Backing-up an entire Pool

rdcustom · Nov 1, 2023

Hello all,
I just finished my new NAS and I need some advices.

This is the configuration:

Boot Pool: 2x128gb SSD - Already in Raid 1, so no Backup Needed
Media Pool: 4x4tb HDD - Already with Parity, so no Backup Needed
Backup Pool: 4x4tb HDD - Already with Parity, so no Backup Needed
Jail, VMs, Plugins and Plex DB: 1x1tb SSD -> I have no other slots available, so I'd like to backup this entire pool on the "Backup" pool; how can I do this in order to make a future upgrade or disk replacement easy?

Thanks in advance

winnielinnie · Nov 1, 2023

rdcustom said:
Media Pool: 4x4tb HDD - Already with Parity, so no Backup Needed
Backup Pool: 4x4tb HDD - Already with Parity, so no Backup Needed

Redundancy and parity are not substitutes for backups...

rdcustom · Nov 1, 2023

winnielinnie said:
Redundancy and parity are not substitutes for backups...

Thought was implied, but: "in case of DISK failure"

chuck32 · Nov 1, 2023

I'm not following; do you have backups of Media and backup pool?

Because the way you phrased it does imply you do not since you use parity.

rdcustom · Nov 1, 2023

let me rewrite:
Media and Backup pools have the parity disk, so in case of disk failure I can replace it and rebuild the pool.
Instead, if the single 1tb SSD Pool fails, I lose all data.

I want to make a periodic backup of this disk on the "Backup" pool for keeping a safe copy

winnielinnie · Nov 1, 2023

As long as you know the risks (and I'm assuming all pools are on the same server), a few more questions:

Is it not feasible to attach another SSD to the Jail pool so that you have a mirror vdev?
If you cannot attach an extra SSD, are you planning to run a "once in a while" (or even just "one time") replication of your Jails pool into your Backup pool?
Do you want this to be automated, using the GUI's Replication Tasks?

winnielinnie · Nov 1, 2023

rdcustom said:
Media and Backup pools have the parity disk, so in case of disk failure I can replace it and rebuild the pool.

It's not what you're asking help with, but this is not the same data protection as a true backup.

winnielinnie · Nov 1, 2023

rdcustom said:
I want to make a periodic backup of this disk on the "Backup" pool for keeping a safe copy

If that's the case, you need to create a Periodic Snapshot task (maybe use the naming schema "backup-XXXXXX") for the entire Jails pool ("recursive").

Then you need to create a Replication Task which uses this Periodic Snapshot task, and nest it in your Backup pool as the target destination.

EDIT: Emphasis on "nest it".

chuck32 · Nov 1, 2023

Replication Tasks is what I use for once in a while backups of my VMs.

I don't want to beat a dead horse but listen: you're data is not protected. Period.
More than one disk can fail, your house can burn down, your server can be stolen, your PSU may die and take your HDDs with it, you name it.

First google result for 3-2-1 rule

rdcustom · Nov 1, 2023

chuck32 said:
Replication Tasks is what I use for once in a while backups of my VMs.

I don't want to beat a dead horse but listen: you're data is not protected. Period.
More than one disk can fail, your house can burn down, your server can be stolen, your PSU may die and take your HDDs with it, you name it.

First google result for 3-2-1 rule

hahahahah totally with you.
but this is a little home NAS and I have also an off-site server (in my business shed) and I usually make rsync backups of important data + dropbox

quite covered about this but I definitely don't trust SSDs, as I've experienced many failures over the years and all happened instantly.

About another SSD in the pool, unfortunately I'm out of m.2 slots and I don't want to use crappy USB boxes (that I usually trust less than the SSD itself)

winnielinnie · Nov 1, 2023

This can be done in the GUI: