TrueNAS Mini R - Rackmount ZFS Storage Server with 12 Drive Bays, 32GB RAM, Eight Core CPU, Dual 1/10 Gigabit Network (Diskless)

I have had my Mini R running for about a week now. From a software and hardware side, it has been an absolute dream. It comes preconfigured with TrueNAS Core, and upgrading to TrueNAS Scale was as simple as a change in the web ui followed by a reboot. Performance has been more than sufficient for my needs.My configuration is as follows, for anyone that may find it useful:- Added 32GB Ram Upgrade from iX Systems store to bring total memory to 64GB.- 6x WD Red 6tb CMR drives in RAID-Z2 for data pool, 2x Samsung 960 EVO 1tb drives in mirror for app pool- Running Plex, Nextcloud, Vaultwarden via truechartsPros:- Everything is pre-installed, no need to fiddle around with installing OS- Very quiet and low power draw compared to my old PowerEdge R710- Looks attractive in the rack (your wife probably won't care about this one)- Running TrueNAS on "official" hardware has given me zero driver / compatibility issues- Enclosure management in UI is great (yes, it works in SCALE as well)- Modern IPMI works without java / flashCons:- You are paying a premium for a turnkey solution. You could probably build this same system for cheaper if you have the spare time and knowledge- This system works great for NAS / basic applications, but don't expect to do multiple transcodes or run VMs on it. As mentioned in the "Pros", it is very low power usage, but this comes at a cost. For our application, this was beneficial but your situation may be different- You really need square holes on your rack to properly mount this (more details below)- The power supply does not report wattage use, so you will need a UPS or similar smart power strip if you wish to monitor power usage.GOTCHAS:- The rails include adapters to mount it in a threaded rack, but in my rack they did not line up. I ended up having to drill out the adapters and secure it with nuts on the other side. This took several hours and is less than ideal- The 10bge ports will not negotiate with a 10/100 port. You will need at least a 1gbe port to get it on your network.Overall, this system is perfect for our applications. With transcoding disabled in plex, I have had 5 simultaneous streams going at the same time with no issue. Your situation may differ, so bear that in mind if you decide to purchase this.

This is really hard to review. Hardware-wise, it is great and checks many boxes. Software-wise, it is robust and has multiple variables. So why the bad review?A couple of things to be aware of: first is the size. It is huge. It barely fit within my rack. It is also heavy. But those details are on the website. Something that is not is the drive cages. They are very bad in my opinion. They easily twist and bend out of shape. And they are hard to insert & lock into place. It is way too easy to break the plastic locking mechanism (it's not metal). My replacement, a QNAP 8 bay rack-mount has much better trays. I acknowledge that it holds fewer drives. But the sleds are firm, don't twist, and have metal connectors.Software-wise - be ready for a learning curve. It is not ready out of the box. I purchased for a small business where I wear multiple hats (including IT). The options are dizzying, and one has to have multiple hours to figure it out. Documentation isn't very helpful. Tech support suggested that I post on the community forum. I still have open tickets asking for help. I have been working on computers and IT for close to 20 years now, so I'm not new.Because I am doing multiple roles, I opted to return it and replace it with something less powerful but much easier to work on.Do your homework first! If you do not have a dedicated IT person, make sure that you're ready to learn this software. It is not easy.

In the last 20 years, I have build multiple nas and use multiple different brands of off the shelf nas. This TrueNAS really impressed me.Starting with packaging, the first impression. The case is in the middle of the box, with really heavy duty foam padding it. There was a giant hole in the corner of the box when I got it, was about to send it back, but after opening the box and saw that the machine was well protected and nothing damaged, I kept it. Within the box, we immediately find some clear documentation, and a single page showing where to get tech support, and where to ask questions.The build quality is on par with Dell Blades with thick heavy gauge case, and the drive bay easily slide in and out.I previously have a home build TrueNAS scale server, so all the pools and datasets were easily migrated over. And having a 10GB Nic is icing on the cake.

The build quality is top notch. It came packaged extremely well, so no worries about drives being abused in transit. The rack rails are very easy to install, which in turn makes the unit easy to install. The OS seems snappy and fast. I experienced 110mb/s transfer without dips while pushing files to a mounted SMB share. This is approaching line speed of gigabit ethernet. I'm excited to see how well it will stand up to a production environment, but at this point I believe it will perform well.System Specs:TrueNAS Mini-RIntel Atom 3758 8 Core 2.2ghz64gb ECC DDR4 RAMM.2 Boot DeviceDual 10GbE Base-TDual 10GbE SFP+12 WD Enterprise Red 4TB Drives