JBOD Controller/Hardware Change

[JBOQuestions]

Hi All!

 

Since I'm a newbie in configuring server hard- and software, I ran into some questions I couldn't really figure out by myself. I have a bunch of old servers and other hardware at work with which I can play around with. Current "test setup" is a ProLiant DL360e Gen8 with 1 Xeon E5-2407 and 16 GB Ram, where I installed TrueNAS Scale onto it. 

 

In the long run I want to replace our old Mac G5 file server, which is connected to a RAID enclosure, with a server running e.g. TrueNAS connected to a JBOD. In my understanding it is safer to configure a software raid than to rely on a hardware raid controller, which can be EOL. (Am I right with this assumption?) Thats what the problem currently is. We have a ARC-1680 and can't replace the controller if it ever fails.

 

As far as I understand a JBOD passes all it's connected drives to the connected server, so that the server e.g. TrueNAS sees them as individual drives as if they are connected directly in the server itself, right? So data handling is only managed through TrueNAS? Now regarding my title: What if the controller on the JBOD fails? Can I just switch out the controller with any other generic controller and TrueNAS can access the drives as before? If not I don't really understand the positives of using a JBOD over a RAID enclosure or the other way around. I guess if I want to move the drives to another enclosure with a different controller it would be the same situation as just switching out the controller.

 

The Raid controller I mentioned before (ARC-1680) has an option to switch between RAID and JBOD: 

 

I don't have someone to ask at work and need to figure it out by myself, so I would really appreciate if someone could clarify how this all works  

I could also just completely buy into the Synology ecosystem, but I'm not a fan of being entirely reliant on them either. (+ I like not to waste older hardware)

[Kilrah]

If it's true direct passthrough it's fine and controller-agnostic, but a lot of old server hardware made "fake" JBOD, e.g. in JBOD mode it was essentially a "single drive RAID" that is still dependent on the controller and doesn't give direct drive access. Don't know about that one.

[JBOQuestions]

Wow thanks for the fast reply! Is there a way to check if it's a fake JBOD or not if I configure it as a JBOD? In the manual there are some paragraphs explaining JBOD in general. I guess it just being in the manual can't really be trusted? :
 

 

On top of the JBOD option I can also configure "Pass-Through Disk" which in the manual is explicitly described as "a drive that is not controlled by the RAID firmware and thus can not be a part of a RAID volume. The drive is available to the operating system as an individual disk." But I guess thats also manufacturer specific if the automaticaly applies to the config JBOD too. I think I will contact areca too see if they can clarify this. 

 

But thanks again for the infos!

[leadeater]

49 minutes ago, JBOQuestions said:

I can also configure "Pass-Through Disk" which in the manual is explicitly described as "a drive that is not controlled by the RAID firmware and thus can not be a part of a RAID volume. The drive is available to the operating system as an individual disk."

This is the correct configuration for any software defined storage solution like ZFS. If this mode is different from the simple JBOD mode toggle then that is what you actually want to use. Like above comment not all "JBOD modes" are made equal sadly.

[JBOQuestions]

Alright, thanks for clarifying!