Can This Be Done?

[steviez]

HI,

I am wanting to setup my own NAS using the FreeNas software and need to get a few things clear before I start..

If I create a software raid using say 4x 1TB drives is there a way in the future I can replace these disks with larger ones without damaging data etc?

I already have a small ITX motherboard to use that has 4x SATA ports so would like to use all 4 in the raid setup to gain redundancy and big storage.

Any help would be great!

Thanks

 

[danb35]

is there a way in the future I can replace these disks with larger ones without damaging data etc?

Absolutely. See the manual for click-by-click instructions.

 

[pirateghost]

as with most things, the documentation is a great place to start.

http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_storage.html#replacing-drives-to-grow-a-zfs-pool

 

[steviez]

great thanks guys, that makes sense! With only 4x SATA ports and only a PCI expansion slot what is the best software raid type / level to achieve both redundancy and max storage?

 

[pirateghost]

4 sata ports, and only PCI available? I hope you have the recommended RAM as well?

RAIDZ1 (really shouldnt be used, but will maximize your usable storage)
2 mirrors (only half usable space, but easy to upgrade drives in pairs)
RAIDZ2 (only half usable space, a little slower performance than mirrors)

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

RAIDZ2 (only half usable space, a little slower performance than mirrors)

but more reliable, especially if you're replacing drives to grow a pool without having a spare drive slot.

 

[pirateghost]

but more reliable, especially if you're replacing drives to grow a pool without having a spare drive slot.

You can also do that with mirrors

 

[danb35]

Yes, but then you've lost redundancy while you're resilvering.