Best use of available drive space for FreeNAS

[noirfan]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some advice how to setup the drives I have available to me in FreeNAS. Sorry for the long post - trying to provide a complete picture the first time.

My current configuration is FreeNAS 9.1 64-bit running as a VM on ESXi 5.1:

• ASUS P8Z77 mATX w/i5-3550 CPU
• 32GB RAM (8 GB dedicated to FreeNAS)
• 4x3TB WD RED in RAID-Z2 (via passthrough M1015 in IT mode to FreeNAS VM) = 5.18TB of usable space

I've found some issues thus far (and they're all from me not heeding jgreco, cyberjock, and some other's advice to begin with):

1. I got in a hurry and totally undersized (read: p*$$ poorly planned) the amount of space I'd actually need for all my data,
2. I tried to virtualize something that shouldn't of been to begin with, and
3. I tried to use crappy consumer hardware for server-level work.

(Even after 20 years in the *nix enterprise world, I'm still a slow learner, I guess... :)).

So, taking 2 and 3 into account, I'm planning to move my virtualized FreeNAS 9.1 to a physical machine, complete with a SuperMicro X9SCM-F-Omotherboard, ECC RAM, and a i3-3240 CPU (I don't really need the horsepower of an actual Xeon for this thing), and an Intel NIC. Rant: I'm done trying to create a shoebox-sized server; in the long run I've spent more $$$ trying to do that than if I'd of just heeded the advice not to to begin with, just trying to troubleshoot network issues and random file corruption...but that's a story for another whiskey... (Luckily, I was smart enough to keep backups of all these files on external drives.)

My original plan was to just stick the M1015 in the new machine, leave the 4x3TB drives in the same config, and then create a new RAID-Z1 pool with 4x2TB Samsung drives I have lying around to give me some more space. The idea would be that:

• The 4x3TB RAID-Z2 would exist as actual, usable NAS space.
• The 4x2TB RAID-Z1 would serve as a backup location for the virtual machines on my ESXi server (plus 2PCs) and to move some non-critical files off the RAID-Z2 array (~1.5 TB of stuff that I really wouldn't miss if the RAID-Z1 went belly up).

I'm basically trying to determine if the way I'm thinking of using my drive space is the best way to do it? Thoughts/questions:

1. I'm relatively set on RAID-Z2, because I don't want to do less than 2-drive failure configuration (I realize it's unlikely, but the possibility makes me not want to move this to a RAID-Z1). Might it be smarter for me to sell the 4x2TB drives, scratch the RAID-Z1 altogether and add two more 3TB drives to the RAID-Z2? (I'd essentially be adding the same amount of space as the 4x2TB RAID-Z1 @ 5.x TB).
2. Assuming I kept the 4x2TB (and considering what I'm going to use them for -- essentially to store backups) is there any real reason to/not to put these in a RAID-Z1 (i.e. just stripe them)?
3. I am assuming my only option for backing up the RAID-Z2 would be to build another FreeNAS server and then synchronize to it? i.e. there isn't any way to configure this that nets me more space in the configuration of these drives and allows me some sort of real safety net still? (I am definitely a believer in that RAID != BACKUP.)

Thanks, in advance, for any inputs--