Home NAS/Plex server RAID/Backup Advice

[AshleyAshes]

4 minutes ago, Mikensan said:

I wonder, could you use ZFS with flexraid? 

FlexRAID is effectively file base so while I'm not certian, it can run on any file system so long as the OS supports the file system.

[dalekphalm]

12 minutes ago, Mikensan said:

Did you mean FlexRAID instead of FreeNAS?

 

Ok that was my other thought, that at the minimum you'd need to wipe the parity disk. Cool beans.

Lmao thanks for pointing that out - I've edited the post.

10 minutes ago, Mikensan said:

I would also assume you'd see everything as sda01, sda02 etc... and under /mnt you'd see the pool created from flexraid. Disks don't show up under /mnt unless you mount them, so flexraid may just unmount the disks individually.

 

I wonder, could you use ZFS with flexraid? 

I'm not sure - I would assume that FlexRAID would still need to Mount the drives in order to actually access/see them. Remember, the drive still operates as a normal drive in whatever OS you're using. In the Windows Version, they remove the drive letter simply to make it less likely you'll access the individual drive and mess up your data, but you can still access that individual drive via File Explorer.

 

So in Linux, I would assume the drives are still mounted. Because doesn't Linux need a drive to be mounted to do anything with it? My knowledge of Linux here is lacking, so I cannot confirm nor deny whether your assumption is correct.

[dalekphalm]

13 minutes ago, Mikensan said:

I would also assume you'd see everything as sda01, sda02 etc... and under /mnt you'd see the pool created from flexraid. Disks don't show up under /mnt unless you mount them, so flexraid may just unmount the disks individually.

 

I wonder, could you use ZFS with flexraid? 

 

8 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

FlexRAID is effectively file base so while I'm not certian, it can run on any file system so long as the OS supports the file system.

 

Regarding ZFS, yes in theory you could use ZFS on a Linux machine, and then install and use FlexRAID. Not sure exactly how it would work though.

[Mikensan]

Yea thinking about ZFS + flexraid puts me into a chicken or egg chain lol. Curious thought anyway.

 

Since FlexRAID is file based then I think you're right that it would need to keep them mounted in someway. Maybe as /mnt/.Disk1 lol? They can technically be mounted anywhere under any name, so maybe they hide it somewhere. Definitely curious now. @xl3b4n0nx keep us posted :-)

[xl3b4n0nx]

5 hours ago, Mikensan said:

Yea thinking about ZFS + flexraid puts me into a chicken or egg chain lol. Curious thought anyway.

 

Since FlexRAID is file based then I think you're right that it would need to keep them mounted in someway. Maybe as /mnt/.Disk1 lol? They can technically be mounted anywhere under any name, so maybe they hide it somewhere. Definitely curious now. @xl3b4n0nx keep us posted :-)

I will! I just started building the array with a 4TB and a 750GB external as dats and a 4TB as parity. Just to double check since I have a 4TB as parity I can't add a drive larger than that to the array, right? Also, I have a couple smaller drives I will probably add in to test. Can I just shutdown, plug in, boot and add them to the pool? Will the parity need to be recalculated? Will I need another/larger parity drive? I am on the 21 day free trial. 

 

I will keep you guys updated on the Linux side of this. Once I learn more I will be able to amswer any questions you may have. 

[dalekphalm]

9 hours ago, xl3b4n0nx said:

I will! I just started building the array with a 4TB and a 750GB external as dats and a 4TB as parity. Just to double check since I have a 4TB as parity I can't add a drive larger than that to the array, right? Also, I have a couple smaller drives I will probably add in to test. Can I just shutdown, plug in, boot and add them to the pool? Will the parity need to be recalculated? Will I need another/larger parity drive? I am on the 21 day free trial. 

 

I will keep you guys updated on the Linux side of this. Once I learn more I will be able to amswer any questions you may have. 

If using FlexRAID, you can add a data drive larger than 4TB, but it will only be protected by the parity drive if you don't fill it past 4TB - does that make sense?

 

Basically, you can add as big a drive as you want, but the parity calculations will only be able to recover a drive the same size or smaller as the parity drive.

[Mikensan]

44 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

If using FlexRAID, you can add a data drive larger than 4TB, but it will only be protected by the parity drive if you don't fill it past 4TB - does that make sense?

 

Basically, you can add as big a drive as you want, but the parity calculations will only be able to recover a drive the same size or smaller as the parity drive.

Lets say he buys a 6TB disk, could he then add the 6TB as the new parity and flip the 4TB as a data disk? I guess simply asking, can you add/remove parity disks on the fly?

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Mikensan said:

Lets say he buys a 6TB disk, could he then add the 6TB as the new parity and flip the 4TB as a data disk? I guess simply asking, can you add/remove parity disks on the fly?

Yes you can add/remove parity and data disks on the fly.

 

You can do it in stages:

1. Add starting disks

2. Add new parity disk

3. Remove old parity disk

4. Add new data disks

 

Or you can just pull the old parity then add the new one:

1. Add starting disks

2. Remove old parity disk (At this stage, you are unprotected against drive failure)

3. Add new parity disk

4. Add new data disks

 

I'd suggest the first method.

 

Your example with the 6TB disk is 100% doable, and not a bad thing at all.

[xl3b4n0nx]

On 7/10/2017 at 5:03 PM, Mikensan said:

Yea thinking about ZFS + flexraid puts me into a chicken or egg chain lol. Curious thought anyway.

 

Since FlexRAID is file based then I think you're right that it would need to keep them mounted in someway. Maybe as /mnt/.Disk1 lol? They can technically be mounted anywhere under any name, so maybe they hide it somewhere. Definitely curious now. @xl3b4n0nx keep us posted :-)

So I have FlexRAID setup and running. I am using 1 4TB, and 2 external HDDs for the data disks and 1 4TB for the parity drive. I ordered 1 more 4TB drive to add to the storage. When the pool is created it changes the mount point from your default to the location of the FlexRAID install location then it pools them. It works great!!