Is this storage setup possible?

[fnasuser]

I'm trying to setup a somewhat (at least to me) complicated storage setup and I would like to know if it is possible and, if so, how to do it. Note: this is for home use, not for a business. Here is the hardware:

Modern high end desktop internals (Intel Core i7, 24GB RAM, more than enough SATA II/III ports)
This system will have Windows 8 running FreeNAS in Microsoft's Hyper-V. I don't think this detail is important but I've included it just in case.
1 x 320 GB hard drive (to host FreeNAS OS)
2 x 2 TB hard drives (to host my data)
2 x 120 GB SSD in Raid 0 (to host Windows 8 OS)

The challenge is this:

I have some files which need to be backed up and some which do not. I plan to create incremental backups of some of the files every night from one 2TB drive to the other so that if one drive fails I do not lose the backed up files. The key is that I then want the remaining space on the 2 x 2TB drives to be avaialble as one drive to store the non-backed up files.

I could accomplish something close by creating 4 volumes (2 per drive). Two of the volumes would store the backups (NOT in RAID1 since these are incremental nightly backups) and the other two partitions would be in a JBOD. However, this isn't preferable because I have to fix the size of the partitions but I would like for them to dynamically resize. In other words I would like it such that the more space I use to backup files the less space I have in the non-backed up space and visa-versa. I don't think this is possible with older file systems (e.g. NTFS) but I'm wondering if it is possible with some modern file system supported by FreeNAS like ZFS or UFS or anything really.
I could also accomplish something close by creating 1 partition per drive and performing the incremental nightly backups on the folders that I want but then the remaining non-backed up space would be split in 2. I want the remaining non-backed up space to act like a JBOD.

Is this possible? Thanks!

 

[pirateghost]

This is a horrible idea, all around.

do yourself a favor and use a completely different machine for your storage OR just use the disks in Windows and keep it simple. You are not going to accomplish any kind of real redundancy with your idea and it wont work the way you are thinking anyway, and virtualizing FreeNAS with that kind of configuration is asking for complete meltdown and total dataloss. if the data is important, DONT DO IT.

either do it the right way or dont do it at all.

 

[gpsguy]

I'm glad you did include it. FN isn't supported on Hyper-V yet.

Do a forum search on hyper-v and see for yourself.

This system will have Windows 8 running FreeNAS in Microsoft's Hyper-V. I don't think this detail is important but I've included it just in case.

 

[cyberjock]

Pretty amazing that the OP took the time to write that post when he could have looked at a sticky entitled Please do not run FreeNAS in production as a Virtual Machine! and figured it out for himself.

 

[fnasuser]

Pretty amazing that the OP took the time to write that post when he could have looked at a sticky entitled Please do not run FreeNAS in production as a Virtual Machine! and figured it out for himself.

Thank you for the comments so far. I was aware of the Hyper-V issue before I wrote the post which is why I hesitated to include it. I should have made that more clear. My plan is to create this setup after Hyper-V support is better in FreeBSD/FreeNAS (whenever that may be). Therefore let's assume for now that Hyper-V support is not a problem.

Assuming I did this with ZFS (if it's possible) I was under the impression that a failure of the RAID0 or the 320GB drive hosting FreeNAS would not cause a loss in data as pirateghost seems to imply. In the event of either failure I thought I could reinstall windows or FreeNAS depending on which drive failed and import the ZFS shares without loss of data. Am I wrong in thinking this?

By the way my current setup is on dedicated hardware using a (slow, low powered) commercial NAS but it does not allow me to do what I want which is why I'm trying to move to FreeNAS on my desktop.

So again: assuming Hyper-V is not an issue, is this storage setup possible?

 

[gpsguy]

I was probably writing my original reply at the same time pirateghost was writing his. I was writing a similar response, but deleted it, in favor of a simpler "not compatible" message.

While a properly configured FN system can withstand certain failures, all bets are off, if you're doing it in a virtualized environment. Do a forum (or google) search for freenas and virtualization.

And, read this recent thread: ZFS Resize about trying to resize a virtualized device.

Please follow the advice on the forum and don't virtualize your storage.

 

[cyberjock]

I'm really not sure why you say not to worry about support for Hyper-V. FreeNAS currently doesn't have a set timeframe for when that will happen. It quite possibly could be years from now. Because of all of the inherent problems with virtualizing and FreeNAS I'd never consider it to be a "top priority" because even if there was true Hyper-V support it would still be a bad idea.

 

[pirateghost]

Thank you for the comments so far. I was aware of the Hyper-V issue before I wrote the post which is why I hesitated to include it. I should have made that more clear. My plan is to create this setup after Hyper-V support is better in FreeBSD/FreeNAS (whenever that may be). Therefore let's assume for now that Hyper-V support is not a problem.

Assuming I did this with ZFS (if it's possible) I was under the impression that a failure of the RAID0 or the 320GB drive hosting FreeNAS would not cause a loss in data as pirateghost seems to imply. In the event of either failure I thought I could reinstall windows or FreeNAS depending on which drive failed and import the ZFS shares without loss of data. Am I wrong in thinking this?

By the way my current setup is on dedicated hardware using a (slow, low powered) commercial NAS but it does not allow me to do what I want which is why I'm trying to move to FreeNAS on my desktop.

So again: assuming Hyper-V is not an issue, is this storage setup possible?

quite simply, its not a matter of POSSIBILITY as it is a matter of futile effort for absolutely no benefit, whatsoever....

your 320gb drive? you would have just wasted about 318gb of it (technically since all you can actually expect from a 320 is 298, you will have wasted 296gb)

splitting up 2 drives into separate partitions and presenting the partitions as disks to FreeNAS?
WHY?
At that point, what redundancy do you really have? you now have an increased chance of failure of data, because FreeNAS will not have DIRECT access to the hardware, and instead you will be presenting the partitions as virtual disks to do this little venture of yours. How on earth is ZFS going to save you from the silliness of that configuration?

Hyper-V support aside, its still a HORRIBLE idea, and if you actually value your data, you shouldnt be considering this path at all. I get what you are trying to accomplish, but its not going to end well. save yourself the headache later on by doing something right the first time.