Will my Areca Raid cards work with OS ZFS?

[Yzr1]

I really like what I am seeing out of FreeNAS and wish they would offer TrueNAS free for home use. The MB I have offers a version with hardware ZFS, but I don't have that one. It appears to be designed for the Areca Raid cards to do most of the heavy lifting, but, they don't appear to have ZFS. (still need to check on firmware updates).

So, my concern is, am I asking for trouble attempting software ZFS via the OS and end run the Raid cards? Wouldn't I lose anything I would gain? I already have a pretty awesome setup if I just try FreeNAS without the ZFS. Any thoughts?

Bruce

 

[Ericloewe]

What on earth? It sounds like you're seriously confusing ZFS and RAID (the concept).

You really should do some reading (start with cyberjock's guide ands the hardware recommendations guide, linked below).

if I just try FreeNAS without the ZFS

FreeNAS only works with ZFS. No discussion.

So, my concern is, am I asking for trouble attempting software ZFS via the OS and end run the Raid cards?

Running ZFS with hardware RAID is an excellent way to lose all your data.

The MB I have offers a verions with hardware ZFS, but I don't have that one. It appears to be designed for the Areca Raid cards to do most of the heavy lifing, but, they don't appear to have ZFS. (still need to check on firmware updates).

This is pure nonsense. Please do your research before doing anything else.

I really like what I am seeing out of FreeNAS and wish they would offer TrueNAS free for home use.

I'd also like to win a 10k oscilloscope. I feel the analogy is apt because I have no use for a 10k oscilloscope over a much cheaper one and because TrueNAS is something for companies that need extremely reliable storage, not something for an enthusiast.

 

[Yzr1]

I apologize if I offended anyone. I have been reading for over a month and wanted to get away from Window Server. I have the hardware I have because it was dirt cheap. I will read Cyberjock's Guide and will try to get your point. I appreciate the response but just feel dumped on. I finally asked because I wasn't seeing an answer. I did read and I did search. Sorry again.

 

[Ericloewe]

I apologize if I offended anyone.

Don't worry, we're not easily offended.

I appreciate the response but just feel dumped on

It is a lot of information. Feel free to ask any questions you might have after reading the documentation.

 

[Yzr1]

Strange that Cyberjock was brought up as a source for not using a Raid card as a drive host when he himself used an Areca Raid controller????? I remembered reading something like that and went back and found feature 2175 support ticket specifically dealing with "his" Areca Raid controller.

Now, I can see how he might suggest a host adapter instead, but, since he (I) already have the Raid controller, it apparently does work well with Freenas, its just buggy in reporting smartcl. Am I seeing that right?

 

[wblock]

So, my concern is, am I asking for trouble attempting software ZFS via the OS and end run the Raid cards? Wouldn't I lose anything I would gain? I already have a pretty awesome setup if I just try FreeNAS without the ZFS. Any thoughts?

The question is confusing. ZFS is meant to be used without hardware RAID, essentially a replacement for it. For example, connect three or four hard drives to a motherboard. ZFS will use those as a RAID array. Hiding those drives behind a hardware RAID controller gives no benefit, and in fact actually makes it more difficult for ZFS to deal with the individual drives.

 

[Yzr1]

It's not optimum, but, it works???? respectfully asking. I do recognize your experience in this matter.

 

[wblock]

It's not optimum, but, it works?

Putting a hardware RAID card between ZFS and the drives is not just not optimum, but something to be avoided. Do you want to use this card just because the motherboard does not have enough SATA ports?

 

[Yzr1]

yes. and it is free. and, I have two of them..... I did some additional searches looking at Cyberjock's use of one and am thinking that this paragraph from the Areca manual may be how:

A Pass-Through Disk is not controlled by the SATA RAID controller
firmware and thus cannot be a part of a volume set. The
disk is available directly to the operating system as an individual
disk. It is typically used on a system where the operating system
is on a disk not controlled by the SATA RAID controller firmware.
The SCSI Channel, SCSI ID, SCSI LUN, Cache Mode, and
Tag Queuing must be specified to create a pass-through disk.


However, I then run into a conflict where I read somewhere that ZFS and SCSI don't play well?

 

[SweetAndLow]

It's not optimum, but, it works???? respectfully asking. I do recognize your experience in this matter.

No it doesn't work correctly.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[Yzr1]

Just a random thought, but, these areca cards are actually daughterboards and should be capable of hosting FreeNAS as firmware. I'm sure someone is working on this. These are awful powerful little boards....'

 

[SweetAndLow]

Just a random thought, but, these areca cards are actually daughterboards and should be capable of hosting FreeNAS as firmware. I'm sure someone is working on this. These are awful powerful little boards....'

Again, what on earth are you taking about. No one is going to do this.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

 

[wblock]

However, I then run into a conflict where I read somewhere that ZFS and SCSI don't play well?

Please post a link to this, it is too vague to tell what it might mean.

It is unlikely that these boards have enough RAM to be useful with embedded ZFS firmware. Which kind of misses the point of ZFS anyway, which is that ZFS turns your motherboard, RAM, and hard drive connections into a "super" hardware RAID with features that can't be matched by a little add-on card.

Let's be specific: if the motherboard does not have enough SATA ports to directly connect all the drives desired for the array, and the Areca boards can be set up as simple host adapters, then it might be worth using them. Otherwise, unnecessary hardware just introduces unnecessary complication and prevents ZFS from functioning as designed, reducing reliability.

 

[Yzr1]

I have been re-reading some of the guides and appreciate the comments. I inherited an ATM which included two 12 drive arrays as virtual tapes. My goal is to convert one into a plex server. To this end, I ended up here. I will try using these in pass through mode. I won't know that it definitely will be an issue until it is, I guess. So far, ZFS looks pretty cool, specially the expansion ability.

 

[Yzr1]

Thank you to Zeus1 from an sas forum for all his help. We freed the Araca card by rewriting it to IT. It still seems too problematic for FreeNAS but is now much more useful for me on another machine. He explained that my terminology was wrong in asking about new firmware for the card. Thanks again to Zeus1 and to everyone on this forum for their patience with my lapse in proper terminology.