I have three 80 TB FreeNAS 9.2.4 servers named "Server", "Backup1", and "Backup2". Server contains a single dataset, "Volume". Server is in use 24x7, and Backup1 and Backup2 are kept mainly offline and serve as rsync repositories for Server. Periodically, I run rsync to synchronize Server->Backup1 and Server->Backup2 over 1G ethernet. I require Backup1/2 to have an identical directory tree to Server, such that if Server goes up in smoke, I could put either Backup1/2 online and have access to all files immediately. Rsync does this, and this setup has served my needs well for many years.
I am in the process of upgrading to 9.10.2. I have read that replication is faster, and the preferred solution to the above scenario. I would like to try using replication. My question is this: if I set up Server (=alpha, following online nomenclature) to share Volume with Backup1/2, is the directory tree replicated under Backup1/2 (=beta) Volume, or are blobs of data representing snapshots stored on Backup1/2?
My confusion stems from my lack of knowledge of snapshots. Although these are a basic aspect of ZFS, I have not found a need to employ them to date and have no experience in their use. Are snapshots binary blobs like diff files for volumes which are solely used to reconstruct data, or are snapshots something else? I do not wish to set up replication if Backup1/2 have their volumes full of files like "snapshot20161229-2019.bin", and a failure of Server requires me to reconstruct data from these files. I need duplicate directory trees.
Any help from an experienced user would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Jeff Arnholt
I am in the process of upgrading to 9.10.2. I have read that replication is faster, and the preferred solution to the above scenario. I would like to try using replication. My question is this: if I set up Server (=alpha, following online nomenclature) to share Volume with Backup1/2, is the directory tree replicated under Backup1/2 (=beta) Volume, or are blobs of data representing snapshots stored on Backup1/2?
My confusion stems from my lack of knowledge of snapshots. Although these are a basic aspect of ZFS, I have not found a need to employ them to date and have no experience in their use. Are snapshots binary blobs like diff files for volumes which are solely used to reconstruct data, or are snapshots something else? I do not wish to set up replication if Backup1/2 have their volumes full of files like "snapshot20161229-2019.bin", and a failure of Server requires me to reconstruct data from these files. I need duplicate directory trees.
Any help from an experienced user would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Jeff Arnholt