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The future of SCALE Apps

Kjeld Schouten
Kjeld Schouten
Ops and R&D Lead

In recent weeks, there has been considerable speculation regarding the future of TrueCharts Apps for TrueNAS SCALE, particularly following comments from iX-Systems staff that were interpreted as suggesting a potential shift away from Kubernetes.

Acknowledging the concerns and uncertainties raised by users, we want to clarify our commitment to providing a reliable experience over the next year.

Our primary focus is to enhance the reliability of our Charts and Apps. While there is apprehension about iX-Systems’ stance on Kubernetes, our thorough analysis leads us to believe that a complete removal of Kubernetes-based SCALE Apps from TrueNAS SCALE is unlikely to occur within 2024. We understand the importance of transparency regarding the direction we are headed.

Recognizing the desire among SCALE users for a user-friendly GUI for deploying Helm-Charts as Apps, without grappling with intricate networking and storage issues, we are addressing this gap. Currently, there is a void for such users, and we acknowledge the legitimacy of their concerns.

To address this, we are actively working on supporting another “Helm as Apps” platform by the end of this year. Additionally, we are developing fail-safe solutions to facilitate smooth migration between different Kubernetes backends, with or without Apps, in the event of unexpected disruptions. This includes investments in standardized backup and restore technologies.

Looking beyond 2024, our vision is to continue supporting our robust SCALE Apps for as long as practical. To achieve this, we plan to replace some iX-Systems solutions with more standardized alternatives. Simultaneously, we aim to offer valid alternatives for SCALE Apps without imposing a specific direction on users, fostering a diverse and user-centric ecosystem.

Introducing our AI bot: TrueAI

Kjeld Schouten
Kjeld Schouten
Ops and R&D Lead

As 2023 comes to a close, we’re excited to introduce TrueAI, our new support AI for TrueCharts, TrueNAS, and HeavyScript users. This is our way of stepping into 2024 with a focus on enhancing user support through technology.

TrueAI is now available on our Discord server for everyone to use. To interact with the bot, simply mention @TrueAI in your message. The bot is programmed to create a thread in the channel where it’s mentioned, or reply within an existing thread.

Here are some tips for interacting with TrueAI:

  • Indicate whether you’re using TrueNAS or HELM, and mention the version you’re using.
  • Clearly describe what you’re trying to achieve.
  • Mention any specific issues you’re facing.
  • If applicable, include any error messages you’ve encountered.

Please note that TrueAI cannot interact with images or files sent in messages.

If you need more help after using TrueAI, we encourage you to open a support ticket. Our team is ready to assist you.

We hope TrueAI will be a valuable resource for you all. Wishing everyone a happy and successful 2024!

Introducing Homepage Integration

Jeff M.
Jeff M.
Support Team

We are delighted to announce the successful integration of Homepage into our charts.

To fully utilize this new feature, there are two initial steps that need to be performed: installing Homepage on your system and enabling integrations for Homepage in application deployments for the apps you want to show. Our comprehensive Homepage Integration Guide provides detailed instructions for both of these processes, ensuring a smooth setup.

Once these steps are completed, you can activate Kubernetes support in Homepage. This allows you to view your applications and their statuses on a customizable dashboard. Additionally, the code-server addon can be used to organize and arrange applications by editing various YAML files.

Don’t forget to check out the Homepage project site.

Here’s a small example showcasing a mix of manually defined options and TrueCharts integration features for Homepage:

Homepage

Changes to Storage, Persistence, and PostgreSQL

Kjeld Schouten
Kjeld Schouten
Ops and R&D Lead

We’re glad to announce that shortly we will release a big update to all our Apps. This will be a complex update that technically includes a few changes that might break some specific features for some users. While we do not foresee any data loss, it’s imperative to back up your data.

Standardization of PVC Storage

A number of new storage options are being released. These are all optional and should be considered somewhat experimental.

Redesign of Cloudnative-PG

Our Cloudnative-PG backend has been completely rewritten. This should provide more stability, but also carries the risk of introducing new bugs.

