Hardware & Storage Requirements/Compatibility FAQ

[Mawson]

 

Hi Folks,

This post will go over the basic requirements for running HexOS, then cover a few frequently asked questions.

If you come across frequently asked questions that are not included in the main post please comment below!

NOTE: Please keep comments here directly related to the post/FAQ itself. and create separate topics to discuss specific use cases and issues.

Thanks!

Updated 12/4/24

----------------------------------------------------

• Minimum Hardware Requirements:
   
  • x86 compatible hardware (Intel or AMD)
    • (HexOS is NOT ARM or RISC-V compatible)
  • 64 bit Processor with 2+ cores
  • 8GB or more of system memory
  • 16GB boot SSD
    • Larger is OK, but not necessary.
  • 3+ storage drives recommended
    • 2 storage drives is the current minimum. 
      • (Pools created with 2 drives are not expandable. See details below.)
      • Single drive configurations are not supported at this time.
  • Please visit https://hexos.com/early-access-faq for more info
     
• Also, please check out the roadmap web page for info on upcoming features;
• https://hexos.com/blog/the-road-to-10

-------------------------------------------------------

 

• FAQ:
   
• Q: Can I install HexOS on a virtual machine?
  • A: Yes. While HexOS is meant to be installed on physical hardware, it can be ran as a VM.
    • Please see TrueNAS SCALE documentation for details on running TrueNAS as a VM.
       
• Q: can I install HexOS on a UGREEN or ASUSTOR NAS?
  • A: Yes.  To the best of my knowledge, UGREEN and ASUSTOR NAS devices all support installing 3rd party operating systems.
    • Google "Installing TrueNAS on [insert brand name here] NAS" to find guides and forum posts with other users experiences.
       

• Q: Can I install HexOS on my old Synology NAS or Netgear Ready NAS?
  • A: No. Unfortunately many consumer NAS solutions do not support installation of 3rd party operating systems.
    • NOTE: It appears that some Ready NAS devices are capable of using 3rd party operating systems through advanced techniques, but the jury is out currently on exactly which models, and whether or not the hardware is performant enough for a good user experience.
       
• Q: Can I run HexOS on a Raspberry Pi or equivalent?
  • A: No. Raspberry Pi devices are built using ARM processors. HexOS requires x86 hardware.
     
• Q: Can I start with only a few (3+) drives and expand later?
  • A: Yes.You can add more drives of the same capacity to a pool to increase its available space.
     
• Q: Can I expand my storage pool if I started with only 2 drives?
  • A: No. While OpenZFS has support for expanding a 2-device RAIDz1, that capability has not been enabled in TrueNAS SCALE.
     
• Q: Can I set up a storage pool using a single hard drive?
  • A:  No. Single drive configurations are not supported at this time
    • This may change in the future, but either way it is discouraged due to single drive configurations being susceptible to data loss from hardware failure.
       
• Q: Can storage pools use drives with different capacities without loosing space?
  • A: No. While mismatched drives can be used,  in any one pool the maximum usable capacity per drive is limited by the size of the smallest drive in that pool.
    • Example: A storage pool with 5x 256GB SSDs and 1x 250GB SSD  will have the same usable capacity as a pool with 6x 250GB drives.
       
• Q: Can I change small drives our for larger ones to increase my storage pool's capacity?
  • A: Yes.  Drives can be exchanged one at a time to gradually copy all the data onto larger drives, Once all drives have been exchanged the pool's capacity will grow all at once.
    • Example: Lets say we have a pool with 6x10TB drives in RAIDz1, and we swap those out one by one for six 20TB units. When the last 20 TB drive has been installed, and the pool has finished re-silvering (copying data to a drive to re-construct the pool) then the pool's total capacity will jump from ~50TB usable to ~100TB usable!

 

[GameFunny]

What about UGREEN NAS?

[Mawson]

On 12/2/2024 at 5:39 PM, GameFunny said:

What about UGREEN NAS?

@GameFunny, Good catch. Added Ugreen and Asustor info.

[Sventek]

Just a minor fix - your link to the early-access FAQ has a trailing comma leading to a 404 page

[Mawson]

Good catch @Sventek!

