Mini Series

TrueNAS Mini Series

Enterprise-grade ZFS in a compact form factor. Mini X, Mini X+ and Mini R — for office, branch and home production.

Enterprise ZFS in a compact form factor

The TrueNAS Mini series is the compact tier of iXsystems — built for office, branch and home production. Three models cover the spectrum: Mini X as an entry tower with 4× 1 GbE, Mini X+ as a 10 GbE performance variant, and Mini R as a 12-bay rackmount for branch sites and server rooms.

ECC RAM is standard on all three models. OpenZFS runs with self-healing, snapshots, replication and dataset encryption. There are no feature cuts compared to the enterprise models — the Mini series uses the same TrueNAS code with all protocols (SMB, NFS, iSCSI, S3) and apps. Only the hardware is tuned for SOHO/SMB requirements: SATA bays instead of SAS, single controller instead of an HA pair.

ECC RAM standard on all models

OpenZFS with self-healing and snapshots

Full TrueNAS feature set (no feature cuts)

Dedicated IPMI port for out-of-band management

Hot-swap bays on every model

10 GbE onboard from Mini X+ (BASE-T + optional SFP+)

SATA only — quiet and energy efficient

1 year warranty standard, 3 years optional

Three models for three usage classes

Mini X for entry, Mini X+ for 10 GbE performance, Mini R for the rack — same TrueNAS code, different hardware.

Mini X

Entry — home office & small studio

Compact mini tower with Atom C3558 4-core, ECC RAM and four 1 GbE ports. Perfect when 1 GbE is enough and budget is tight.

• Intel C3558, 4 cores
• 16 GB DDR4 ECC (max. 32 GB)
• 5× 3.5" + 2× 2.5" SATA
• 4× 1 GbE
• Up to 90 TB raw capacity

Recommended — best performance

Mini X+

10 GbE performance in a tower

Same chassis as the Mini X, but Atom C3758 8-core, double the RAM and 10 GbE onboard. Optionally two additional SFP+ ports and a PCIe slot.

• Intel C3758, 8 cores
• 32 GB DDR4 ECC (max. 64 GB)
• 5× 3.5" + 2× 2.5" SATA
• 2× 10GBase-T (+ 2× SFP+ optional)
• Up to 105 TB raw capacity

Mini R

Rackmount with 12 bays

2U rackmount with 12 hot-swap bays, lockable bezel and the same C3758 8-core platform as the Mini X+. For branch sites, server rooms and small data centres.

• Intel C3758, 8 cores
• 32 GB DDR4 ECC (max. 64 GB)
• 12× 3.5" SATA, lockable
• 2× 10GBase-T (+ 2× SFP+ optional)
• Up to 216 TB raw capacity

TrueNAS Configurator

Configure the Mini 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

Effective

240 TB

TrueNAS Mini Series: Capacity & Sizing

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

Mini X+ · SOHO-Tower

5× 8 TB HDD, RAIDZ2 (1× 5-wide)

Raw40.0 TB

Usable (pool)23.7 TB

of which recommended ≤ 80 %19.0 TB

Effective (LZ4 ~1.43:1) ⓘ33.9 TB

Tower NAS for small/home office. RAIDZ2 for maximum resilience. Note: no enterprise support option. Effective < raw is normal for 5-wide Z2 (high parity share).

Calculate with your own values

Mini R · Rack-Edge-NAS

12× 16 TB HDD, RAIDZ2 (1× 12-wide)

Raw192 TB

Usable (pool)146 TB

of which recommended ≤ 80 %117 TB

Effective (LZ4 ~1.43:1) ⓘ209 TB

3.5U rackmount for edge sites. Hardware warranty, no TrueNAS enterprise support.

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 Mini Series

TrueNAS Mini Series: Detailed specifications

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

Specification	Mini X+	Mini R
Form factor	Tower	3.5U
High availability (HA)	Single controller	Single controller
Storage modes	Hybrid	Hybrid
CPU (cores / threads)	Intel Atom C3758 / 8 Threads	Intel Atom C3758 / 8 Threads
RAM (max.)	32–64 GB	32–64 GB
Drive bays	5× 3.5" (front) + 2× 2.5" (front)	12× 3.5" (front)
Max capacity (raw)	105 TB	216 TB
Max capacity (effective, iX 2×)	210 TB	432 TB
Max. drives	7	12
Max throughput	1 GB/s	1.5 GB/s
Network (max.)	2× 1/10GBase-T + IPMI · 2× SFP+ 10G (optional)	2× 1/10GBase-T + IPMI · 2× SFP+ 10G (optional)
Power (typ.)	75 W	110 W
Heat output (HA)	260 BTU/h	380 BTU/h
Input voltage	100–240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, Single Phase	100–240 V AC, 50/60 Hz, Single Phase
Redundant PSU	No	No
Dimensions (L×W×H)	241 × 210 × 267 mm	533 × 437 × 89 mm
Weight	5.9 kg empty	8.5 kg empty

Max effective capacity follows the iX marketing convention (2× raw), matching the official iX datasheets. Concrete configuration examples above use the conservative LZ4 ~1.43 factor.

