M-Series

TrueNAS M-Series

The established enterprise workhorse. Four models, dual-controller HA, TrueCache NVDIMM, up to 30 PB.

Powerful, Scalable Enterprise Storage

The M-Series is TrueNAS's established enterprise platform — designed for years of continuous operation in data centres. Both active models (M30 and M40) share the same 4U chassis with 24 hot-swap bays for 3.5" or 2.5" drives. Any mix of SAS HDDs, SAS SSDs, and NVMe SSDs is possible — from a classic hybrid setup to a pure all-flash configuration.

The M40 uses TrueCache NVDIMM to accelerate sync writes at DRAM speed and persistently protects them against power loss. Optional dual-controller HA with transparent failover is available on both models. Modular shelf expansion enables scaling up to 5.5 PB raw — all backed by the full TrueNAS Enterprise suite. The former top-of-range models M50 and M60 are end-of-life; existing installations are still supported. For new deployments at the petabyte edge we recommend the F- or V-Series.

Two active models: M30 and M40 (M50, M60 are EOL)

4U chassis with 24x 3.5"/2.5" hot-swap bays

Hybrid and all-flash configurations freely combinable

TrueCache NVDIMM write cache (M40)

Optional dual-controller HA on both models

Up to 192 GB RAM and 3.2 TB NVMe read cache (M40)

Scales up to 5.5 PB raw across up to 2 shelves (M40)

Up to 2x 100 GbE and 4x 16 Gb Fibre Channel (M40)

Two active models — one platform

Choose the M model that fits your workload and growth path. For petabyte capacity beyond the M40, we recommend the F- or V-Series.

M30

Enterprise Entry

Classic all-rounder for file servers, backup targets, and mid-sized virtualisation environments.

• 8 cores / 8 threads
• 96 GB RAM, 800 GB SAS read cache
• 2x 10/25/40 GbE + 2x 10GBase-T
• 3 GB/s throughput
• Up to 2 PB raw / 84 drives

Recommended

M40

TrueCache Mid-range

First model with TrueCache NVDIMM. Ideal for mixed workloads, small to mid-sized databases, and consolidated virtualisation.

• 10 cores / 20 threads
• 192 GB RAM, up to 3.2 TB NVMe cache
• Up to 2x 100 GbE, 4x 16 Gb FC
• 6 GB/s throughput
• Up to 5.5 PB raw / 228 drives

M50 and M60 have been end-of-life since 2026. Existing systems continue to be serviced; for new deployments at the upper end of the capacity spectrum we recommend the F- or V-Series.

TrueNAS Configurator

Configure the M-Series yourself

Build your live capacity, RAID layout, networking and expansion in a few clicks — shareable config code, no login, free of charge.

Open the configurator

Drives

RAID

RAID-Z2

Usable

240 TB

TrueNAS M-Series: Capacity & Sizing

How much usable capacity remains after RAID parity and ZFS overhead? Typical M-Series configurations as a guide — the exact figures for your drive layout are calculated live in the configurator.

M40 · Hybrid HDD

24× 24 TB NL-SAS, RAIDZ2 (2× 12-wide)

Raw576 TB

Usable (pool)439 TB

of which recommended ≤ 80 %351 TB

Capacity-optimised pool for backup targets and file servers.

Calculate with your own values

Guide values (TB = 10¹² bytes). Actual usable capacity depends on vdev layout, RAID level, pool fill and data type. Values include ZFS RAIDZ padding at 128 KiB recordsize / ashift=12 (iX-quote-conform).

Configure your own M-Series

TrueNAS M-Series: Detailed specifications

Per-model comparison — generated directly from the configurator model data (single source of truth).

Specification	M30	M40
Form factor	4U (686 mm Tiefe)	4U (686 mm Tiefe)
High availability (HA)	Optional	Optional
Storage modes	Hybrid / All-flash	Hybrid / All-flash
CPU (cores / threads)	8 Cores / 8 Threads	10 Cores / 20 Threads
RAM (max.)	32–96 GB	64–192 GB
Drive bays	24× 3.5" (front)	24× 3.5" (front)
Read cache	800 GB SAS SSD	2.4 TB SAS SSD / 3.2 TB NVMe SSD
Write cache	16 GB SAS SSD	16 GB TrueCache® NVDIMM
Max capacity (raw)	2.2 PB	6.0 PB
Max. drives	84	228
Max throughput	3 GB/s	6 GB/s
Fibre Channel	2× 16Gb	4× 16Gb
Network (max.)	2× 10GBase-T (onboard) · 2× 10/25/40 GbE (optisch)	2× 10GBase-T (onboard) · 2× 10/25/40/100 GbE (optisch)
Management	1× IPMI Out-of-Band Management	1× IPMI Out-of-Band Management
Expansion shelves	2× ES24 \| 1× ES60 (max 2 gesamt)	2× ES24 \| 2× ES60 \| 2× ES102 (max 2 gesamt)
Power (typ.)	350 W	650 W
Power (peak, HA)	600 W	950 W
Heat output (HA)	2,047 BTU/h	3,241 BTU/h
Input voltage	100–240 V auto	100–240 V auto
Redundant PSU	Yes	Yes
Dimensions (L×W×H)	686 × 483 × 178 mm	686 × 483 × 178 mm
Weight	34.0 kg empty / 52.0 kg full	34.0 kg empty / 52.0 kg full
Operating temperature	0–35 °C	0–35 °C
Humidity	5–95 %	5–95 %
Certifications	RoHS 6/6, CE, FCC Class A, UL, BSMI	RoHS 6/6, CE, FCC Class A, UL, BSMI

