Storage solution for system volume

[neubert]

Hi,

this issue is similar but not identical to the topic "storage solution for jails/plugins" we had earlier this week: http://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/storage-solution-for-jails-plugins.21807/

I have ZFS in mirrored mode on two cheap 4 GB USB sticks and use this as the system dataset pool. This is to allow the actual storage pool to spin down and save energy.

From past experience in a different context, I knew that USB sticks do not last long under such conditions - thus the redundancy. Nonetheless it is not much fun swapping the USB sticks once a month ;-) and I therefore seek a more lasting solution.

I have a sufficient number of SATA ports on the Supermicro X10SLM+-LN4F main board. So my favorite solution is to add a small SSD to keep the system dataset pool.

Are there other reasonable possibilities, e.g. using a RAM disk or turning the logging completely off or delaying disk writes as much as possible? If possible at all, I do not know how to achieve any of these.

Best regards,
Boris

 

[joeschmuck]

The SSD is probably your best choice, and you can find them at very good prices every once in a while. I would buy the least expensive one you can find, the size isn't an issue. And as the other thread pointed out, you can put your jails on it as well.

 

[cyberjock]

I bought an SLC based SSD on ebay used and I use it for both my jails and system dataset.

 

[joeschmuck]

I'm considering the same thing however I will need to purchase a SATA Add-On board unfortunately. It would be nice to see FreeNAS able to be installed on a SSD and while leaving at least one partition free for jails and system dataset. I know, it's been talked about many many times before. Time to go BBQ some burgers

 

[panz]

I tried to put the System Dataset on a USB stick, but I don't trust this solution. I'm waiting for v. 9.2.1.6 Release and I'll reconsider all my storage configuration, relying on the recent experiences.

I'll keep the base scheme: 1 main pool + 1 backup pool (6 disks RAIDZ2 each). I'm taking into consideration to put the System Dataset and the Jails on a Western Digital WD10JFCX Red (I have one of these disks running on my pfSense box and it draws a ridiculous amount of energy).

 

[neubert]

Dear all,

thanks for all the answers.

I decided to go for a 1 TB 2,5" WD Red HD with a 2,5"-to-3,5" adapter to fit in the remaining drive bay. The power consumption is 0.6 W idle/1.4 W busy. It's a good trade off between price (62 EUR) and space. I will use the additional space for jails or for data for which I can tolerate a data loss relative to my night backups.

Cheers,
Boris