TrueNAS

This guide covers TrueNAS storage appliances, including TrueNAS SCALE and TrueNAS CORE.

Create a backup account

Create a dedicated user named netwatch-backup — in TrueNAS SCALE under Credentials > Local Users, or in TrueNAS CORE under Accounts > Users.

The system configuration is only visible to administrative users, so give the account administrative rights (in SCALE, add it to the built-in administrators group). On SCALE, also enable the SSH password login enabled option on the user if you plan to authenticate with a password, or paste an SSH public key into the user's Authorized Keys field for key-based login. QUARK only reads the configuration; it never changes the system.

Enable SSH access

Enable the SSH service and set it to start automatically — in SCALE under System Settings > Services, in CORE under Services. In the SSH service settings, enable Allow Password Authentication only if you are using password credentials; leave it off for key-based access.

TrueNAS has no built-in management ACL for SSH, so restrict TCP port 22 to the Netwatch collector's IP with your network firewall.

Platform notes

• Prefer SSH keys over passwords, and avoid enabling root password login — a dedicated admin-level account is cleaner and auditable.
• The versioned backup captures the system configuration, not the data on your pools; keep your normal data-protection jobs in place.

Enable backup in Netwatch

Once the device is prepared, open its host in Netwatch (Data collection > Hosts) and add the Config Backup macros — the supported status flag, the model code for this platform, and the credentials you created. See Getting started for the full macro list and values.