What sets the Mini series apart

Four properties that distinguish a TrueNAS Mini from a consumer NAS.

ECC RAM standard

Standard on all three models. Detects and corrects bit errors in RAM before they reach the ZFS pool.

Hot-swap bays

Drives can be swapped during operation — including on the Mini X. The Mini R adds a lockable bezel.

OpenZFS self-healing

Checksums on every block, automatic repair via RAID-Z when bit-rot is detected. Snapshots in fractions of a second.

Full TrueNAS features

No feature cuts: SMB, NFS, iSCSI, S3, snapshots, replication, encryption, apps — identical to the R/H/F/M series.

Available storage media

The Mini series is SATA only. If you need NVMe performance, look at the F, H or M series. For SOHO use, however, SATA delivers exactly the mix of capacity, noise and price that typical office workloads demand.

3.5" SATA HDDs (main storage)

• NAS / enterprise class: WD Red Plus/Pro, Seagate IronWolf, Toshiba MG/N300
• Capacities from 2 TB to 24 TB
• 5× 3.5" bays on Mini X / X+, 12× on Mini R
• Hot-swap, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring

2.5" SATA SSDs (cache / SLOG / boot)

• 2× 2.5" internal bays on Mini X / X+
• Suited for L2ARC, SLOG or as a pure SSD pool
• No NVMe — the Mini series has no M.2 or U.2 slots

Dimensions, power and noise

Mini X and Mini X+ share the same mini-tower chassis and are designed for office and home-office environments — quiet, energy efficient and compact. The Mini R is a 2U rackmount for server cabinets or tech rooms.

Mini X / X+ size

210 × 267 × 241 mm

Mini X weight

5.9 kg

Mini R size

437 × 533 × 89 mm (2U)

Mini R weight

8.5 kg

Mini X idle / load

24 W / 84 W

Mini X+ idle / load

40 W / 111 W

Mini R idle / load

63 W / 167 W

Noise level

Tower: quiet / R: server fans

Warranty (standard)

1 year

Warranty (optional)

3 years

Protocols and integration

Same software as the enterprise models — all SMB, NFS, iSCSI and S3 features including snapshots, replication and apps.

File protocols

• SMB v1/2/3 (incl. Time Machine)
• NFSv3 / NFSv4
• FTP, SFTP, WebDAV
• AFP migration to SMB

Block & object

• iSCSI (for Hyper-V, Proxmox, ESXi)
• S3-compatible object storage (MinIO)
• Truecloud Backup to Storj

Directory services

• Active Directory
• LDAP
• Local users and groups
• 2FA for the Web UI

Apps & data services

• Snapshots, ZFS replication
• Plex, Jellyfin, Nextcloud (apps)
• Veeam backup target via SMB / NFS / iSCSI
• rsync, Cloudsync (S3, B2, Azure)

What is the Mini series built for?

SOHO, SMB and branch workloads — wherever you need ECC reliability, ZFS and vendor support, but no data centre.

Home office & home network

Central file repository, Time Machine target and family photo archive — quiet enough for the study, safe enough to be the only data copy.

Small offices (5–20 people)

SMB file server with Active Directory binding, snapshots for ransomware protection and IPMI remote management — even without a dedicated server team.

Time Machine for Macs

Native SMB Time Machine target with quotas and snapshot protection. A Mini X+ services 10–20 Macs without audible load.

Plex / Jellyfin media server

Self-hosted streaming for 4K content. The C3758 transcodes 1080p effortlessly; large libraries stream straight from the ZFS pool over SMB / NFS.

Branch backup target

Mini R in the branch server cabinet as a ZFS replication target for headquarters. Encrypted snapshot replication, no local admin required on site.

Content creators (4K editing)

10 GbE pool for Premiere, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut. Multiple editors work in parallel on a single Mini X+ without a proxy workflow.

SMB-grade security

Even at the Mini tier, the rules apply: data should be encrypted, snapshots protect against ransomware, and management traffic must be separable from the data network.

Native ZFS dataset encryption (AES-256)

Encrypted replication between sites

Immutable snapshots against ransomware

Per-dataset snapshot retention policies

Dedicated IPMI port — separated from data LAN

2FA for the TrueNAS Web UI

Active Directory binding with Kerberos

Audit logs for SMB access and admin events

Backup and cloud connectivity

A Mini rarely replaces all backups — it complements them. Through native replication and cloud sync, the small NAS becomes one building block in a 3-2-1 strategy.

