Boot Hardware and Mirroring

[SwisherSweet]

Hi,

I'm building a FreeNAS server from an old Mac Pro. I've read that booting from a USB Flash drive could be problematic on the Mac Pro, so I'm considering using a PCIe SATA Adapter:

https://www.amazon.com/OWC-Accelsio.../dp/B00WUZPMHE/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8

This says it doesn't require a drive in the product description. Will FreeNAS be able to support it?

I was then going to use the SANDisk SSD as the boot disk:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F9G414U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I realize 120GB is more than I need and I found smaller, less expensive SSDs, but I have a feeling those won't be as modern and reliable as this one. If anyone has any other experience on the best, small SSD to choose from, please let me know.

Lastly, I have read that others have lost their USB Flash boot drives and so long as the data drives are intact, that's not a big deal and both the config and data should be able to brought back online.

However, since I plan on running multiple VMs and Jails, would it be worth installing the FreeNAS system in a mirror configuration using an adapter such as this?

https://www.amazon.com/Sonnet-Tempo-Thunderbolt-Compatible-TSATA6-SSDPS-E2/dp/B00LA37XIS

If I understand correctly, if one SSD goes down, the other will keep it running and I can configure FreeNAS to alert me so that I can get it replaced.

I appreciate you reading this far! :) Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Will FreeNAS be able to support it?

The description claims the Mac Pro can boot from it, so I don't think FreeNAS will care.

I was then going to use the SANDisk SSD as the boot disk:

OK.

would it be worth installing the FreeNAS system in a mirror configuration using an adapter such as this?

Probably not. Recovering from boot device failure is easy, assuming you keep a backup of your config.

 

[SwisherSweet]

Thanks Robert. Is recovering from a boot device failure easy even with multiple Jails and VMs running? Or does it matter?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

As long as you have your configuration backed up, it shouldn't make any difference. The configuration is the only unique content on the boot device, everything else is on the storage pool(s).

 

[danb35]

As long as you have your configuration backed up, it shouldn't make any difference.

The only other caveat is "as long as you aren't using encryption," which nobody really should be using unless there's a legal or regulatory requirement to do so.