TrueNAS Scale

Download TrueNAS SCALE

Download the TrueNAS SCALE ISO image from the official TrueNAS website: TrueNAS Download Page

Create Bootable USB with Balena Etcher

Use Balena Etcher to flash the downloaded TrueNAS SCALE ISO onto a USB drive. This will create your bootable installation medium.

Booting the Installer

Connect the bootable USB drive to your system. Power on and repeatedly press F7 (for the boot menu) or Del (for BIOS/UEFI settings) to access the relevant menu (GEEKOM Mini PC Air 12). From there, select your USB drive as the boot device.

Install TrueNAS SCALE

Start Installation

Once the TrueNAS SCALE installer boots, follow the on-screen prompts to begin the installation process.

Prepare Disk for Installation (Shell)

You might need to adjust partition sizes for optimal use, especially if you plan to create a data pool on the same drive.

Access Shell: During the TrueNAS SCALE installation, choose the option to enter the shell.
Adjust Python Script (Optional - for specific partition adjustments):
```
sed -i 's/-n3:0:0/-n3:0:+32000M/g' /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/truenas_installer/install.py
```
This command modifies the installer’s script to allocate 32GB for the boot-pool partition. This can be useful for certain configurations, but proceed with caution as it modifies core installer behavior.
Partition the Disk using parted: Replace <device-name> with your actual disk device (e.g., nvme0n1, sda).
```
parted /dev/<device-name>
```
For example:
```
parted /dev/nvme0n1
```

Print Current Partition Table: Within the parted prompt, type print to view the current partition layout.

(parted) print
Model: KINGSTON SNVS500GB (nvme)
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 488386584kiB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start        End          Size          File system  Name        Flags
 1      20.0kiB      1044kiB      1024kiB                                bios_grub
 2      1044kiB      525332kiB    524288kiB     fat32                    boot, esp
 3      526336kiB    17303552kiB  16777216kiB                boot-pool

Create New Data Partition: This command allocates the remaining space to a new partition named pool.
```
mkpart pool 17303552kiB 100%
```
Exit parted:
```
exit
```
Create ZFS Pool on the New Partition: This creates a ZFS pool named pool-data1 on the newly created partition (e.g., /dev/nvme0n1p4).
```
zpool create pool-data1 /dev/nvme0n1p4
```
Export the ZFS Pool: This step prepares the pool to be imported later by the TrueNAS system.
```
zpool export pool-data1
```
Exit Shell:
```
exit
```

Proceed with Installation

Install/Upgrade: Select the “Install/Upgrade” option in the TrueNAS SCALE installer.
Select Hard Drive: Choose the hard drive where TrueNAS SCALE will be installed. Ensure it has enough space.
Erase All Partitions: Confirm “Yes” to erase all existing partitions on the selected drive.
Administrative User: Set up the administrative user (e.g., truenas_admin) and its password.

Finalize Installation

Remove the installation media (USB drive) and shut down the system.

sudo shutdown -h now

Web Frontend Configuration

Connect your TrueNAS system to your local area network (LAN) for web access.

Import Data Pool

After TrueNAS SCALE has successfully booted and you can access the web interface:

Navigate to Storage -> Import Pool.
Select the pool you created in the shell (e.g., pool-data1) to import it into TrueNAS SCALE.