Best Storage configuration

[Neeiro]

I'm thinking of switching to freenas (currently on windows server) but wondering the best way to setup my hard drives.
Currently I have all the drives mirrored to protect the data but I'm concerned that if I get some ransomware it will wipe out the mirrors too - so looking to make shadow copies instead of exact copies.

I think I could break the cases of the 5tb drives and use them as internals if this would be better.

Internal Drives
2tb
2tb (mirror)
3tb
3tb (mirror)

Ext
5tb
5tb (backup)
3tb
3tb (backup)

Main data is on the internal drives (about 70% full) - so probably have about 4/5tb of data I need protecting (obviously this will grow in future).

 

[Dice]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

FreeNAS is a great choice for anyone interested in data integrity AND willing to spend some cash to get it running.
You will need to do a lot of reading and learning to get onboard.

We'll start on the cost side of things. In spite of being dated, the general numbers are still valid. Today you'll probably get more RAM, faster CPU and more TB's at the same price point.
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ll-a-proper-home-freenas-setup-cost-me.28936/

Another important read is this:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

To get a current help in selecting hardware, the forum consistently recommends hardware in line with this guide:
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

What other hardware do you have availible to this project? Does it have ECC RAM? 8GB is absolute minimum for system stability with a small pool.

 

[Stux]

You could make a 4 way raidz1 out of your 3TB drives for up to 9TB ofnstarge. Perhaps as a backup.

Alternatively. A 6-way Raidz2 out of the 2 and 3TB drives for 8TB which will expand to 12TB when you replace the 2TB drives.

What sort of data are your storing?

 

[Neeiro]

I'm running on a lenovo TS14 Intel Xeon Quad Core E3 - with 24gb memory, so I should be ok with the specs.

I've got another 3tb hard drive but its one of the dodgy seagate ones.

Its a home server so it has a mix of files plus a media server.

 

[Stux]

So basically, I'd suggest to aim for a number of drives in Raidz2 for your primary pool.

And then the rest for backing it up.