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ManagingPlugins.md

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Plugin Management
Describes how to manage plugins in TrueNAS CORE.
10
/core/applications/plugins/manageplugins/
coreplugins

{{< toc >}}

{{< hint type=note >}} {{< include file="content/_includes/COREFeatureSupport.md" >}} {{< /hint >}}

Plugins allow extending the built-in NAS services by installing additional software. A plugin is a pre-packaged application that is installed into a FreeBSD Jail. The plugin jail is limited to installing and using only the plugin software.

{{< expand "Before getting started..." "v" >}}

  • Create a [data pool]({{< relref "/CORE/CORETutorials/Storage/Pools/PoolCreate.md" >}}) if one doesn't exist. A pool must be available for plugin storage.
  • Verify the system is connected to the internet.
  • Go to Network > Interfaces, edit the intended plugin interface, and set Disable Hardware Offloading. {{< /expand >}}

Plugin Installation

Catalog

To see the plugin catalog, go to the Plugins screen. {{< expand "First time in this menu?" "v" >}} {{< include file="content/_includes/JailsPluginsFirstTime.md" markdown="true" >}} {{< /expand >}}

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Plugins/PluginsList.png" alt="Plugins Catalog" id="Plugins Catalog" >}} {{< expand "I don't see anything?" "v" >}} If the catalog doesn't load:

  • Go to Network > Global Configuration and confirm the addresses entered in Default Gateway and DNS Servers are correct.
  • Open the Shell and enter ping followed by an Internet address. The output confirms the system is connected to the Internet. {{< /expand >}}

Plugins are organized into two Collections:

  • iXsystems maintained plugins.
  • Open Source plugins created and maintained by the TrueNAS community.

By default, the iXsystems-supported plugins are shown. To view the community-supported plugins, open Browse a Collection and select Community.

Install Options

To install a plugin, click the plugin icon and Install. This example shows installing Tarsnap, a popular backup solution.

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Plugins/PluginsTarsnapInstall.png" alt="Installing the Tarsnap Plugin" id="Installing the Tarsnap Plugin" >}}

Enter a name for the plugin in Jail Name and adjust the networking settings as needed. Most plugins default to using Network Address Translation (NAT) for their Internet connection. You use a dynamically-generated address with DHCP or define static IP addresses for the plugin jail. Using NAT is recommended as it does not require manual configuration of multiple available IP addresses and prevents addressing conflicts on the network.

Some plugins default to DHCP as their management utility conflicts with NAT. Keep these plugins set to DHCP unless a manually configured IP address is preferred.

Plugins can take several minutes to download and install. A dialog confirms when the installation completes and shows any post-install notes. You can view the post-install notes later by expanding the entry for the installed plugin in Plugins and clicking Post Install Notes.

{{< expand "Troubleshooting" "v" >}} If a plugin download or update fails with an unable to fetch an artifact or download a package error, you might need to investigate your networking environment. Some home routers can have a security feature that prevent DHCP enabled plugins (or bridged devices with virtual MAC addresses) from resolving addresses. Also, sometimes additional DNS validation is required that is not supported by the router or the router has a caching resolver that is holding on to a stale record. A couple of possible solutions are to hard reset your router to clear any stale records or try using an alternate DNS server for the plugin. {{< /expand >}}

S3 Secret Keys

If the plugin requires an S3 Secret_Key, and you use a random password generation program, check the character string produced for disallowed characters. The AWS Secret_Key allows using upper and lowercase alphanumeric characters (a-z, A-Z, digits 0-9), and the following special characters: exclamation point (!), hypen (-), underscore (_), period (.), asterisk (*), single quote ('), open parenthesis ((), and closed parenthesis ()). If the random password includes other special characters it can result in failed authentication.

Post-Install Configuration

After a plugin is installed, the Plugins screen shows the added entry.

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Plugins/PluginsListWithInstalled.png" alt="Plugins List With Installed" id="Plugins List With Installed" >}}

Click chevron_right to manage the plugin state, update the plugin application, configure the plugin jail mount points to storage datasets, and, when supported, open a link to the management portal for the plugin application.

Plugin jails are preconfigured and require very little tuning. However, jail properties are available in the event a setting needs to change. To update or reconfigure the plugin jail, go to the Jails screen and expand the entry for one of the plugin jails. Click   and stop the jail before changing it.

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Plugins/PluginsInstalledOptions.png" alt="Installed Plugin Options" id="Installed Plugin Options" >}}

Removing a Plugin

{{< hint type=warning >}} Uninstalling a plugin destroys all datasets or snapshots that are associated with the plugin! Back up any important data stored in the plugin jail before deleting it! {{< /hint >}}

Backing up Jail Data

To find data stored in a jail, go to Storage > Pools and expand the entry for the pool that stores plugin and jail data. Expand the iocage and jails datasets to find the plugin jail storage dataset.

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Storage/StoragePoolsJailsDatasetLocation.png" alt="Storage Pools Jails Dataset Location" id="Storage Pools Jails Dataset Location" >}}

One option to back up stored data is to create a [local replication]({{< relref "LocalReplication.md" >}}). You can configure the replication task to run periodically and automatically back up new changes to the jail dataset.

To convert a jail snapshot into a new storage dataset, go to Storage > Snapshots and find a snapshot of the jail dataset.

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Storage/StorageSnapshotsJailsLocation.png" alt="Storage Snapshots Jails Location" id="Storage Snapshots Jails Location" >}}

Expand the snapshot entry, click filter_none, and define the path and name of the new dataset to create from the snapshot. Then go to Storage > Pools, open the more_vert for the new dataset, and click Promote Dataset.

Uninstalling a Plugin

To remove a plugin, go to Plugins, expand the installed plugin entry, and click delete. Confirm the plugin removal by typing in the name of the plugin jail and selecting Confirm.

{{< trueimage src="/images/CORE/Plugins/PluginsUninstall.png" alt="Plugins Uninstall" id="Plugins Uninstall" >}}

Uninstalling can take a few moments while the plugin deletes from both Plugins and Jails. The plugin dataset also deletes from POOL/iocage/jails/ and any jail snapshots from Storage > Snapshots.