TrueNAS facts for kids

TrueNAS is a special kind of computer system. It helps businesses and people store huge amounts of digital information. Think of it like a super-smart digital locker for all your files!

This system is made by a company called iXsystems. There are two main types:

• TrueNAS Enterprise is a complete system with both hardware and software. Big companies buy this version. It comes with special support.
• TrueNAS Community Edition is free software. You can install it on your own computer.

TrueNAS uses a powerful file system called OpenZFS. This system helps keep your data safe and organized. It also lets you run other apps and even virtual computers on your storage device.

The Story of TrueNAS

How It All Started

The TrueNAS story began in October 2005. A person named Olivier Cochard-Labbé created a project called FreeNAS. It was built using a system called FreeBSD.

In 2006, Volker Theile joined the project. He later took over leading it.

A Fork in the Road

By 2009, Volker Theile felt FreeNAS needed big changes. He wanted to switch it to Debian Linux. But Olivier Cochard-Labbé wanted FreeNAS to stay with FreeBSD.

So, Volker Theile started a new project called OpenMediaVault. FreeNAS stayed with FreeBSD. The company iXsystems then took over its development. iXsystems was founded by some of the original developers of Berkeley Software Design.

TrueNAS is Born

In 2010, iXsystems released FreeNAS 8.x. This version had many new features. It also included the OpenZFS file system.

Around this time, iXsystems started using the name "TrueNAS." This name was for their special hardware systems. These systems were for big businesses. They had extra features like high availability. This means the system keeps working even if parts break.

The Rise of TrueNAS Scale

In July 2020, iXsystems announced TrueNAS Scale. This was a new version based on Linux. It was designed to "scale out," meaning it could easily grow to store even more data.

In 2021, iXsystems combined their free and paid software into one system. The free version was renamed TrueNAS Core. This helped tell it apart from TrueNAS Enterprise.

TrueNAS Scale was officially released in 2022. It was a version of TrueNAS that ran on Debian Linux. The "Scale" name came from its ability to handle huge amounts of data.

The Future is Linux-Based

By the end of 2023, more people were using the Linux-based TrueNAS Scale. So, iXsystems announced a big change. The older FreeBSD-based TrueNAS Core would only get security updates. No new features would be added to it.

In January 2025, iXsystems shared more news. The Linux-based TrueNAS Scale now had all the features of TrueNAS Core. They announced that Scale would simply be called TrueNAS. It would be available as the free "Community Edition" and the paid "Enterprise" version. All future development would focus on the Linux version.

Users of older TrueNAS versions were encouraged to upgrade to the new unified version 25.04 "Fangtooth" by mid-2025.

Images for kids

• Screenshot of the TrueNAS 11 web interface

  A screenshot showing the web interface of TrueNAS 11.

See also

In Spanish: TrueNAS para niños