Can you add a HDD to an existing RaidZ or RaidZ2 array in FreeNas

[zeto402]

If not is there an alternate option as far as software raid goes

[Vitalius]

Yes, you should be able to just pop the drive in and add it to the array.

 

Apparently that's no the case. Weird. 
 

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzHapVfrocfwSzNDTzZhNXp1dDQ/edit

 

Anyway, no you can't just add a single drive and everything work.

Your options:

1. Upgrade each drive in the array using the rebuild option. (i.e. you have an array of 4 drives, each 1TB, then you pop in a 2TB, rebuild, another, rebuild, etc etc until all are 2TB and you double your space).
2. Make a new array with more space (the extra drive), and move everything to that one while decommissioning your old array.

You can't just expand the RAIDZ array with a single drive though, sadly.

[Cryptonite]

so many things can happen in raid, I just connect all my HDDs separately, had a raid once, and that was enough.

[alpenwasser]

Your options:

• Upgrade each drive in the array using the rebuild option. (i.e. you have an array of 4 drives, each 1TB, then you pop in a 2TB, rebuild, another, rebuild, etc etc until all are 2TB and you double your space).
• Make a new array with more space (the extra drive), and move everything to that one while decommissioning your old array.

You can't just expand the RAIDZ array with a single drive though, sadly.

What about adding another vdev to the pool? Obviously not just a single drive (since

if you have a vdev consisting of only one drive and that drive fails, your entire

pool will be dead), but if my memory isn't failing me it's possible to add vdevs

to an existing pool, or not?

So: Leave the RAIDZ array as it is, but add another vdev to the pool, preferrably

at least a RAIDZ-2 one.

[Eric1024]

What about adding another vdev to the pool? Obviously not just a single drive (since

if you have a vdev consisting of only one drive and that drive fails, your entire

pool will be dead), but if my memory isn't failing me it's possible to add vdevs

to an existing pool, or not?

So: Leave the RAIDZ array as it is, but add another vdev to the pool, preferrably

at least a RAIDZ-2 one.

You can indeed add vdevs to an existing pool. But yeah, if you have a non redundant vdev (ie a single drive) and it fails, it will bring down your whole pool since data is striped across top level vdevs (and there's no way to change that). You could also just make a new pool with a single drive in it for now.

 

(I'm in the process of working on a ZFS tutorial that will hopefully answer questions like this)

[alpenwasser]

You can indeed add vdevs to an existing pool. But yeah, if you have a non redundant vdev (ie a single drive) and it fails, it will bring down your whole pool since data is striped across top level vdevs (and there's no way to change that). You could also just make a new pool with a single drive in it for now.

 

(I'm in the process of working on a ZFS tutorial that will hopefully answer questions like this)

Thought so. I haven't done any ZFS administration work in a few months, only the

periodical scrub, so I wasn't quite certain anymore.

[zeto402]

Is there a software raid that would allow this