ZFS replication to a second TrueNAS (local or remote)

Veeam backup target via SMB / NFS / iSCSI

Truecloud Backup to Storj

Cloudsync to Amazon S3, BackBlaze B2, Azure

rsync and SFTP to any Linux host

Snapshot schedule — daily / weekly / monthly

Replication throttling for DSL / VDSL links

Manual cold storage to USB disks

Your benefits with DATAZONE

Even a Mini NAS deserves proper sizing. We configure the system based on your actual requirements — no over-dimensioned pools, no RAM that runs out under your real workload.

Model selection — Mini X vs. Mini X+ vs. Mini R, vendor-neutral advice

Drive sizing for your real-world data set

RAID-Z layout recommendation (Z1, Z2 or mirror)

Active Directory integration and SMB configuration

Replication to a second NAS or Storj cloud

Hardening of IPMI — separated from the data LAN

Optional: 24×365 support with a personal point of contact

Migration from Synology / QNAP / Drobo / Windows shares

Which Mini model fits you?

Three simple recommendations — based on the three most common requirement profiles we see in scoping calls.

→ Mini X: When 1 GbE is enough and budget is tight (home office, small studio, single workstation with documents and photos).
→ Mini X+: When 10 GbE matters (video editing, multiple editors in parallel, larger office with 10–20 users).
→ Mini R: When rackmount and maximum capacity are required (branch office, small server room, backup target in a 19″ cabinet).

Prices are not publicly listed on truenas.com — as a rough orientation, expect from approx. EUR 1,500 configured. If you need more than ~150 TB or NVMe performance, the R or F series is worth a look.

Frequently asked questions

Why is ECC RAM important in a NAS?

ECC (Error-Correcting Code) RAM detects and corrects bit errors in memory before they get written to the ZFS pool. Because ZFS processes data and checksums through RAM, ECC is the most important hardware safeguard against silent data corruption. All TrueNAS Mini models ship with ECC RAM as standard — that is the central difference from consumer NAS devices.

How does the Mini series compare to Synology, QNAP or Asustor?

Three points: ECC RAM is standard, not an upgrade. OpenZFS with self-healing, snapshots, replication and native encryption — no feature cuts compared to the enterprise models. And: a dedicated IPMI port for out-of-band management. In return, the Mini series is less "app store oriented" than the Japanese/Taiwanese competitors — TrueNAS is primarily storage and ZFS, not a multimedia platform with hundreds of apps.

Are Mini E, Mini E+ or Mini XL+ still available?

No. Mini E, Mini E+ and Mini XL+ are no longer in the current lineup. The active portfolio consists of three models: Mini X (entry, 4× 1 GbE), Mini X+ (10 GbE capable) and Mini R (12-bay rackmount). If you are still hunting for a discontinued unit of the older line, get in touch — we will point you to the right current model based on your requirements.

Which drives fit the Mini series?

The Mini series is SATA only. Recommended are 3.5" NAS/enterprise HDDs (e.g. WD Red Plus/Pro, Seagate IronWolf/IronWolf Pro, Toshiba MG/N300) and 2.5" SATA SSDs for the cache/SLOG slots. NVMe SSDs are not supported on the Mini series — if you need NVMe performance, look at the F, H or M series.

What about the Mini XL+ — is there a successor?

The Mini XL+ as an 8-bay tower is no longer available. The Mini R covers that segment in a 2U rackmount form factor with 12 bays — but as a rackmount, not a tower. If you need more bays than the Mini X+ in a SOHO setting and have no rack cabinet, talk to us about an R20 or R30 configuration.

What warranty and support is included?

1 year manufacturer warranty is standard, optionally extendable to 3 years. Hardware support comes directly from iXsystems. Software updates for TrueNAS CE/Community Edition are free of charge for the lifetime of the device. On request, DATAZONE complements the manufacturer warranty with our own 24×365 service contract and a personal point of contact.

Can I use the Mini series as a backup target for other TrueNAS systems?

Yes — that is in fact one of the most common use cases. Native ZFS replication (snapshot-based, incremental, encryptable) lets you place a Mini R as an offsite backup target for a larger TrueNAS at headquarters or at home. Veeam, rsync, S3 sync and Truecloud Backup to Storj all work on the Mini just like on the enterprise models.

How loud is the Mini series in an office?

Mini X and Mini X+ are designed as mini towers for office and home-office environments — quiet enough to sit on or next to your desk. The Mini R is a 2U rackmount with server-class fans and belongs in a server cabinet or enclosed tech room, not on an open-plan office floor.

Configure your TrueNAS Mini

We give vendor-neutral advice on the right Mini variant (X, X+ or R), the drive selection and integration into your existing network — from home office to branch site.

Get in touch