Replication - no files on target server

[eccevery]

I'm pushing a 4TB backup from A to B. It's over a 100Mbps link so it takes a while. After two days I thought it would be a good idea to see the file structure actually being created on the target server - but it's empty! So I searched and found what I assume is the solution to my problems.

Since this is a world-record slow backup it would be nice to see if it's actually working without interrupting the ongoing backup, which I assume zfs mount -a would and a reboot certainly would. Is there a way?

 

[Chris Moore]

How are you transferring files? What is the method? Many of the methods of making backups between FreeNAS system do not show any files until the transfer is complete and if you reboot, you have to start over from zero.

 

[eccevery]

How are you transferring files? What is the method? Many of the methods of making backups between FreeNAS system do not show any files until the transfer is complete and if you reboot, you have to start over from zero.

SSH/SCP I guess. I use the default settings in the "new replication" dialog that says port 22 as default.

 

[Chris Moore]

SSH/SCP I guess. I use the default settings in the "new replication" dialog that says port 22 as default.

Is this between two FreeNAS systems? Did you follow a guide to set this up? If you did, can you show a link to that guide? It is difficult to guess what you might have done, but the replication process I am familiar with on FreeNAS uses ZFS snapshots and ZFS send | receive which doesn't show any files until the receive is completed. The data is being transferred and taking up space on disk, but the top level link to the file system is not established until it finishes. That means, if it is interrupted, it is as if it never happened because there is no way to access the data because the link is never created.

 

[eccevery]

Is this between two FreeNAS systems? Did you follow a guide to set this up? If you did, can you show a link to that guide? It is difficult to guess what you might have done, but the replication process I am familiar with on FreeNAS uses ZFS snapshots and ZFS send | receive which doesn't show any files until the receive is completed. The data is being transferred and taking up space on disk, but the top level link to the file system is not established until it finishes. That means, if it is interrupted, it is as if it never happened because there is no way to access the data because the link is never created.

Yes it's between two freenas servers. I did not strictly follow a guide, a remembered, sort of, how I have set it up before, I just google the bit with the RSA keys and configured it as I found logical. The send device takes snapshots and those are replicated.

The backup is now complete and indeed all the files are now visible. So I guess it's exactly like you said, " Many of the methods of making backups between FreeNAS system do not show any files until the transfer is complete".

 

[Chris Moore]

Yes it's between two freenas servers. I did not strictly follow a guide, a remembered, sort of, how I have set it up before, I just google the bit with the RSA keys and configured it as I found logical. The send device takes snapshots and those are replicated.

The backup is now complete and indeed all the files are now visible. So I guess it's exactly like you said, " Many of the methods of making backups between FreeNAS system do not show any files until the transfer is complete".

I just did one of those at work that took 18 day to run. Such fun.