How long for hexOS

[Heyjake]

What are everyone's thoughts about hexOS and how long will it take them to get it fully functional? I currently use Unraid on my server and it's been nice however the amount of time someone like me who doesn't work in IT has to commit just to learn how to build this thing out properly is crazy. Seeing something like hex come around is a godsend for someone like me who likes to dabble. Are any of you who are like me holding off on home lab projects until its full launch or do we think it will take longer than reasonable and we should just all continue like it wasn't coming out?  

[jaslion]

34 minutes ago, Heyjake said:

home lab projects

A home lab isnt simple? Thats kinda the whole point no?

 

Hex os is more of a diy synology nas os kinda deal. A set it and forget it os that you rarely ever look at and when you do you can figure things out easily so you can blissfully forget things about it.

 

So I dont think it will do much for you specifically unless you wanr a set it and forget it nas. However theres already options for that

[SansVarnic]

Not to downplay your topic but there are a few topics posted about hexOS you may be interested in looking at if you haven't already, could be helpful. And there are more if you use the forum search function, mostly thisis all in this same forum section. I hope this is useful to you.  

 

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1590772-what-is-hexos-for-in-the-home/

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1578680-hexos-accessibility-considerations/

https://linustechtips.com/topic/1579064-hexos-user-qa-on-yt-with-nascompares-no-local-ui/

 

[ianm_ozzy]

If you really need the functionality, then maybe use the time waiting to learn how to use truenas.
Not all its functions, but just what you want it for.

[LIGISTX]

On 12/29/2024 at 8:31 PM, jaslion said:

Hex os is more of a diy synology nas os kinda deal. A set it and forget it os that you rarely ever look at and when you do you can figure things out easily so you can blissfully forget things about it.

 

So I dont think it will do much for you specifically unless you wanr a set it and forget it nas. However theres already options for that

I don’t agree with this, it’s TrueNAS with a more user friendly skin and UX. Any NAS can be set and forget, and mostly should be… I rarely touch my TrueNAS webUI, once things are set up you don’t often need to change anything. But HexOS allows for easier initial setup, and easier ACL management/network share setup especially, while sitting on top of the back of the legendary stability and enterprise class appliance which is TrueNAS and its ZFS file system. I would definitely say there are not solutions like this currently… there are solutions that are easy to use but there isn’t an easy to use NAS with the capability and features TrueNAS has. HexOS will be that option. 

[Heyjake]

On 12/29/2024 at 10:31 PM, jaslion said:

A home lab isnt simple? Thats kinda the whole point no?

 

Hex os is more of a diy synology nas os kinda deal. A set it and forget it os that you rarely ever look at and when you do you can figure things out easily so you can blissfully forget things about it.

 

So I dont think it will do much for you specifically unless you wanr a set it and forget it nas. However theres already options for that

No one said home labs have to be complicated and I would argue more people don't want them to be. I just want to run jellyfin, a Minecraft server, a shared media file and for hand break to auto compress my videos when I'm done recording. Getting that setup on unraid took me weeks to get it right and trouble shoot. I enjoyed about half of that and the other half I really just wanted to use my stuff lol. I don't know of any server/nas software that streams lines the process like hex OS is claiming it will

[jaslion]

7 hours ago, Heyjake said:

No one said home labs have to be complicated and I would argue more people don't want them to be. I just want to run jellyfin, a Minecraft server, a shared media file and for hand break to auto compress my videos when I'm done recording. Getting that setup on unraid took me weeks to get it right and trouble shoot. I enjoyed about half of that and the other half I really just wanted to use my stuff lol. I don't know of any server/nas software that streams lines the process like hex OS is claiming it will

Truenas? Its what hexos runs on. Id say after watching a 30m setup/best practice tutorial it gets pretty easy to do

[Heyjake]

4 hours ago, jaslion said:

Truenas? Its what hexos runs on. Id say after watching a 30m setup/best practice tutorial it gets pretty easy to do

I wouldn't call truenas simple. Maybe if you were only using it for file storage but once you get beyond that you have to understand back end stuff. 

[LIGISTX]

1 hour ago, Heyjake said:

I wouldn't call truenas simple. Maybe if you were only using it for file storage but once you get beyond that you have to understand back end stuff. 

I fully agree. A lot of people who dabble in homelab don’t really realize TrueNAS is a storage appliance, all of the docker containers and VM stuff that’s being added….. is really not all that well supported via community tutorials, and honestly doesn’t make much sense anyways. Let TrueNAS do what it does best, be a ZFS powerhouse with SMB and NFS mounts. 
 

For everything else, I’d recommend using an actual hypervisor… like Proxmox. It’s just a “fancy” skin on what is essentially Debian KVM, but it’s built to do that, and only that. Then you can run any VM you want, to do anything, based on any tutorial you find. The problem with this is, it adds more layers of challenge to folks who are already struggling and feel in over their head. You have to mount storage over the network to your TrueNAS shares, but honestly this isn’t all that hard. 
 

For reference, I run Proxmox with TrueNAS as a VM under it, and have over a dozen VM’s running under Proxmox next to TrueNAS, with at least 2 dozen docker containers across a few of those VM’s. All bulk storage is handled by TrueNAS. It’s all doable, and imo this is the way to do it…. But the hope is HexOS can be that middle ground that A LOT of people are looking for. So TLDR; I agree and understand your perspective. I hope it works out. 

[Nevah5]

8 hours ago, LIGISTX said:

For reference, I run Proxmox with TrueNAS as a VM under it, and have over a dozen VM’s running under Proxmox next to TrueNAS, with at least 2 dozen docker containers across a few of those VM’s. All bulk storage is handled by TrueNAS. It’s all doable, and imo this is the way to do it…. But the hope is HexOS can be that middle ground that A LOT of people are looking for. So TLDR; I agree and understand your perspective. I hope it works out. 

I had a very similar setup, just like you. I hosted everything on TrueNAS Scale, on the builtin k3s cluster/container feature, called "Apps". At one point I have to make a connection from one pod to the other and I couldn't get it to work. It felt like something was wrong with the ip table or something. I then decided to move everything into VMs, but I installed Proxmox on my homelab and now have TrueNAS running in a VM as well, to seperate all the services onto another VM.

Anyways, I was wondering, if it's possible to upgrade TrueNAS to HexOS, and if it's possible to see the underlaying TrueNAS interface when you use HexOS. Does anyone know?

[helgehelge123]

it's gonna take some time.
I jumped on the beta and don't even bother to open the hexOS Interface. Straight to TrueNAS.
You can create pools and datasets (folders) and you can use it to create users.
I'm using jellyfin, instead of plex, so no luck there and getting immich to run was way more effort than clicking install. I had to fumble in TrueNAS as well. 
I basically spend 40-60 hours installing:
some folders for me and my dad (via vpn), 
Apps (Adguard, Audiobookshelf, Calibre, immich, jellyfin and syncthing)
Ubuntu Server VM for Nginx Proxy Manager.

It's hard to judge in the current state.
If you wanna share folders in the local network, this is fine but way overpriced. Just run simple Linux and create an smb share. Yep, that's two hours of work incl learning, but free.
If you wanna create an Homelab with docker and VMs, this is no where useable (without learning TrueNAS, which is the whole thing you're not willing to do if you wanna use HexOS)

[LIGISTX]

12 hours ago, Nevah5 said:

Anyways, I was wondering, if it's possible to upgrade TrueNAS to HexOS, and if it's possible to see the underlaying TrueNAS interface when you use HexOS. Does anyone know?

No, but you can forget with hexOS and import the ZFS pools.