Duplicating drive without losing data on original?

[Robert Trevellyan]

I want it to be as exact as possible: permissions, ownership, and data. So I was told replication would deliver on that front.

As far as copying from one data store to another data store, as an alternative to something like rsync, this is correct. However, putting the two drives in a mirror would be 100% faithful and would also introduce real-time redundancy and automatic recovery into your storage pool. Replication can only happen periodically and requires manual intervention for recovery.

I have a feeling you don't really 'get' what ZFS is all about. I don't mean this as an insult, it's just an observation based on your approach to your current problem. If you study ZFS more and 'get' it, you'll be in a much better position to keep your data safe.

 

[Ericloewe]

As far as copying from one data store to another data store, as an alternative to something like rsync, this is correct. However, putting the two drives in a mirror would be 100% faithful and would also introduce real-time redundancy and automatic recovery into your storage pool. Replication can only happen periodically and requires manual intervention for recovery.

I have a feeling you don't really 'get' what ZFS is all about. I don't mean this as an insult, it's just an observation based on your approach to your current problem. If you study ZFS more and 'get' it, you'll be in a much better position to keep your data safe.

This.

Replication is for backing stuff up. Mirrors are for redundancy. Using one in the other's place is a Very Bad Idea (tm).

Reading of Cyberjock's guide is in order - link is in my sig.