iXsystems announced the first beta release of TrueNAS 26, code named Halfmoon, on April 7, 2026. This update brings smarter tools, faster speeds, and better hardware support.
Let us discuss some notable highlights in TrueNAS 26-BETA1.
Table of Contents
A New Annual Release Cycle
The biggest change isn't a technical feature, but how you'll receive updates.
TrueNAS 26 starts a new annual software release schedule. This change comes directly from community feedback. The team wants to focus on higher quality and better development productivity.
While major updates happen once a year, you will still see point releases like 26.1 and 26.2 for maintenance. This new cycle aims to provide a simpler upgrade path for everyone.
Fighting High Hardware Costs with OpenZFS 2.4
Right now, prices for RAM and SSDs are rising quickly due to the AI boom. TrueNAS 26 fights this "memflation" with smarter software efficiency.
The new OpenZFS 2.4 foundation allows you to build better hybrid flash pools. You can mix cheap hard drives with fast flash drives to get a 10X performance boost.
Furthermore, new code makes deduplication faster to save even more space. You can also schedule disk scrubbing to avoid busy hours.
Major Improvements in Hybrid Flash Pools
As stated above, the significant feature of OpenZFS 2.4 in TrueNAS 26 is the enhanced support for hybrid flash pools, which offer a balance between high performance and lower costs per terabyte.
- Mixed VDEV Support: Users can now build hybrid pools using a combination of multiple flash and HDD vdevs.
- Tiered Flash Usage: The flash tier within these pools is used for data storage but can also function as the ZIL/SLOG (ZFS Intent Log/Separate Log), leading to greater operational efficiency.
- Performance Gains: By assigning specific datasets or LUNs directly to the flash tier, users can achieve performance increases of up to 10X.
- Preferential Resource Allocation: The system allows for small files and metadata to be given preferential access to flash resources, ensuring that the most latency-sensitive data remains highly responsive.
- Cost Efficiency: This approach dramatically reduces the total cost of ownership compared to all-flash pools while still providing high-speed access where it is needed most.
Additional OpenZFS 2.4 Enhancements
Beyond hybrid pools, OpenZFS 2.4 includes other key performance and maintenance updates:
- Fast Dedup Acceleration: TrueNAS has contributed specialized code to further increase Fast Dedup performance. This improved deduplication can be utilized in both all-flash and the new hybrid-flash solutions to maximize storage capacity.
- Scheduled ZFS Scrubbing: To prevent maintenance tasks from impacting productivity, users can now schedule ZFS scrubs to occur during non-busy hours, minimizing performance degradation during peak operational times.
Smarter Ways to Use Your Data
Managing files should be easy, regardless of where you are. This release introduces two powerful tools called Intelligent Data Services.
1. TrueNAS WebShare
Think of this as your own private, encrypted Dropbox. It allows you to share files directly through a web browser, tablet, or smartphone.
It uses FIPS 140 Encrypted Transport and works seamlessly across different protocols like SMB and NFS.
2. TrueSearch (Spotlight Search)
Finding one file in a millions of files is usually slow. TrueSearch solves this by indexing your data on SSDs to provide sub-second response times, even if you have a billion files.
It is fully compatible with macOS Spotlight, so you can search your NAS as if it were a local drive.
Both services require a TrueNAS Connect account.
Related Read: Cerebro App – An Open Source Equivalent To Mac OS X Spotlight Feature
Under the Hood: Linux Kernel 6.18 and LXC
TrueNAS 26 is built on a solid foundation. It ships with the Linux 6.18 LTS kernel, which ensures support for the latest hardware.
- Updated NVIDIA Drivers: Version 590.48 adds support for new cards like the RTX 5050 and the Blackwell-based RTX PRO 2000.
- LXC Containers: While TrueNAS has long supported VMs, LXC containers are now fully supported as a lower-overhead way to run Linux workloads directly on your system.
- Simplified UI: The web interface is now more intuitive. Guided Alerts now point you exactly where you need to go to fix a problem, and user management requires far fewer clicks.
The New TrueNAS V-Series
TrueNAS 26 also enables the new TrueNAS V-Series hardware. These systems offer extreme power with 400GbE capability and high availability. While these target big businesses, the technology makes the core software more stable for everyone.
What You Need to Know Before Upgrading
Because this is a beta, you should handle the update with care. Currently, you cannot upgrade through the web UI from version 25.10. You must wait for TrueNAS 25.10.3 for that feature.
For now, you can use a manual update bundle or an offline installer. If you use TrueCommand, you must upgrade it to version 3.3 before you touch your NAS.
TrueNAS 26 gives you the power to own your data without being locked into expensive vendors. It offers a predictable and verifiable way to store your most important files.
For more details, check the official TrueNAS 26-BETA1 announcement.
