Best way to do initial 3TB migration to off-site location?

[hungarianhc]

Hi All!

My FreeNAS box is humming along just fine, so well that for Christmas, I'm going to give one to my parents, that will be in "set it and forget it" mode and run Plex Media Server. I'm going to use Bittorrent Sync to keep my media files in sync with them, such that whenever I add a movie, they'll get it too. However, I know that the initial sync of 3TB+ would be pretty painful. They live in another city, and the hardware for the server is in that other city as well. However, I haven't ordered the hard drive. I'd like to order the drive to my house, do an initial copy of the files, and then take that drive down there. Can someone explain the best way to hook that drive up to my current FreeNAS system, such that it's formatted properly when I pop it into the box down there? I have Raid-Z2, and the only thing their box is going to be used for is media streaming so they don't have any redundancy, just a single drive box (which conveniently serves as another off-site copy of my media collection). Thanks!

 

[willnx]

Might be better off getting two PlexPass memberships - This will allow you to share each other's library. Then you're not spending the time, money, effort of maintaining two servers.

 

[hungarianhc]

Might be better off getting two PlexPass memberships - This will allow you to share each other's library. Then you're not spending the time, money, effort of maintaining two servers.

I'm a big Plex supporter. I have a Plexpass subscription. So do my parents. I am getting them their own server so my box isn't streaming remotely all the time. Back to my question, which I suppose I'll just find out on my own when the drive arrives, is if I plug in an extra drive, set it up as a no redundancy zfs stripe, will a new install recognize it? I think it will... Not sur ethough.

 

[mjws00]

I think you'll need datasets to replicate. Give it a few practice tries to make sure you know how you want it to work. After that it will be about setting up the network, and just going for it. Not sure if you need ssh or a vpn or what your strategy is. But there are lots of ways to skin the cat.

 

[willnx]

I think you're looking for something like this - https://pthree.org/2012/12/10/zfs-administration-part-v-exporting-and-importing-zpools/