Architecture and expansion

A proven 4U chassis with SAS backplane, NVDIMM write cache, and modular shelf expansion.

24x 3.5"/2.5" hot-swap bays

Front-loading hot-swap slots — freely combinable with SAS HDDs (4-26 TB), SAS SSDs (1.92-15.3 TB), or NVMe SSDs (1.6-30.7 TB).

Dual-controller HA

Two Intel Xeon controllers in active-passive failover with no data loss and automatic virtual-IP migration. Optional on every model.

TrueCache NVDIMM (M40)

16 GB persistent write cache per controller. Acknowledges sync writes at DRAM speed and protects data against power loss.

Expansion up to 1248 drives

Up to 12 expansion shelves (ES24F, ES60, ES102) — modular non-disruptive scaling without downtime or data migration.

Available storage media

All media ship with the full TrueNAS Enterprise integration — including AES-NI hardware encryption, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, and hot-swap support.

Enterprise Nearline HDDs

• 7200 RPM SAS3 (NL-SAS)
• 4 TB to 26 TB capacity
• Optional SED and FIPS 140

SAS SSDs

• 1.92 TB to 15.3 TB per SSD
• 12 Gb/s SAS3 dual-port
• Optional SED and FIPS 140

NVMe SSDs

• 1.6 TB to 30.7 TB per SSD
• U.2 / U.3 tri-mode
• Optional SED and FIPS 140

Power, climate, dimensions

Redundant hot-swap power supplies with high-grade efficiency rating. Remote power on/off via IPMI and UPS signal integration are standard.

Height

Depth (chassis)

27" / 686 mm

Dimensions (D x W x H)

686 x 483 x 178 mm

Weight (empty)

34 kg

Weight (loaded)

52 kg

Rack Rails

26"-36.5" (660-927 mm)

Input Voltage

100-240 V

Operating Temperature

0 °C - 35 °C

Humidity

5 % - 95 %, non-condensing

Certification

CE, FCC, UL, BSMI, RoHS / Citrix-, VMware-, Veeam-Ready, Asigra-Integrated

Protocols and integration

Full TrueNAS Enterprise suite — file, block, and object in a single system. Deep integration with hypervisor and cloud stacks.

File protocols

• SMB v1/2/3
• NFSv3, NFSv4
• FTP, WebShare

Block protocols

• iSCSI
• NVMe-oF (TCP)
• Fibre Channel (16 / 32 Gb)
• OpenStack Cinder

Object & directory services

• S3-compliant + immutable locking
• MinIO Alstor
• Active Directory, FreeIPA
• Kerberos, LDAP, NIS

Hypervisors & apps

• VMware (VAAI, vCenter)
• Proxmox plugin (iSCSI + snapshots)
• Hyper-V (VSS, ODX, CSV)
• KVM, XenServer, OpenShift
• Kubernetes CSI

What is the M-Series built for?

Classic enterprise workloads that demand high capacity, high availability, and predictable performance.

Virtualisation & VDI

Consolidated block and file storage for VMware, Proxmox, and Hyper-V clusters with high VM density and transparent failover.

Databases & ERP

SAP, Oracle, and large SQL workloads with low sync-write latency thanks to TrueCache NVDIMM and consistently high IOPS.

Backup at scale

High-capacity hybrid pools as a central backup target. Native ZFS replication, Veeam Ready, Asigra Integrated, Commvault, and NetBackup.

Media archives

Petabyte archives for broadcast, post-production, and research. SMB and NFS performance for long-term retention at moderate cost.

File-server consolidation

Replace multiple Windows or NetApp filers with a single platform — with Active Directory integration and SMB auditing.

Research & HPC

High bandwidth for sequential workloads, NFSv4, and parallel read pipelines for genomics, geoscience, and engineering.

Security and compliance

The M-Series uses the TrueSecure feature set of the TrueNAS Enterprise suite — from hardware-accelerated encryption to audited admin roles.

