

Plans for 4th Bluefin Update

The quality of Bluefin is maturing rapidly at this stage of the software development lifecycle. It is now suitable for Enterprise users with less mission-critical applications. The iX team is already working on the fourth (and likely final) update to Bluefin with a target release in September. This will include primarily bug fixes and CVEs only. Beyond that, Cobia will be the focus for both quality and security improvements.

Joining the School of Bluefin

As always, CORE users can “sidegrade” to SCALE when the time is right for them. SCALE Bluefin is an easy upgrade from SCALE Angelfish and is recommended for all users at this time. For more conservative users, the software status of TrueNAS editions is tracked here. There is also a comprehensive list of Bluefin changes in the release notes.

We want to thank the TrueNAS Community for the tremendous support in improving TrueNAS SCALE quality. It has been an exciting ride, and there is much more to come, so please keep making suggestions and reporting bugs as we continue to improve the quality and functionality of TrueNAS SCALE together. We’re also very excited to see more developers contributing to SCALE and collaborating via our Discord channel.  The more the merrier!

Want to learn more about TrueNAS SCALE solutions in your business? Contact us to speak to a Product Specialist.