The TrueNAS team is working to unify its user base with the upcoming "Fangtooth" release. The next major version, TrueNAS Fangtooth 25.04, will combine the best features of previous versions to create a single, streamlined, and user-friendly platform.
Currently, TrueNAS 25.04 is in the internal ALPHA phase. BETA testing is anticipated to begin in February 2025, with the official release targeted for April 2025.
The enterprise users can expect a formal recommendation by July 2025.
This unification aims to consolidate development efforts, deliver a consistent user experience, and enable users to benefit from a unified software foundation.
Table of Contents
What is TrueNAS?
TrueNAS is an open-source storage operating system that is built on the OpenZFS file system. It's designed to be a flexible and reliable storage solution for a variety of users, from home labs to large enterprises.
With TrueNAS, you can create your own custom storage system. Think of it as having your own personal data center, tailored to your needs, whether for your home, small business, or a large corporation.
TrueNAS is suitable for a variety of uses, including analytics, backup, cloud integration, file sharing, media, surveillance, and virtualization.
It is used in many industries such as audio, automotive, broadcasting, education, government, gaming, healthcare, manufacturing, and research.
TrueNAS can be installed on any hardware or virtual machine. It offers a range of features, and is positioned as being more than just a traditional Network Attached Storage (NAS).
Key Features
Here are some of the key features of TrueNAS:
- Unified Storage: TrueNAS is described as a "universal and unified data platform". It integrates file, block, and object storage capabilities, as well as supporting containers and virtual machines (VMs). This means it can handle a variety of storage needs within the same system.
- Open Source: TrueNAS is a free and open-source system, meaning the software is available to use and modify without any software costs.
- ZFS File System: TrueNAS is built on the OpenZFS file system, which offers features such as built-in RAID, data management tools, and the ability to detect and repair silent data corruption. ZFS is a key factor in ensuring data integrity and reliability.
- Scalability: TrueNAS is designed to be scalable, and it can be used in different environments, from small home setups (using the Mini Series appliances) to large enterprise environments (using the TrueNAS Enterprise appliances). It can scale-up, by adding more drives to a single system, or scale-out, by creating storage clusters with multiple systems.
- Community and Enterprise Support: TrueNAS has both community and enterprise support options. There is a global community for peer-to-peer support via forums and Discord, and enterprise support is available for customers with support contracts.
TrueNAS CORE and SCALE
Historically, there have been two main versions of TrueNAS:
- TrueNAS CORE (based on FreeBSD),
- TrueNAS SCALE (based on Linux).
TrueNAS CORE is the original version, while SCALE was introduced later to provide modern Linux capabilities such as the ability to use Linux Containers and VMs.
What is TrueNAS Fangtooth 25.04?
As I mentioned earlier, TrueNAS used to have two main versions: CORE and SCALE. CORE was based on FreeBSD and SCALE on Linux. Now, Fangtooth combines both into one unified system.
This makes things simpler for everyone. Think of it like having one set of tools that work for everything, instead of needing separate ones.
TrueNAS 25.04 "Fangtooth" will be an upgrade for both SCALE 24.10 and CORE 13.x users.
This unification is designed to consolidate development efforts, improve user experience and allow the community to share a common software base
Key Features of TrueNAS Fangtooth
Fangtooth is more than just a combination of CORE and SCALE. It also brings a lot of new features:
- Versioned API: This allows other programs to work with TrueNAS more easily, knowing that they will continue to work even as TrueNAS gets updated.
- Fast Dedup: This helps to save space by removing duplicate files.
- iSCSI Block Cloning: This feature makes it faster to copy data for virtual machines.
- Improved Containerisation and Virtualisation: Fangtooth uses Incus to manage containers and virtual machines with a better web interface, making them more straightforward to use.
- Upgraded Linux Kernel: Fangtooth uses the latest Linux Kernel (6.12 LTS) for better hardware support.
- Configurable IP addresses for Apps: You can now assign different IP addresses to your apps.
- LXC Containers: This allows you to run full Linux instances and also use Docker/Kubernetes.
- Improved Security: With better logging and auditing, Fangtooth will have improved security.
- NFS over RDMA: This makes data transfer faster for big applications.
- Veeam Fast Clone: This speeds up data backups when used with Veeam.
- Fibre Channel: This allows for fibre channel storage connections, especially useful for large businesses.
Who is TrueNAS Fangtooth For?
TrueNAS is very versatile and can be used by many different people:
- Home Users: You can use it to store your personal files, photos, and videos.
- Small Businesses: It can help you share files and back up important data.
- Large Companies: TrueNAS is also great for big businesses needing a reliable and secure storage solution.
- Various Industries: Many sectors including audio, automotive, broadcasting, education, government, gaming, healthcare, manufacturing, research and media use TrueNAS.
TrueNAS also has different appliance options to suit different needs, such as the F-Series for high performance, the M-Series for hybrid performance, the H-Series for cost-effective business use, the R-Series for single controller needs, and the Mini Series for home and small office use.
Why Choose TrueNAS 25.04?
- It's Free and Open Source: You don't have to pay for the software.
- It's Reliable: The OpenZFS file system keeps your data safe.
- It's Flexible: It works for file, block and object storage as well as supporting containers and VMs.
- It's Powerful: It offers many advanced features that were previously only available in high-end systems.
- It's Unified: The combination of CORE and SCALE will lead to a larger community and streamlined development.
TrueNAS Fangtooth 25.04 Release Date
TrueNAS Fangtooth is being tested, and is expected to be released in April 2025. It is currently available as a nightly image for developers and testers. By July 2025, it is expected to be recommended for enterprise users.
Download TrueNAS
If you're interested, you can download the TrueNAS Community Edition to try it out for yourself.
TrueNAS Fangtooth simplifies the system by combining CORE and SCALE, while also adding many new features for improved performance, security and scalability.
By the end of 2025, most TrueNAS users are expected to be using Fangtooth.
Update:
Good news for any one who cares about privacy! TrueNAS 25.04 Fangtooth is officially released! Check the release announcement for more details.
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