FIPS 140 for data-at-rest and data-in-flight

AES-NI hardware encryption

Encrypted drives and datasets

Restricted admin roles (Security, Storage, Monitor)

Auditing of all SMB and admin events

NIST 800-209 and GPOS STIG compliant

Immutable snapshots against ransomware

Signed updates with rollback capability

Backup and cloud integration

The M-Series integrates seamlessly with existing backup and cloud strategies — as a primary storage tier and as a replication target.

Snapshot-based ZFS replication (local & remote)

Truecloud backup to Storj

Veeam, HYCU, Asigra, CommVault, NetBackup

Rsync and Cloudsync

iX-Storj, Amazon S3, BackBlaze B2

Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure

Asynchronous file replication (Syncthing)

TrueNAS Connect for centralised management

Your benefits with DATAZONE

As a TrueNAS partner we accompany you throughout the entire M-Series lifecycle — from model selection through commissioning to ongoing operations. We are vendor-neutral and configure the system strictly according to your actual requirements.

Model advisory: M30 or M40 — based on your data

Drive-mix design: hybrid, all-flash, or tiered

Migration from VMware vSAN, NetApp, Dell EMC, HPE Storage

Integration with Proxmox, VMware, Hyper-V, and Kubernetes

Performance tuning and monitoring setup

24x365 support with a personal contact

Modular expansion during operation

Training for your IT team

Is the M-Series the right fit for your project?

The M-Series is the right choice if at least one of the following applies:

→ A 4U footprint is the maximum that fits into your rack
→ Petabyte+ scaling on an economical HDD pool
→ HA is desirable as an option, but not 99.999 %+ mission-critical
→ Mixed hybrid-and-flash workload on a single platform
→ Established enterprise workhorse rather than a bleeding-edge V-Series

If you need 400 GbE, tri-mode, or all-NVMe performance, the V-Series or F-Series is the better fit — we will advise you openly.

Frequently asked questions

What is the TrueNAS M-Series?

The TrueNAS M-Series is the established enterprise platform from iXsystems. Two active models (M30, M40) in a 4U chassis with 24 hot-swap bays, optional dual-controller HA, and TrueCache NVDIMM write cache cover classic enterprise workloads up to 5.5 PB raw.

Which models are part of the M-Series?

Currently two active models: M30 (entry, 2 PB raw, 3 GB/s throughput) and M40 (mid-range with TrueCache NVDIMM, 5.5 PB raw, 6 GB/s throughput, up to 2x 100 GbE). M50 and M60 have been marked end-of-life by iXsystems — existing systems continue to be serviced; for new deployments we recommend the M40 or an upgrade to the F- or V-Series.

How does the M-Series differ from the V-Series?

The M-Series is the established, mature enterprise platform with Intel Xeon controllers, SAS backplane, and TrueCache NVDIMM. The V-Series is the new tri-mode platform with AMD EPYC, Gen4/Gen5 NVMe, and 400 GbE — for workloads requiring more than 100 GbE or all-flash performance.

What is TrueCache NVDIMM?

TrueCache uses NVDIMM modules as a persistent write cache (16 GB per controller). Sync writes are acknowledged at DRAM speed and automatically protected to flash in the event of a power outage. Available on the M40 — the M30 uses a classic SAS SSD SLOG.

What high availability does the M-Series offer?

Both active models (M30, M40) support optional dual-controller HA with transparent failover and no data loss. Both controllers are configured active-passive and share the same SAS bus to the front bays and the expansion shelves.

How far does the M-Series scale?

Modular up to 5.5 PB raw: M30 with 2x ES24 or 1x ES60, M40 with 2 shelves. Expansion shelf types: ES24F (24x 2.5"), ES60 (60x 3.5"), and ES102 (102x 3.5"). Expansion is non-disruptive — no downtime required. Beyond 5.5 PB or more than 2x 100 GbE, the F- or V-Series is the better fit.

What network and FC options are available?

M30: 2x 10/25/40 GbE + 2x 10GBase-T plus 2x 16 Gb FC. M40: 2x 10/25/40/100 GbE + 2x 10GBase-T with up to 4x 16 Gb or 2x 32 Gb FC. All models include out-of-band management via IPMI.

Which protocols and hypervisors are supported?

File: SMB v1/2/3, NFSv3/v4, FTP, WebShare. Block: iSCSI, NVMe-oF (TCP), Fibre Channel. Object: S3-compliant. Hypervisor integration with VMware (VAAI, vCenter), Proxmox (official plugin), Hyper-V (VSS, ODX), KVM, Citrix XenServer, and Kubernetes CSI.

Evaluate the TrueNAS M-Series

We will advise you on the right model (M30 or M40), the drive mix, and migration from your existing storage infrastructure.

Get in touch