[Dylan]

Requesting clarification where the hardware requirements state "Minimum of two drives. (Pool will not be expandable if using only 2 drives)" but the FAQ indicates "Q: Can I start with only a few drives and expand later?

• A: Yes.You can add more drives of the same capacity to a pool to increase its available space."

A few, to me means number greater than one.

[MaLiXs]

I know linux sometime can be picky about NIC,  so I don't know if it will be easy or even feasible to have kind of a list of "plug and play" network controler.  Since 2.5gb switch price are going down I'm thinking of upgrading to 2.5gb 

[Mawson]

@Dylan, I made some minor edits to clear this up!

[SteveLinkNoah]

The FAQ and Minimum Req. cleary say that you cannot expand a 2 Drive Pool. Now im confused since this video shows how it is possible (truenas seems to only be used for checking if it has worked): https://youtu.be/OMfQcVWjtMk?si=uMdM_IfuAKB4znPK&t=1016 (timecode in link)

 

[Potty Bert]

Can I suggest also that people make sure their network card has TrueNAS support?  Currently for instance it doesn't support the RTL8126 chipset (linux drivers do exist but aren't in the current Kernel).

[Mawson]

21 hours ago, SteveLinkNoah said:

The FAQ and Minimum Req. cleary say that you cannot expand a 2 Drive Pool. Now im confused since this video shows how it is possible (truenas seems to only be used for checking if it has worked): https://youtu.be/OMfQcVWjtMk?si=uMdM_IfuAKB4znPK&t=1016 (timecode in link)

 

Hi @SteveLinkNoah 

TL;DR: Truenas can do it, but it's not enabled in HexOS yet.

When writing FAQs and other articles I try to keep what I'm saying accurate to the current release's features and capabilities. Given the nature of what HexOS is there are bound to be difference between what is possible (or at least recommended) to do with each OS. 

As I understand it, expandable mirrors are a new feature for TrueNAS SCALE 24.10 (electric eel) . I see no reason HexOS couldn't support the feature, it's is just that a basic mirror is the default and only option currently, which is why the FAQ seems to contradict what is possible

 

 

 

[Mawson]

11 hours ago, Potty Bert said:

Can I suggest also that people make sure their network card has TrueNAS support?  Currently for instance it doesn't support the RTL8126 chipset (linux drivers do exist but aren't in the current Kernel).

On 12/4/2024 at 1:27 PM, MaLiXs said:

I know linux sometime can be picky about NIC,  so I don't know if it will be easy or even feasible to have kind of a list of "plug and play" network controler.  Since 2.5gb switch price are going down I'm thinking of upgrading to 2.5gb 

Good suggestions!

Going into the details of what hardware works or doesn't is a bit too deep for an FAQ though.

I imagine that sooner or later myself or someone in the community will put together a thread or document of some kind that is strictly dedicated to hardware compatibility, and then that might be something to mention in the FAQ.

[yonie]

and what about a network card?

[Mawson]

3 hours ago, yonie said:

and what about a network card?

Yes. Definitely. It couldn't very well be a Network Attached Storage device otherwise, now could it? 😅

[lupaser]

Little question i think fits this topic, is it possible to use one or two smaller drives for example m.2 ssd's to use as a cache for quicker transmition?

[Mawson]

5 hours ago, lupaser said:

Little question i think fits this topic, is it possible to use one or two smaller drives for example m.2 ssd's to use as a cache for quicker transmition?

Totally possible ...in TrueNAS. HexOS' valid configurations don't yet include options to use drives for caching. That is a fairly basic feature of ZFS setups, so I'm sure it's in the plans, I just don't know when it may be coming.

[pingisman32]

can you add to this topic that having an ethernet connection to the router is a requirement? For people new to the networking space (such as myself) that would have saved me a couple hours 😅

[yonie]

On 12/7/2024 at 11:39 PM, Mawson said:

Yes. Definitely. It couldn't very well be a Network Attached Storage device otherwise, now could it? 😅

what should i look for? is one port enough? 

