Backup solution for a 2-drive setup

[Avlor]

I've been trying to think about the best/most convenient setup for a 2-drive nas4free install at home. I use the box primarily for storage, media (SB+CP+Plex) and downloads. the hardware setup is 2x3TB HDD's. I realise 2 HDD's is the bare minimum and I'd benefit from more storage, but that's what I have at the moment

After reading a bit about zfs and various data replication/backup strategies, I think i have 2 options available to me.
1. Mirrored vdev + snapshots. My understanding that in this case I get 3TB of usable space, can survive one disk failure and can roll back to a previous snapshot in case of stupid user error, assuming i do snapshots regularly
2. Main pool + backup pool +zfs send/recv. This appears to give similar specs to (1) but will have a slightly more involved setup process. I still get 3TB of usable space, can survive one drive failure (can mount backup pool and resend the filesystems to a new drive) and can roll back to previous points in time. One advantage I can see is power consumption and disk wear, as the backup disk only comes online for backup ops, saving resource and energy. However, this setup involves fiddling with zfs send/recv and managing the snapshot setup on both main and backup pool.

I don't know enough about zfs to appreciate further pros and cons of either, so opinions very welcome. Option 2 looks more like backup, while Option 1 is more a 'replication' setup. What am I missing by going with option 1? Is one better than the other for future expansion?

Thanks

[raulfg3]

+1 for option 1, is easy for home use, and is easy to grow in future (only need to add mirrored vdevs to ZFS) but remember any kind of RAID ( inclusive ZFS mirror) is NOT a backup, your most valuable data (family photos or what you most apreciate), MUST be in two places ( in your NAS and in your desktop PC for example, for a minimun Backup procedure).

[Avlor]

If I understand correctly, by "not a backup" do you mean they should not be in the same physical machine? By that definition, option 2 will not qualify as backup either, will it?
I'm planning to set up a remote box for regular offsite backups or use backblaze/crashplan if I figure out how to run that on BSD

[raulfg3]

If I understand correctly, by "not a backup" do you mean they should not be in the same physical machine? By that definition, option 2 will not qualify as backup either, will it?

correct, my point is that normal users find any kind of raid disk to store his data and forget that NEED to backup properly, so please keep this in mind and do what you need.