r/TrueNAS: New to TrueNAS ISCSI

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This article archives a conversation, which took place in a subreddit post (original source linked below) and to which I contributed a solution or answer (with the u/MasterofSynapse handle), in a Q&A format.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/truenas/comments/wmn0mv/new_to_truenas_iscsi/

Question

Look to use iSCSI for file access vs current SMB shares. Current shares are very slow (for all the usual reasons why network shares are slow) to index/transfer.

I'm struggling to find good documentation that answers some of my questions. My main one is- can I keep my current storage volumes, and data, intact or will I have to recreate them?

Answer

iSCSI is a protocol to save data in "block" storage format, so the way that hard drives store their data onto the actual platter.

SMB on the other hand is a protocol for file storage, so the SMB server handles the data commits to disks with the filesystem, ZFS in this case.

And because these two are completely different concepts, you have to recreate your volumes.

iSCSI will just show up like a big (depending on your hard drive sizes) external hard disk, but connected over network instead of USB or Thunderbolt.