Required Migration Steps

If you want to update, here are the instructions:

All Platforms

  • We strongly advise upgrading all charts and not just a select few as the new version of ClusterIssuer might not be fully compatible with charts on old versions.
  • Ingress: In some cases it might be prudent to disable ingress prior to update and enable it again afterwards.
  • Statefulsets: Be sure to remove any statefulsets made by TrueCharts Helm Charts before or after update. See instructions below.

Helm

SCALE

  • Ingress: Most of the cert-manager settings have been moved to “integrations” and they are reset.
  • Ingress: All of the Traefik settings have been moved to “integrations” and they are reset.
  • Ingress: This means you likely will lose TLS and security middlewares after the update, until adapted.
  • CNPG: If present in the old GUI, Instance number and storage size have been moved and reset to defaults.
  • Traefik: After updating, you will need to check a checkbox at the bottom, with a warning confirmation, before you will be able to do any further updates or edits.

Stateful Set Instructions

The charts with statefulsets have a manual step. but it wont require reinstall. make sure to refresh your catalog. We do not have many statefulsets in our catalog, so expect it to be mostly OpenLDAP and/or Redis related.

SCALE

To check which have statefulsets:

Terminal window
k3s kubectl get statefulsets -A | grep "ix-"

Then to delete the statefulset:

Terminal window
k3s kubectl delete statefulset STATEFULSETNAME -n ix-APPNAME

Example:

Terminal window
k3s kubectl delete statefulset blocky-redis -n ix-blocky

Once deleted you can attempt the update (or if you were already updated to latest versions, then edit and save without any changes)

Helm

To check which have statefulsets:

Terminal window
kubectl get statefulsets -A

Then to delete the statefulset:

Terminal window
kubectl delete statefulset STATEFULSETNAME -n APPNAME

Example:

Terminal window
kubectl delete statefulset blocky-redis -n blocky

Once deleted you can attempt the update (or if you were already updated to latest versions, then edit and save without any changes)

🎄 Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays from TrueCharts! 🎄

Steven McElligott
Steven McElligott
Community Lead

As the holiday season sparkles around us, we at TrueCharts want to extend our warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas to our incredible community. This year has been a remarkable journey, and we couldn’t have done it without you!

🚀 Major Milestone Achieved! 🚀

We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve successfully transitioned hundreds of our Charts from incubator to stable! This massive endeavor includes dozens of game servers, ensuring more stability and fun for everyone.

🎮 Game On! 🎮

To all the gaming enthusiasts, get ready for enhanced gaming experiences with our latest and more robust game server offerings.

🙏 Support Our Journey 🙏

As we continue to grow and improve, we kindly remind you that donations are always welcome. Your support fuels our passion and helps us maintain and develop even more exciting projects. Consider making a contribution this festive season!

🚨 Transition Notice: Ending support for TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin (22.12) 🚨

Please note, we will be ending support for TrueNAS SCALE Bluefin 22.12.X starting today on 19 December 2023. To continue receiving support and updates in the New Year, we encourage users to upgrade their systems to TrueNAS SCALE Cobia (23.10), which released it’s first update to 23.10.1 on December 19th 2023. We have a large community who can assist you through this important transition on our Discord with channels for #truenas-scale and #scale-apps.

Special Thanks

We want to take a moment to appreciate those who have made our journey so fruitful and new contributors (both directly and indirectly) to bringing TrueCharts to more platforms:

  • Our Staff: For their unwavering dedication and hard work.
  • Code Contributors: Your contributions are the backbone of our progress.
  • Our Community: For your enthusiasm, feedback, and support.
  • Our Donators: Your generosity keeps our mission alive.
  • OpenSource Collective: A big thank you for managing our finances (OpenSource Collective).
  • Ich777: Your game server builds have been invaluable (Ich777 on GitHub).
  • SideroLabs Team: For TalosOS, which we’re excited to support more (SideroLabs).
  • Budimanjojo: For your proactive work on TalHelper, aiding our documentation and support efforts for TalosOS (Budimanjojo on GitHub, TalHelper).

As we look forward to the new year, we’re excited to bring you more updates, enhancements, and surprises. Stay tuned!

Wishing you a joyful and peaceful holiday season.

🌟 Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year from all of us at TrueCharts! 🌟