[fildznuts]

I got my invite the day after the LTT video dropped, I tried to set up my server and have had no luck. I made a post about it and got at least one or two more people with the same boot_pool issue I was having. The issue may be some sort of hardware compatibility issue it seems. My thread was mysteriously deleted, however. How can I go about getting help, when the intro to the community says to use the forums for troubleshooting and my troubles are wiped away from the forum? I'm still DOA with this platform and my machine is just sitting in the corner. I am VERY frustrated

[jonp]

29 minutes ago, fildznuts said:

I got my invite the day after the LTT video dropped, I tried to set up my server and have had no luck. I made a post about it and got at least one or two more people with the same boot_pool issue I was having. The issue may be some sort of hardware compatibility issue it seems. My thread was mysteriously deleted, however. How can I go about getting help, when the intro to the community says to use the forums for troubleshooting and my troubles are wiped away from the forum? I'm still DOA with this platform and my machine is just sitting in the corner. I am VERY frustrated

Hi there and sorry for the trouble you're experiencing. Not sure how your post got deleted but I will look into that.   We are aware of this install issue affecting certain users and are looking into a fix.  Can you repost your issue and send me a DM with a link to it so I can track it?

[jdgurr]

I see it says that you can setup for a minimum of 2 drives (though not expandable) so long as they are a "similar size".  I had a 12TB and a 16TB drive and it wouldn't allow me to create a pool.  I decided to grab another 12TB drive thinking this might help solve the issue and so I could start out with an expandable pool right off the bat.  When I installed the third drive however, it only set the pool with the 2-12TB drives.  Does having one drive +33% exceed the rule of "similar size"?  Is there an approximate percentage the drive needs to be within as opposed to examples in GBs?

I bought the 16TB while it was on sale thinking the 12TB was close enough and it was on sale at the time making it appealing for 1 of the drives with an eye towards eventual upgrades on the smaller drive(s).  I would be fine with the 16TB drive being used temporarily at 12TB which is what I though I understood would be the case.

[ubergeek]

34 minutes ago, jdgurr said:

I see it says that you can setup for a minimum of 2 drives (though not expandable) so long as they are a "similar size".  I had a 12TB and a 16TB drive and it wouldn't allow me to create a pool.  I decided to grab another 12TB drive thinking this might help solve the issue and so I could start out with an expandable pool right off the bat.  When I installed the third drive however, it only set the pool with the 2-12TB drives.  Does having one drive +33% exceed the rule of "similar size"?  Is there an approximate percentage the drive needs to be within as opposed to examples in GBs?

I bought the 16TB while it was on sale thinking the 12TB was close enough and it was on sale at the time making it appealing for 1 of the drives with an eye towards eventual upgrades on the smaller drive(s).  I would be fine with the 16TB drive being used temporarily at 12TB which is what I though I understood would be the case.

So for ZFS to work properly they have to be the same sized drives, Yes in theory a 12tb can fit in to a 16 yet the extra space will throw off the  pool.  At the current time drives of different sizes will not work together. Inside of truenas Ui you can force them to work with all 3 together but it will do some fighting and fussing , yet in the same time it will cause issues inside the HexOs Ui . Keep tuned in as updates come out and see if this is something that might be addressed. For the time being I would just run the 12tb in a pool if you are trying to get things going .

[Mobius]

1 hour ago, ubergeek said:

So for ZFS to work properly they have to be the same sized drives, Yes in theory a 12tb can fit in to a 16 yet the extra space will throw off the  pool.  At the current time drives of different sizes will not work together. Inside of truenas Ui you can force them to work with all 3 together but it will do some fighting and fussing , yet in the same time it will cause issues inside the HexOs Ui . Keep tuned in as updates come out and see if this is something that might be addressed. For the time being I would just run the 12tb in a pool if you are trying to get things going .

Hexos actually hasn't given me any issues with my mismatched drives

I have a pool of 2 16s and 3 14s

[ubergeek]

really it wouldn't allow me to use my 8tb in my all 4tb array 

[Mobius]

7 hours ago, ubergeek said:

really it wouldn't allow me to use my 8tb in my all 4tb array 

i forget the exact toggle but when building the pool in truenas you can set it to include drives of larger sizes.