TrueNAS Core, NextCloud, Remote Access -- So Many Setup Options! 🤯

Hey all,

So I’ve been trying to figure out the right way to set up NextCloud on TrueNAS Core on and off for… write some time now lol. There’s just so many options as to how and I’m not sure which road to go down. Maybe I should even switch to Scale? Tough to tell…

Anyways…

I have an existing dataset with ~30TB of data in it, and existing SMB shares. That works well, but there’s no indexing which is a problem, and it’s not as nice as something that would be is integrated as a NextCloud desktop client for instance.

Essentially my goal is to be able to keep the data where it is, and leave SMB shares enabled in the event that I need to access it in such a way, while also using this directory/dataset as the root directory for the NextCloud app.

I installed the NextCloud TrueNAS Core Plug-in (which I gather is a mistake, but it’s not in production yet so no big deal to undo), and I was finally able to figure out how to get a dataset located outside the jail to be mountable within the app, but the dataset shows as a subfolder within the NC root directory (picture attached).

I’m looking for a way where NC stores all relevant data in an external dataset. That way if there’s a problem, I can reinstall/upgrade the app and point it to the dataset and all data is intact. I don’t want to store or transfer all data within the jail. That seems like a horrible idea for many reasons.

So…. Options…………

There are quite a few…

I can upgrade to Scale? Or I can leave TNC and install a Debian VM that hosts NC? Orrrr maybe the standard plugin is good enough? Or, I recently heard, you can open a fresh jail and install the NC package manually? I don’t even know where to start with that one lol…

My goal here is to have to mess with it as little as possible going forward, and make maintenance/upgradability as easy and reliable as possible.

So…. Perhaps I should upgrade to Scale and use the TrueCharts plugin?

… Or maybe I’m better off using the Debian VM in TNC and just upgrading the NC app within there? (Taking a snapshot beforehand in case something happens I can restore)? In this case, I’m uncertain how I would point the Debian NC instance to my preferred (existing dataset) root directory…

Just having a hard time with basic architecture at this point lol… Does anyone have any thoughts as to the best practice to set this thing up given the goals of reliability and easy upgrades/maintenance? The more noob friendly the better haha.

Thanks all.

Right now the easiest way, (unless someone here has a better idea) would be to put Nextcloud into a VM that you can do a complete back up of. At this time, but should be better in the future, there is not an easy way to rebuild / reload Nextcloud in TrueNAS Scale. Here is the current process that I have not tested on a way to do that. Backup, Migrations and Restore | TrueCharts

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