Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC for noobs!

xiongyw

Cadet
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
2
To add the mirror after the fact, you'd have to use the CLI.

But, rather than creating the pool from the CLI, you should have done it via the webGUI. FreeNAS uses GPTID's to keep track of the devices.

And, it creates a 2GB swap file on each disk. While you don't want the server to use swap in place of real RAM, it's main purpose is to aid in disk replacements, if the replacement disk is slightly smaller than the original disk.

So, for disk #2, you'd should have added the swap partition. And, when adding the second drive to the pool, used it's gptid.
Thanks for the information/advise.
How can I check the "2GB swap file" on each disk?
My disk partitions look like this:
Code:
bruin@gen8:~$ sudo parted /dev/sdb
Model: ATA WDC WD5000AADS-0 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End	Size	File system  Name				  Flags
1	  1049kB  500GB  500GB   zfs		  zfs-3159628ae4b98b9e
9	  500GB   500GB  8389kB

bruin@gen8:~$ sudo parted /dev/sdc
Model: ATA WDC WD5000AVDS-6 (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdc: 500GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:

Number  Start   End	Size	File system  Name				  Flags
1	  1049kB  500GB  500GB   zfs		  zfs-c4743c403a6327e7
9	  500GB   500GB  8389kB


Btw, my ZFS install was not based on FreeNAS yet, it's debian (I am considering trying FreeNAS). Not sure if that makes any difference...
Do you have a link for the swap file part?

Thanks again!
 

gpsguy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
4,472
Sorry, I missed the fact that you're using Debian. It's a FreeNAS forum. ;-)

On FreeNAS the command would be: gpart show

I don't have a link handy for the swap stuff, you should be able to find it in a forum search.

If you decide to test FreeNAS, try to use the webGUI as much as possible. FreeNAS stores information in a database and if you do things manually, it may get out of sync with what's in the database and what's displayed via the webGUI may be wrong.
 

zedfrx

Dabbler
Joined
Oct 24, 2016
Messages
10
What a cracker of a guide, thank for your work.
 

Mehul V

Explorer
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
53
Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC and other newbie mistakes!

I've put together a Powerpoint presentation(and PDF) that gives some useful info for newbies to FreeNAS. I decided to create this slideshow because in the last 5 months I've been on this forum I've seen a lot of people confused about vdevs, zpools, zils, l2arcs, etc. Hopefully we can put to rest alot of the confusion once and for all.

...
...
...

PDF: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/57989017/9.10/FreeNAS Guide 9.10.pdf.zip

Very nice presentation. I took my time and went over the presentation twice. If you didn't use black background, I would have printed out all 66 slides, but I dont want to replace my black ink twice in the process, so I'll just save a soft copy for now.

Definitely a good material to go back to, in case I forget stuff :)

Thank you for putting this very informational presentation together. Really appreciate the effort.
 

TheCodeMonk

Cadet
Joined
Jun 15, 2014
Messages
1
As the target audience for this guide (noob doing planning and research for my first modern freenas server (last time I ran it was back inthe old .7 days)), this helps a LOT to better understand how everything works and the pitfalls I want to avoid! Thanks so much for putting the time into this to help people like me get a jumpstart in learning. :)
 

hokan

Dabbler
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Messages
42
Dropbox says file not found.
 

ECCfrenaslover

Explorer
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
89
Perhaps the op is updating the slide deck?
 

gpsguy

Active Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2012
Messages
4,472
Nope. It's an old thread and the file has been moved. I am sending this message from my phone - will provide a URL when I get back to my pc.
 
Last edited:

hokan

Dabbler
Joined
Feb 10, 2017
Messages
42
That's the PDF link from the OP. The Powerpoint, (the preferred format) is the one that's missing.
 

Mehul V

Explorer
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
53
That's the PDF link from the OP. The Powerpoint, (the preferred format) is the one that's missing.
Found this on the internet. The last slide says it was created by a user named "noobsauce80" here on freeNAS forums. What bugs me is that it is really similar to what @cyberjock created.

Here is the link for the PowerPoint in question(by noobsauce80) : https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3MXXqx-nOioWDJ6V1pUUzVGTWM/edit

Not sure who copied by who, but I'd assume someone copied @cyberjock 's work without giving him proper credits.

Just my two cents.
 

Ericloewe

Server Wrangler
Moderator
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
20,175
Found this on the internet. The last slide says it was created by a user named "noobsauce80" here on freeNAS forums. What bugs me is that it is really similar to what @cyberjock created.
Not quite. cyberjock used to be known as noobsauce80.
 

ECCfrenaslover

Explorer
Joined
Dec 27, 2013
Messages
89
Will the 'jock update it or will it remain the same after the Corral release?
 

Ericloewe

Server Wrangler
Moderator
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
20,175
Will the 'jock update it or will it remain the same after the Corral release?
It might get updates, but Corral has little to no influence on the content.
 

Ericloewe

Server Wrangler
Moderator
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
20,175

Chuu

Cadet
Joined
Nov 25, 2017
Messages
2
Thanks for this guide. I've been experimenting with FreeNAS for a couple days in a VM and this made a lot of little things click, especially in regards to terminology. I might suggest expanding a little bit about how much memory a ZFS system needs. More specifically:

[*] The 8GB lower limit is emphasized, as it should be. Maybe add one line somewhere about where this limit comes from though, I was curious and have never run into that info.
[*] The general guideline of 8GB+1GB/TB is hinted at (there is one bullet point about specifying 15GB for a system with 5GB of ram plus a 10TB Pool) but never explicitly stated. Having a bullet point somewhere with this rule made explicit, or some other general guideline for how much memory you should be using that explicitly states if it is dependent or independent of pool size, would be great.

Also, the introductory slides hint at a section about UPS use with FreeNAS, but I don't think this section actually exists?
 

Chris Moore

Hall of Famer
Joined
May 2, 2015
Messages
10,080
We know. We're going to replace it with a newer version of the guide, but we don't have an ETA yet.
If I were to make some updates to the slideshow, how would I submit that to be reviewed and added to the forum?
Is this thread part of the resources section?
 
Top