TrueNAS M Series Manual

TrueNAS®M-Series Uniﬁed Storage Array

Basic Setup Guide

Version 1.3

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The TrueNAS®M-Series Uniﬁed Storage Array is a 4U, 24-bay, hybrid data storage array.

Note: TrueNAS®units are carefully packed and shipped with trusted carriers to arrive in perfect condition. If there

is any shipping damage or any parts are missing, please take photos and contact iXsystems support immediately at

[email protected]or 1-855-GREP4-iX (1-855-473-7449) or 1-408-943-4100.

Please locate and record the hardware serial numbers on the back or side of each chassis for easy reference.

Carefully unpack the shipping boxes and locate these components:

M-Series Uniﬁed Storage Array, M-Series Bezel, set of rackmount rails, up to 24 drive trays populated with drives,

DB9 to 3.5mm serial cable, and an accessory kit with 2 IEC C13 to NEMA 5-15P power cords, 2 IEC C14 to C13 cords,

velcro cable ties, M4x4L screws, M5x18 screws, screw posts, and alternate pins for round hole racks.

The M-Series has front panel indicators for power, locate ID, and fault. The fault indicator is on during the initial

power-on self-test (POST) and turns oﬀ during normal operation. It turns on if the TrueNAS®software issues an

alert (https://www.ixsystems.com/documentation/truenas/tn_options.html#alert).

The M-Series has one or two storage controllers in an over-and-under conﬁguration. Examples of typical M40 (top)

and M50 (bottom) models are shown here.

1: Redundant power supplies 8: ID LED

2: Serial port 9: HD Mini SAS3 connectors

3: 1Gb Ethernet Out of Band (OOB) dedicated man-

agement port, dual USB 2.0 ports

10: Networking port

4: Dual USB 3.0 ports 11: Asterisk slot: Fibre Channel or additional network-

ing

5: 10Gb Ethernet port 12: Storage controller management port

6: 10Gb Ethernet port 13: NVMe activity indicators

7: VGA monitor port

M-Series systems with only a single storage controller must be shut down and powered oﬀ before removing

the controller, or data stored in the NVDIMM SLOG will be lost! Dual storage controller systems synchronize

data between each NVDIMM, but can lose data if both controllers are removed before being properly shut

down.

For remote management with IPMI, the 1 Gb Ethernet Out of Band management port (#3) must be connected to a

network.

Extend the cabinet rail until it stops. To remove the cabinet rail, press the white release tab to the right while pulling

the cabinet rail.

The cabinet rails are mounted on both sides of the system cabinet. Align the cabinet rail keyholes with the three

posts (ES24) or four posts (M-Series) on the side of the chassis and slide the rail until the post is secured in the

keyhole slot of the rail.

Align the rail hole with the screw hole and secure the rail with one M4x4L screw from the rail kit. Repeat this process

to mount and secure the second cabinet rail on the other side.

Place the rail in the rack with the front end toward the front of the rack, aligning the pins with the mounting holes

in the front of the rack. Push the pins into the holes until the latch clicks.

For the rear end of the rail, align the pins with the mounting holes on the rear rack. Pull the white latch toward the

rear until the pins click in place. Repeat this process for the second rear rail.

Caution: Two people are required to safely lift the chassis for rack installation or removal. Do not install

drives until after the chassis has been installed in the rack, and remove all drives before removing the chassis from

the rack.

Pull the front rack rail forward until it stops. Align the cabinet rail with the inside of the front rack rail and slide the

cabinet rail forward until it is fully seated inside the rack rail. Repeat the process for the second rail.

When both cabinet rails are secured in the rack rails, gently push the chassis until it stops halfway in. Slide the blue

release tabs on both cabinet rails toward the front of the system while pushing the unit in. Push the chassis into the

rack until it is ﬂush with the front of the rack.

Anchor the unit in the rack on both sides with the M5x18L screws included in the rail kit.

Drive trays are used to mount drives in the array. Drive trays are installed in drive bays in the chassis. Each drive

bay in the chassis has two indicator LEDs to the right of the tray. The status LED is blue when the drive is active, and

the fault LED is red if a fault has occurred.

Press the silver button on the drive tray to open the latch. Carefully slide the tray into a drive bay until the right side

of the latch touches the metal front edge of the chassis, then gently swing the latch closed until it clicks into place.

Refer to the installation instructions included with expansion shelves for details on connecting them.

Note: Network cables vary by conﬁguration and are not included. Please contact iX Support (page 7) with any ques-

tions.

Connect network cables to the Ethernet ports and Out-of-Band (OOB) management port before attempting to power

on and conﬁgure the M-Series for the the ﬁrst time.

Do not plug the power cords into a power outlet yet. Connect a power cord to the back of one power supply.

Place the cord into the plastic clamp and press the tab into the latch to lock it in place. Repeat the process for the

second power supply and cord.

After both power cords have been connected to the M-Series, they can be plugged into power outlets. The system

is conﬁgured to automatically power on when connected to a power outlet. This design ensures that the M-Series

comes back on when power is restored after a power failure.

The included bezel is not required for operation.

The console displays the IP address of the TrueNAS®M-Series graphical web interface, 192.168.100.231 in this ex-

ample: