TrueNAS Scale 24.10: A Revolution in Containerized Application Management
The latest version of TrueNAS Scale 24.10 (Electric Eel) has seen significant changes in its approach to application management, although for the end user, not much has changed. The key change is the switch from Kubernetes (K3S) to Docker Compose as the main container management tool.
Why Docker Compose?
Simplified configuration: Docker Compose offers simpler and easier to understand configuration compared to Kubernetes. This makes it easier to debug and manage applications.
Smaller markup: In the case of TrueNAS, where scaling by the number of nodes does not occur, Kubernetes proved to be an over-configuration. Docker Compose meets the needs of this system better.
Easier upgrades: Although the migration to version 24.10 sometimes required minor tweaks, for the most part the updates are working properly.
Application Management in TrueNAS 24.10
Interface: In the TrueNAS interface, the user can access information about running applications, their status (updates, network traffic, resource usage). It is possible to stop, update and delete containers.
Application Details: The user can check the version of the application itself and the version of its implementation by TrueNAS. It is possible to edit the configuration, including setting resource limits (CPU, RAM).
Access to Containers: You can access the application's web GUI directly from the TrueNAS interface. The user can log into the container using the CLI and view or edit its contents.
Data Location: Application data is stored in the TrueNAS file system, even if the user has not specified a specific location. TrueNAS manages these volumes. You can check the mounting location of the container data in the settings.
Logi: Logs of each container are available, making it easy to diagnose problems.
Application Installation
TrueNAS Application Catalog: There is a catalog with ready-made applications that can be easily installed.
Instalacja niestandardowych kontenerów: Możliwa jest instalacja dowolnego kontenera poprzez wskazanie repozytorium, tagu i ustawienie parametrów. Konfiguracja wymaga trochę więcej wiedzy ponieważ wymaga ręcznego ustawienia wielu parametrów (hostname, sieć, porty, wolumeny).
Docker Compose: TrueNAS 24.10 natively supports Docker Compose, which enables the installation of complex applications from a YAML file. Mapping volumes to actual paths in TrueNAS is required.
Advanced Features
Configuration preview: The user can access the detailed configuration of each container using the docker inspect command. There you can find information about mounted volumes, ports, environment variables and other parameters.
Additional environment variables: The user can add additional environment variables to containers.
Accessing the container via the CLI: It is possible to access the container via the CLI using the docker exec command.
Logi z CLI: Możliwe jest wyświetlanie logów kontenerów w czasie rzeczywistym za pomocą docker logs -f.
Configuration: The application configuration is stored in the TrueNAS file system. For applications installed from the TrueNAS directory, the configuration is created on the fly. However, for applications installed using docker-compose, the configuration corresponds to a pasted YAML file.
Useful links:
WordPress docker compose exemple – https://github.com/docker/awesome-compose/blob/master/official-documentation-samples/wordpress/README.md Dokumentacja aplikacji w TrueNAS SCALE – https://www.truenas.com/docs/truenasapps/
Useful commands:
docker inspect [container]
docker stats
docker ps
Summary
TrueNAS Scale 24.10 introduces a significant simplification in container management by switching to Docker Compose. Users gain more control over applications and easier access to configuration and logs. Despite these changes, I suggest waiting for the new method to stabilize before migrating your existing docker instances. The new system offers an easier way to backup configurations and is simpler to debug.