Figuring out what storage layout works best..

openpulse

Dabbler
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
13
Hi there, I'm currently using Freenas 11.2-U6 and have the following disks available for storage:
  • 2 x 2TB
  • 1 x 4TB
I did some research and found out that with 3 physical drives I could build a RAIDZ1, however that wouldn't be the best choice (performance and reliability issues, according to this serverfault post).

So, I thought about using both 2TB drives to create a single pool (Stripe) with both 2TB disks to get good performance and maximize space, and then create a separate pool with the single 4TB drive. Then I could set up replication tasks to perform backups from the main pool.

Does this sound like a reasonable use of the available hardware layout I currently have? Is there another possible configuration or layout that you would recommend? The intended use of the NAS is for home use (regular backups and occasional media streaming with Plex).
 

Heracles

Wizard
Joined
Feb 2, 2018
Messages
1,401
Hey OpenPulse,

With only 3 drives, there is no miracle...

Raid-Z1 will reduce your 4TB drive to a 2TB and will give you a total of 4TB of storage. At the end, you will loose 50% of your space for a redundancy level that will be minimal.

The mirror + single drive pool will not constitute a real backup because it will be in the very same system. A single logical incident in the system may destroy everything, just like a single physical incident against that system will also destroy everything.

If you are about to make yourself a storage on which you will rely on for valuable data, I would say that 5 drives is the minimum. With 5 drives, you can go Raid-Z2 and still have 60% of usable space with good redundancy.

But with 3 drives, there is not much to do...
 

openpulse

Dabbler
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
13
Hello Heracles! Wow, that was a real eye-opener! I appreciate the feedback.
Will look into upgrading to to 5 or more drives to build a Raid-Z2.
 
Top