TrueNAS, Unraid and NAS remote access: web UI, SSH and files in one app

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   Step 1: Turn on SSH on the NAS

   SSH is usually off until you switch it on in the NAS's web interface. On TrueNAS it's among the system services; on Unraid it's in the management access settings. The exact menu names change between versions, so check your NAS's own documentation. Allow it on your local network only.

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   Step 2: Save the web interface as a web panel

   In RemoteAccessApp on Windows, open the Connections page and add a web panel with the NAS's address, such as https://192.168.1.50. A NAS often has a self-signed certificate: the tab asks about it and remembers one you've accepted. Save the user name, and Fill sign-in types it in for you. Other admin pages save the same way, from the HPE iLO remote console on a server to your pfSense, OPNsense or router admin page.

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   Step 3: Add the NAS as an SSH host with a key

   Add the same address as an SSH host. Import or make a key under Keys & passwords and add its public half to the NAS user; TrueNAS and Unraid both have a place for a user's SSH public key in their web interface. The SSH keys help covers the rest. Check the key fingerprint on first connect.

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   Step 4: Group it with the rest of your storage

   Put the panel and the SSH host in a group such as Storage, with tags like nas or backup, so they sit next to each other and next to your hypervisors. If one of those is VMware, here's how to manage a VMware ESXi host remotely from the same list.

• TrueNAS SCALE runs on Linux, and Unraid is Linux too: the terminal, files, Run on hosts and the live dashboard all work.
• TrueNAS CORE runs on FreeBSD: the terminal and files work, and the dashboard reads FreeBSD as well.
• Other NAS boxes with SSH and SFTP: the terminal and file manager work; the dashboard works when the system is Linux, FreeBSD or macOS underneath and lets your user run ordinary commands. A small file server on a Raspberry Pi counts too, and the guide to Raspberry Pi remote access with SSH and VNC covers that board.

Click Dashboard on the NAS's SSH tab for CPU, memory, load, each mounted disk's space (flagged from 90% full), network and the busiest processes. It runs read-only commands, installs nothing and never uses sudo.

Open the NAS's files from its SSH host, or add it as a Files (SFTP) host. The tab has two panes, this PC and the NAS: drag files between them, or drop them in from File Explorer. To change a config file, choose Edit on it to open it in your own editor and save it straight back.

Straight to another server

A transfer tab copies from the NAS to a backup server, or the other way, without saving anything on your PC; neither side needs the other's password. Verify compares SHA-256 checksums of the original and the copy where both sides have sha256sum, which Linux systems usually do; FreeBSD-based systems may not have it under that name. See copying files between two servers.

If your NAS runs its apps as Docker containers and your SSH user can use the docker command, the Containers button on the SSH tab lists them with their image, state and ports, and lets you start, stop or restart one (each confirmed), follow its log or open a shell inside it. If docker needs sudo, you can turn on sudo for that host, which only works when the NAS lets your user run docker with sudo without a password; RemoteAccessApp never types a sudo password. More in managing Docker and Podman hosts.

Save a script in the terminal's Scripts & History panel and run it on each NAS with Run on hosts…. On a Linux-based NAS:

hostname
uptime
df -h
zpool status -x

zpool status -x applies to ZFS systems such as TrueNAS, and may need administrator rights depending on your user.

Saving a check once and running it everywhere is one of the workflows that save time when you manage many servers, along with saved layouts and server-to-server copies.

• Keep the NAS web interface and SSH on your local network. Never forward their ports to the internet.
• When you're away, open a PC at home with RemoteAccessApp and use the web interface in its browser. Saved SSH hosts with a local address open from the website through one of your own PCs, free.
• Use SSH keys, and turn on two-step verification for your RemoteAccessApp account.
• Copy password clears itself from the clipboard after a short time; passwords stay encrypted on the PC where you saved them.

For the wider picture, with hypervisors and VMs, see managing Proxmox, VMware and KVM hosts from one app.

The free plan saves up to 5 hosts and web panels together, with 3 open at once: a NAS's panel and SSH host count as two. Pro allows as many as you like and syncs saved passwords, end-to-end encrypted.