Use Case · TrueCloud Backup

Off-Site Cloud Backup Built Right Into TrueNAS

TrueCloud Backup is a native TrueNAS feature, not a bolt-on appliance — encrypted backup to Storj’s decentralized cloud with no egress fees, scheduled backup policies, and an off-site copy that ransomware on your network cannot reach.

Request a Quote See Recommended Hardware

The Challenge

The 3-2-1 backup rule — three copies of data, on two different media, with one off-site — is well understood. Executing it without a separate cloud gateway appliance, a third-party backup software license, and a cloud storage bill full of egress surprises is harder. Most organizations either skip the off-site copy or pay more for the cloud-tier infrastructure than the data is worth to recover.

TrueCloud Backup collapses those layers into a single licensed feature of TrueNAS itself. Data is encrypted end-to-end before it leaves the appliance, stored across Storj’s geographically distributed network of storage nodes, and retrievable only by the TrueNAS that owns the encryption keys. There are no egress fees for restores, no bandwidth billing, and no cloud storage gateway to maintain separately. The result is a compliant, auditable off-site copy that costs a predictable subscription fee regardless of how often you restore.

How TrueCloud Backup Works

End-to-end encryption, decentralized geo-redundancy, and no egress fees — the off-site copy your backup strategy has been missing.

End-to-End Encryption and Decentralized Storage

Storj Decentralized Cloud — Your Data, Encrypted Before It Leaves

TrueCloud Backup encrypts data on the TrueNAS appliance before transmission using keys that never leave your control. Encrypted data segments are distributed across Storj’s global network of independently operated storage nodes — no single node holds enough data to reconstruct a file, and Storj itself cannot read your data. Unlike traditional cloud storage where the provider holds the encryption keys, TrueCloud Backup provides true zero-knowledge off-site protection with geo-redundancy built into the underlying storage network.

No Egress Fees for Restores

Storj does not charge egress fees for data retrieval with TrueCloud Backup. Restore a terabyte or a petabyte — the recovery cost is the same as the storage cost. This eliminates the cloud economics problem where the disaster you least want to happen is also the most expensive one to recover from.

Geo-Redundant by Design

Storj distributes encrypted data fragments across storage nodes in multiple geographic regions. The loss of any individual node — or any single data center — does not affect data availability. TrueCloud Backup inherits this geo-redundancy without any additional configuration or cost.

Backup Policies and Scheduling

Scheduled Backup Policies

Define backup schedules per dataset — daily, weekly, or on a custom cron expression. TrueNAS takes a ZFS snapshot of the dataset at the scheduled time and transmits only changed blocks to TrueCloud Backup, minimizing upload bandwidth and time-to-completion for incremental runs.

Retention Policy Management

Configure how many backup snapshots to retain in TrueCloud Backup independently of local ZFS snapshot retention. Keep 90 days of off-site backups while retaining only seven days locally, satisfying longer compliance retention windows without expanding on-premises storage.

Air-Gap Equivalent Protection

Ransomware that compromises a production server can traverse network connections to reach a NAS — but it cannot reach TrueCloud Backup. The off-site copy is isolated behind Storj’s network with access controlled solely by encryption keys on the TrueNAS, providing the isolation benefit of an air-gap without physical media handling.

Monitoring and Alerting

TrueCloud Backup task status is visible in the TrueNAS dashboard alongside all other storage and task alerts. Failed or missed backup jobs trigger email or alerting service notifications, ensuring that a missed upload does not go unnoticed until a recovery is needed.

Recovery and Compliance

Restore Granularly or Completely — Without Egress Bills

TrueCloud Backup supports both full dataset restores and granular file-level recovery from any retained snapshot. Restore to the original TrueNAS, to a different TrueNAS at a recovery site, or to a TrueNAS SCALE instance running in a cloud virtual machine. Because there are no egress fees, organizations can test restores regularly without incurring unexpected costs — which is the only way to know that a backup is actually recoverable before the emergency happens.

Compliance-Ready Off-Site Copy

Many regulatory frameworks — HIPAA, SOC 2, CMMC — require an off-site backup copy with encryption in transit and at rest. TrueCloud Backup satisfies both requirements natively. Encryption key documentation and audit logs of backup task execution are available from the TrueNAS UI for compliance reporting.

Predictable Subscription Pricing

TrueCloud Backup is licensed per TrueNAS appliance with included Storj storage capacity. Pricing is predictable and capacity-based — unlike public cloud object storage, where the combination of storage, API calls, and egress fees can make the monthly bill difficult to forecast when recovery operations are frequent.

Recommended TrueNAS Systems for TrueCloud Backup

Models commonly chosen for this workload, with reasoning.

M-Series

TrueNAS M40

4U · 10-core · 3 PB

HA hybrid primary that backs up to S3/Azure/Backblaze via TrueCloud — full lifecycle from on-prem to cloud.

View M40 →

R-Series

TrueNAS R20

12+2-bay hybrid · 3.4 PB

Cost-effective on-prem source for TrueCloud Backup — replicate workstations and file shares to cloud cheaply.

View R20 →

R-Series

TrueNAS R50

48+4-bay hybrid · 6.5 PB

Higher-density hybrid for organizations with large datasets that need a tiered cloud backup strategy.

View R50 →

Authorized TrueNAS Reseller

Add an off-site copy without adding complexity

Tell us your data volumes, retention requirements, and compliance obligations — we’ll size TrueCloud Backup alongside the right TrueNAS hardware and manage the order from quote to delivery.

Talk to a Specialist Browse Hardware

Recommended Hardware for TrueCloud Backup

Remote Office & SMB

TrueNAS Mini Series

Desktop-form-factor TrueNAS with full TrueCloud Backup capability. Ideal for remote offices or small organizations that need an off-site copy without a secondary appliance at a DR site.

View Mini Series

Data Center Primary Storage

TrueNAS R-Series

Rackmount 1U–4U for primary data center workloads that need TrueCloud Backup as the off-site tier. R20, R50, and R60 support TrueCloud Backup tasks alongside all other data protection and sharing features.

View R-Series

High-Availability Enterprise

TrueNAS H-Series

Dual-controller HA with NVMe performance and TrueCloud Backup built in. For enterprises that require both on-site HA and a cloud-based off-site copy as part of a complete multi-layer data protection strategy.

View H-Series