few questions

[Mike83]

Is it right to assume when you have made your zpool (Raidz1) you cannot add another disk to it? Not without backing up all the data and destroying it and then making a new pool with the new disk included?

Also do you need to backup the contents of the usb drive your FreeNas installation is on? Just incase the USB drive one day gives up, would you lose your zpool and all your data? I ask as I have been messing about with different installations and wiping the usb drive each time and putting it back on there and it would never recognise there was a zpool already on my disks, so I'm guessing all the info about the zpool is on the usb drive - and if you lose that you lost all your data??

 

[thejestre]

Hi Mike,

I'm not a 'power user' but I think I can help with one of your questions:

Also do you need to backup the contents of the usb drive your FreeNas installation is on? Just incase the USB drive one day gives up, would you lose your zpool and all your data? I ask as I have been messing about with different installations and wiping the usb drive each time and putting it back on there and it would never recognise there was a zpool already on my disks, so I'm guessing all the info about the zpool is on the usb drive - and if you lose that you lost all your data??

There is a way to back up your configuration. Log in to the FreeNAS web interface and go to System -> Settings -> General -> Save Config. That will allow you to download the config file so when [ not if :) ] your USB drive goes bad, you can install the same version of FreeNAS to another USB drive, then just load the config file. That's the way it worked in FreeNAS 7 anyway. I haven't tested this out in the new 8.x but from what I've read it works similarly. Be careful where you save your config file though, when I do a search in mine I can find one of my passwords in plain text. And don't save your only config backup in the RAID :). I emailed the file to myself and was glad I did that because about a year later I was downloading it and using it on a replacement USB stick.

Hope this helps,

_theJestre

 

[Mike83]

Hi

Thanks for your answer. I guess you must use the same version of freenas that you was using with the config file? i.e if you were using 8.2.0 then your usb drive went you shouldn't install 8.3.0 then restore the config file?

Have you ever upgraded? Do you just write the upgraded iso to a cd and put in your usb drive, then it detects a config file on there so asks you if you want to upgrade? When I installed 8.3.0 it was a blank usb drive so it never asked me if I wanted to upgrade.

 

[thejestre]

Hi Mike,

Hi
Thanks for your answer. I guess you must use the same version of freenas that you was using with the config file? i.e if you were using 8.2.0 then your usb drive went you shouldn't install 8.3.0 then restore the config file?

I believe that is correct, and a safe bet anyway.

Have you ever upgraded? Do you just write the upgraded iso to a cd and put in your usb drive, then it detects a config file on there so asks you if you want to upgrade? When I installed 8.3.0 it was a blank usb drive so it never asked me if I wanted to upgrade.

No, I have never upgraded.
Here is some info on upgrading:
http://www.freenas.org/images/resources/freenas8.3.0/freenas8.3_guide.html#2.6%20Upgrading%20FreeNAS%C2%AE%20|outline

 

[Stephens]

I guess you must use the same version of freenas that you was using with the config file? i.e if you were using 8.2.0 then your usb drive went you shouldn't install 8.3.0 then restore the config file?

Not quite. Config files are basically forward compatible. In fact, IMO, the preferred way to upgrade is save your config file (not to the NAS), download the new FreeNAS version (say 8.3), create a new USB stick (so you can still boot the old one if you have to), boot the stick, restore your config, and (optionally) import your pool. I don't know what'd happen if you tried to save an 8.3 config and went back to, say, 8.0.4.