Weak drive to bigger one, replacing failed or grow

[aidasan]

Hello all
First my configuration:
I have 4 x 3Tb WB red from 2013.
I have a drive which I think will fail soon since Freenas mailed me:
CRITICAL
Device: /dev/ada2, 204 Currently unreadable (pending) sectors.
I have ordered 4 new drives (4Tb).
I was wondering, since the disk haven't failed (yet) should it be better to use the solution:

10. Storage — FreeNAS®11.3-U2 User Guide Table of Contents

www.ixsystems.com

Instead of the solution:

10. Storage — FreeNAS®11.3-U2 User Guide Table of Contents

www.ixsystems.com

My idea is:
1 - Backup the configuration.
2 - Replace all the drives by bigger one by using the grow a pool solution
3 - do another backup of the configuration
4 - keep the old 3Tb drives just in case
I heard the solution to replace a failed disk is harder and slover, on the disk, than the grow a pool solution.
What do you think ?
Ps also I can do a full test of the new drive to make sure I don't have a DOA drive (maybe I need some help with the right command to test it too).
Thanks.

 

[aidasan]

ok so Here is my finding:
if the disk have some trouble don't even try to resilver with that one online, you will have a resilver loop because each time he find (the resilver system) a bad sector, it will start over again and again and again ...

 

[Yorick]

I have ordered 4 new drives (4Tb).

Which? Do we need to fear the SMR monster?

 

[aidasan]

Nah I am not that’s stupid.
Also here in Japan the vendor I choose select only the PMR/CMR type. (I have used the same distributor as my company does)

 

[aidasan]

Btw for people who are wondering:

WD140EFFX: 14TB CMR
WD120EFAX: 12TB CMR
WD100EFAX: 10TB CMR
WD80EFAX: 8TB CMR
WD60EFAX: 6TB SMR
WD60EFRX: 6TB CMR
WD40EFAX: 4TB SMR
WD40EFRX: 4TB CMR
WD30EFAX: 3TB SMR
WD30EFRX: 3TB CMR
WD20EFAX: 2TB SMR
WD20EFRX: 2TB CMR
WD10EFRX: 1TB CMR