Mirrored USBs Failing Over and Over

[MrToddsFriends]

1 or 2 SSD = Jails

Considering this thread, could I store the System dataset on the new high speed Jails drive?

I would rather use a redundant pool for that (read: two mirrored SSDs instead of a single one).

 

[Chris Moore]

Honestly, I'd rather hammer my drives, than my USB keys, after all it's saved me 2 USB ports doing this.

That being said,.....

My next FreeNAS machine, I'm thinking of this

2x USB = Boot
??x HDD = Main Pool (6x8/10TB?)
1 or 2 SSD = Jails

Considering this thread, could I store the System dataset on the new high speed Jails drive?
(I'm hoping to see unrar operations faster and then the system moves the data from the SSD over to the normal pool after)

I use a SAS controller for all my storage drives, so I am not using the SATA ports on the system board for anything else. May as well use them for the boot drives.
I use a pair of laptop style drives in a mirror and that is really all you need. Spending for a SSD is just too much when you ca pickup a pair of these for less than the typical SSD:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagate-40...nal-ST940814AS-5400-RPM-HDD-8-MB/332168670524

They will last for years under the relatively light workload. Mine are a different brand, but you never know what you can pickup on eBay.
Last time I suggested this it was HGST drives.

 

[Chris Moore]

It would be very nice for the official FreeNAS/IX-Systems folks putting out tutorials on Youtube to mention this, as the last tutorials out within the last year still reflect recommendations to utilize a pair of USB flash drives, reserving your valuable SATA ports for storage, etc...

Finding out that everyone in the forums knows from constant failures is not the desired/proper 'dissemination of info' route...

They have updated some printed documentation, but they have just not made a new video yet.
If you look here:
http://www.freenas.org/hardware-requirements/
It does say SSD is recommended.

 

[diskdiddler]

I would rather use a redundant pool for that (read: two mirrored SSDs instead of a single one).

That was probably going to be how I went about it to be honest. Although almost all the data would be 'expendable' it'd be best to be redundant for potential hassle-savings.

 

[diskdiddler]

I use a SAS controller for all my storage drives, so I am not using the SATA ports on the system board for anything else. May as well use them for the boot drives.
I use a pair of laptop style drives in a mirror and that is really all you need. Spending for a SSD is just too much when you ca pickup a pair of these for less than the typical SSD:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagate-40...nal-ST940814AS-5400-RPM-HDD-8-MB/332168670524

They will last for years under the relatively light workload. Mine are a different brand, but you never know what you can pickup on eBay.
Last time I suggested this it was HGST drives.

Sure but I want to keep my costs down. I mean look if I ever have issues with USB, I'll start listening to those here who say "hey USB is awful" but as it stands, I've really had no issues, it's cheap, easy and I like the fact I can just replace the OS from scratch, in a way, by doing a backup, re-flashing a new USB stick and putting it in.

The second they misbehave, I'll make the unfortunate sacrifice of 2 SATA ports, but as it stands I'm lucky to not have issues (no SATA ports free, no new server for a minimum 6 months, if not more)

 

[Chris Moore]

How much are you spending on the USB sticks? You can get the little laptop drives I use for $10 to $15 new (old stock) and they will last for years. I am running 6 of them, 2 in each of 3 servers, with no problems after a little more than 2 years.
I'm not saying that you need to change your mind but it is something that you can consider and it may become a possibility one day.
I just wanted something more reliable than using the USB sticks without wasting a SSD for the boot drives because FreeNAS doesn't really benefit from the fast boot drives.

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