This is the old XigmaNAS forum in read only mode,
it will taken offline by the end of march 2021!



I like to aks Users and Admins to rewrite/take over important post from here into the new fresh main forum!
Its not possible for us to export from here and import it to the main forum!

using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Forum rules
Set-Up GuideFAQsForum Rules
Post Reply
disaster
Starter
Starter
Posts: 31
Joined: 18 Apr 2014 10:16
Location: Italy
Status: Offline

using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by disaster »

HI,
I'm experimenting with Nas4Free and ZFS, I have a system with 2 * 3 TB drives.
On these disks I'd like to store some files which are crucial to me, and some who are not. (Of course I'm going also to backup that data)
So I thought that I'd partition my disk with a mix of raid 1 an 0, so
2 TB each Raid 1 = 2 TB "safe"
1 TB each Raid 0 = 2 TB "not safe"

But from what I've understood partitioning the disks is not recommended on Nas4Free, so I went with a ZFS stripe pool on both disks and created a dataset with copies=2 where I'd store my crucial files.
So in case of a disk failure I won't lose anything that's on the 2 copies datases, I just have to purchase a new disk and scrub the pool, right? The files with copies=1 would be just lost.

Does this look like a crazy idea or could it be a good one?

Thanks!

substr
experienced User
experienced User
Posts: 113
Joined: 04 Aug 2013 20:21
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by substr »

Sounds like it would work; but doesn't seem to.

I just tried it, and at the very least, it will require a trick to get the pool to mount with a non-redundant drive missing. Theoretically, the copies=2 files are still there. But if the pool won't mount, that isn't much help.

kenZ71
Advanced User
Advanced User
Posts: 379
Joined: 27 Jun 2012 20:18
Location: Northeast, USA
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by kenZ71 »

Keep it simple, go with a Raidz1 mirror. Two drives with the data replicated to both.

This provides safety if one fails, your data is still safe.
11.2-RELEASE-p3 | ZFS Mirror - 2 x 8TB WD Red | 28GB ECC Ram
HP ML10v2 x64-embedded on Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-4150 CPU @ 3.50GHz

Extra memory so I can host a couple VMs
1) Unifi Controller on Ubuntu
2) Librenms on Ubuntu

disaster
Starter
Starter
Posts: 31
Joined: 18 Apr 2014 10:16
Location: Italy
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by disaster »

Uhm, I've read viewtopic.php?f=66&t=6235 and as I can't have ECC ram on my system I'll go with a mirrored UFS fs :-(

User avatar
crowi
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1176
Joined: 21 Feb 2013 16:18
Location: Munich, Germany
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by crowi »

Why not add a third drive and go for software RAID5 (not ZFS as you have no ECC RAM), so you have 6 TB useable and certain redundancy.
RAID on partitions is not the best way to go, keep it on drive level.
NAS 1: Milchkuh: Asrock C2550D4I, Intel Avoton C2550 Quad-Core, 16GB DDR3 ECC, 5x3TB WD Red RaidZ1 +60 GB SSD for ZIL/L2ARC, APC-Back UPS 350 CS, NAS4Free 11.0.0.4.3460 embedded
NAS 2: Backup: HP N54L, 8 GB ECC RAM, 4x4 TB WD Red, RaidZ1, NAS4Free 11.0.0.4.3460 embedded
NAS 3: Office: HP N54L, 8 GB ECC RAM, 2x3 TB WD Red, ZFS Mirror, APC-Back UPS 350 CS NAS4Free 11.0.0.4.3460 embedded

disaster
Starter
Starter
Posts: 31
Joined: 18 Apr 2014 10:16
Location: Italy
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by disaster »

I'm using a quite old motherboard http://www.viaembedded.com/en/products/ ... 3.pdf.html that has only 2 SAS ports :-(
I would need to add a pci SAS controller to go with 3 disks, but then I don't think I'd want that beast in my living room :-D

substr
experienced User
experienced User
Posts: 113
Joined: 04 Aug 2013 20:21
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by substr »

If you aren't using ZFS because you don't have ECC, then you probably wouldn't use software RAID5 either; it would potentially have the same risk of corrupted parity calculations.

User avatar
crowi
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator
Posts: 1176
Joined: 21 Feb 2013 16:18
Location: Munich, Germany
Status: Offline

Re: using ZFS on a stripe and copies=2 for a dataset

Post by crowi »

No because Raid does no automatic repair also on reads like ZFS does.
On Raid you might get a corrupted file, on ZFS your whole pool can get silent corruption.
ZFS also has much higher RAM usage.
NAS 1: Milchkuh: Asrock C2550D4I, Intel Avoton C2550 Quad-Core, 16GB DDR3 ECC, 5x3TB WD Red RaidZ1 +60 GB SSD for ZIL/L2ARC, APC-Back UPS 350 CS, NAS4Free 11.0.0.4.3460 embedded
NAS 2: Backup: HP N54L, 8 GB ECC RAM, 4x4 TB WD Red, RaidZ1, NAS4Free 11.0.0.4.3460 embedded
NAS 3: Office: HP N54L, 8 GB ECC RAM, 2x3 TB WD Red, ZFS Mirror, APC-Back UPS 350 CS NAS4Free 11.0.0.4.3460 embedded

Post Reply

Return to “ZFS (only!)”