TrueNAS Stable Version Documentation
This content follows TrueNAS 24.10 (Electric Eel) releases. Use the Product and Version selectors above to view content specific to a different software release.
Migrating TrueNAS CORE to SCALE
5 minute read.
This article provides information and instructions for migrating non-Enterprise TrueNAS CORE to SCALE.
TrueNAS Enterprise
TrueNAS Enterprise customers should consult with iXsystems Support before attempting migrate to TrueNAS SCALE.
The process requires an extended maintenance window, requires executing steps in the correct order to prevent issues with system configuration and operation, and additional system review post-migration to catch and correct any configuration issues.
Review the Migration Preparation article for detailed recommendations and preparation steps before attempting to migrate from CORE to SCALE.
Depending on system configuration, migrating from CORE to SCALE can be more or less complicated.
Migrating TrueNAS from CORE to SCALE is a one-way operation. Attempting to activate or roll back to a CORE boot environment can break the system.
Upgrade your CORE system to the latest publicly-available version, 13.0-U6.2 (or 13.3 for community users), release before attempting to migrate from CORE to SCALE. See Software Releases for current recommended update paths to make sure you download and migrate to the correct SCALE version.
You can migrate from 13.0-U6.x to 24.10 with a clean install using an
After TrueNAS boots, you might need to use the Console Setup menu to reconfigure networking interfaces to enable GUI accessibility. After logging in to the TrueNAS UI with the truenas_admin administrator account, go to System > General Settings and upload the 13.0-U6.x system config file. This migrates your settings, imports your pools, shares, etc. into 24.10.
After uploading the config file, TrueNAS reboots.
Uploading the CORE config file deletes the new admin user account created during a clean install and therefore requires you to recreate it. Log back into TrueNAS using the CORE root user credentials, and go to Credentials > Users to add an administration user with full control permissions. Test the login, then disable the root user password.
Review each area of the UI previously configured in CORE to validate network settings, pools imported, and all other settings migrated correctly. Begin with your network settings.
Non-Enterprise TrueNAS 13.0 and 13.3 installations can migrate to 24.04 using update trains. See the 24.04 Migration documentation for details on this method.
After migrating to 24.04, you can use the 24.04 update options to update to 24.10 as a regular, non-migration update.
Root account logins are deprecated in SCALE Bluefin 22.12.0 or newer for security hardening and to comply with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). All TrueNAS users should create an administrator account with all required permissions and begin using it to access TrueNAS. When the root user password is disabled, only an administrative user account can log in to the TrueNAS web interface.
TrueNAS SCALE plans to permanently disable root account access in a future release.
The default SCALE administrator account name changes from admin to truenas_admin in TrueNAS SCALE 24.10 (Electric Eel) fresh installations. Earlier releases of SCALE with the admin account retain this account when upgrading to 24.10 through the UI.
To improve security and minimize username discoverability, create one or more administrator accounts with unique usernames and passwords and disable password access for default administrator accounts (root, admin, or truenas_admin). Configure appropriate administrative privileges for each admin account. Follow the principle of least privilege (PoLP) and assign the lowest permissions required to perform the administrative tasks expected for that user. If a task requires SSH login or sudo command permission, temporarily enable these settings then disable when the task is complete. See Security Recommendations and Allowing Sudo Commands for more information.
After adding the admin user account and group privileges, login to confirm UI access then disable the root and/or default administrator user password(s). Go to Credentials > Users, click on the user, and select Edit. Click the Disable Password toggle to disable the password, then click Save.
Go to Credentials > Users and click Add.
Enter memorable name that is difficult to guess for the administrator account. You can create multiple admin users with different names and assign each different administration roles and privileges.
Enter and confirm the admin user password.
Select Create New Primary Group to create a group with the same name as the admin user. To assign the new admin to an existing group with appropriate administrative privileges, either assign the group as an auxiliary group or deselect Create New Primary Group and select the group as the primary group.
Add the home directory for the new admin user. Enter or browse to select the location where SCALE creates the home directory. For example, /mnt/tank. If you created a dataset to use for home directories, select that dataset. Select the Read, Write, and Execute permissions for User, Group, and Other this directory should have, then select Create Home Directory.
Select the shell for this admin user from the Shell dropdown list. We recommend setting shell to TrueNAS Console as this provides access to the Console Setup menu and the Linux shell from the SCALE Shell screen.
If required, set the sudo permissions to assign. For improved security, temporarily enable limited sudo permissions only when required to complete an administrative task and disable sudo after completing the task. See Allowing Sudo Commands for more information.
For administrator accounts generated during the initial installation process, TrueNAS SCALE sets authorization to Allow all sudo commands.
Alternatively, accept default user sudo permissions and apply permissions to the group.
Click Save. The system adds the user to the builtin-users group after clicking Save.