TrueNAS: The Freedom of Managed Storage

Learn why creative teams choose creative.space's fully managed approach over the DIY complexity of TrueNAS, allowing them to focus on creativity instead of technical maintenance.

By Nick Anderson, Product Manager for creative.space at DigitalGlue

Creatives don’t care about storage.

As a creative professional myself, I know firsthand that video editors, colorists, and visual storytellers didn’t enter their fields dreaming of managing NAS settings or tweaking storage performance. Our passion lies in bringing stories to life, shaping emotions, and captivating audiences—not troubleshooting technical issues or maintaining complex server setups.

Yet, as teams scale and collaboration expands, that’s exactly the burden placed on creatives. Suddenly, you’re not just a creator; you’re forced into becoming an IT specialist, wrestling with file permissions, tuning system performance, and handling unexpected downtime. Storage isn’t just a financial investment—there’s also a hidden cost in productivity, creativity, and peace of mind.

The True Cost of DIY Storage

TrueNAS is a powerful, open-source storage platform built on OpenZFS. It has won the hearts of many technically-inclined teams and enthusiasts for its flexibility, powerful features, and cost-effectiveness. For teams comfortable tuning systems, troubleshooting performance, and performing regular maintenance, TrueNAS can seem like the perfect solution.

In 2016, an integration customer of ours (DigitalGlue) implemented a ZFS-based storage solution. I found myself on screen sharing with support as they accessed the web interface for FreeNAS (now TrueNAS). I quickly discovered that while powerful, they demanded a significant level of technical know-how to achieve the performance and reliability needed for video workflows. Manually tweaking settings, installing third-party drivers, and endlessly chasing promised speeds wasn’t going to scale as a solution for our other customers.

However, what starts as cost savings often reveals hidden expenses. The hours spent optimizing network settings, adjusting RAID configurations, and fine-tuning caching parameters quickly accumulated, pulling valuable time away from creative work. Linus Tech Tips famously demonstrated how TrueNAS could outperform more expensive commercial solutions in raw specs, but even he acknowledged the complexity and technical overhead involved.

Why We Built creative.space

The reality became clear: simply installing TrueNAS wasn’t enough. Creative teams needed a solution built specifically for their workflows—one that didn’t demand ongoing tuning and troubleshooting. This realization led DigitalGlue to build creative.space from the ground up around OpenZFS, crafting a custom OS designed specifically for collaborative video workflows.

Designed for Simplicity, Built for Creativity

creative.space removes complexity through an intuitive, user-friendly interface designed explicitly for non-technical creatives and team leaders. You’ll never again need to dive into advanced network configurations, manage RAID arrays manually, or worry about software compatibility issues. All technical intricacies—from permissions management to real-time optimization—are seamlessly handled in the background.

With integrated OpenLDAP for advanced permissions, creative.space eliminates the need for an external Active Directory server. Team leaders effortlessly manage day-to-day access through a simple graphical interface, without IT involvement or specialized training.

Fully Managed Service Means True Freedom

The managed service model is the cornerstone of creative.space, clearly setting us apart from TrueNAS. Instead of burdening your team with ongoing configuration, optimization, and troubleshooting, our proactive support manages every aspect of your storage infrastructure. DigitalGlue’s storage experts continuously monitor and optimize thousands of system metrics, resolving potential issues before they ever affect your workflow.

This proactive management ensures reliable, high-performance storage and significantly reduces downtime, empowering your team to focus exclusively on creativity rather than technology.

Cloud-like Link Sharing, Without the Cloud Costs

One of the standout features that earned creative.space back-to-back NAB Product of the Year awards is our unique, cloud-like link-sharing capability. Unlike traditional VPN or cloud storage solutions, our approach provides direct access to media through secure, instantly accessible links—without the complexity or security concerns associated with VPN setups or expensive per-user fees.

This functionality is built directly into creative.space, enabling teams to collaborate seamlessly in real-time, regardless of location, without any additional hardware or software costs.

Predictable Costs, Reliable Performance

TrueNAS may initially appear budget-friendly, but the unpredictability of ongoing maintenance, performance tuning, and third-party support introduces significant hidden costs. creative.space transforms this model by offering predictable costs evenly spread over the hardware’s lifespan through a transparent, subscription-based pricing structure. Our proactive management service is included, eliminating the need for expensive support contracts or internal IT resources.

The Bottom Line: Creative Freedom

While TrueNAS remains a powerful solution for technically sophisticated teams, creative.space delivers what today’s creative teams genuinely need: reliability, simplicity, and freedom from technical distractions. By handling the complexities proactively and transparently, we empower creatives to do what they do best—create without limits.

creative.space isn’t just about managing storage; it’s about eliminating storage from your daily concerns entirely.

Stop managing storage. Start creating.