Boot pool uncorrectable I/O failure

[TiToMoskito]

Hi,

i have a problem with my FreeNas System, im getting this error code "Boot pool uncorrectable I/O failure" and i cannot reach the web interface and ssh.
Im using it for my server vms as storage, It's using the ISCSI Service and i currently dont know what to do.
I dont have a backup of the current configuration.

Is it safe to restart? Or should i first transfer all data from it to an external storage?
And if the USB Stick is broken, is also the access to my data broken?

 

[Chris Moore]

Please tell what your hardware configuration is.
The more you can tell about what your hardware is and how it is configured, the better the answers can be.

 

[TiToMoskito]

This is my hardware:
Intel i7-3770 Quad Core
32 GB DDR3
4× 6 TB SATA3, Enterprise, HW RAID
16GB USB Stick with FreeNAS Installation

 

[Heracles]

Hey @TiToMoskito,

Or should i first transfer all data from it to an external storage?

To ask such a question suggests that you have no backups. So the answer here is Yes because you ALWAYS need to have backups, no matter your system. You may not need that backup for this incident but you must have a backup plan. It is never too soon to put one in place.

And if the USB Stick is broken, is also the access to my data broken?

As long as the errors are limited to the boot pool, your data should be safe. The worst that can be would be for you to have to re-create all your configs : User accounts, shares, iSCSI settings, ...

It is still important to learn more about your setup, to be sure that it is recoverable. Should you have used Raid controllers, virtual drives or others, your risk level may be much higher. We will know once we know about your system.

 

[NugentS]

@TiToMoskito

Intel i7-3770 Quad Core - OK - but doesn't support ECC
32 GB DDR3 - Its not ECC - but thats not compulsory
4× 6 TB SATA3, Enterprise, HW RAID - This is a No No. You don't tell us what the HDD's are - but as they are enterprise - they are probably OK. Hardware RAID however is not a good idea at all.
16GB USB Stick with FreeNAS Installation - This is not recommended and hasn't been for a while. USB Sticks are (normally) cheap crappy NAND with cheap crappy controllers. They break. The good news is that its not a complete disaster as the Main Pool will be fine.

You do have a copy of your config don't you?

If you do then throw away the 16GB USB Stick and use a small SSD instead - this does not have to be expensive, but its way better than a USB Stick. Note this does not have to be a DataCenter drive - but can be a cheap consumer drive. Reinstall the OS and reload the config. Job Jobbed

If you don't then throw away the 16GB USB Stick and use a small SSD instead - this does not have to be expensive, but its way better than a USB Stick. Note this does not have to be a DataCenter drive - but can be a cheap consumer drive.
Then import the pools and you may be able to find a copy of the config on the pool (I think depending on where the system dataset was - others may advise). If you can't then you will have to setup the NAS again, but the data will be intact

Replace your hardware RAID with a proper IT Mode HBA and rebuild the pools. Do NOT use Hardware RAID

Always have a backup of your data

If you insist on using a USB Stick then:
1. Use a decent one, with a good name for longer lasting danger
2. Move the system DataSet onto the main pool - this takes most of the writes away from the USB Stick and will help it to last
3. Using scripts available (search the forums) make sure you have a copy of the config emailed to you every day - so you have a copy available off the NAS. Rebuilding a NAS with a config file is very very easy. Irritating when it happens, but not a major issue
4. Treat the USB stick as disposable and a risk to your NAS (not the data on the NAS) and have a spare hanging around for when you lob the first in the bin. You could mirror the USB Stick onto another Stick - but use a different make and model so they (hopefully) fail at different times
5. Stick to USB 2 rather than USB 3 - you don't need (or want) the speed and 3 tends to heat up more and may as a result be less durable. YMMV

Oh and one last thing. Look at my signature and the amount of info I give about my NAS's
Look at @Heracles and his signature and how much data he gives on the physical makeup of his NAS's
Look at @Chris Moore and his signature and how much data he gives on his NAS's

Compare this to the pitiful info you gave us and look embarrassed!!

 

[Heracles]

HW RAID

That is a big No-No!

So indeed, your data are highly at risk as of now because of that hardware raid. So first thing is to get all of them out of that server. So Yes, you should do a complete backup ASAP. Once that backup is complete, that pool will have to be destroyed, that Raid controller will have to be removed or flashed to IT mode and the pool will have to be rebuilt from scratch.

So with boot and config problem plus a pool on an hardware raid, it is the entire server that must be redone form scratch.

See this post by @jgreco about hardware Raid....

 

[NugentS]

@Heracles

 

[TiToMoskito]

Thank you very much for all your help.
I forgot to say, that the HW RAID is inactive, the disks are plain bound to the freenas system to work with the ZFS system.
And i have backups made every evening, i just wanted to know, if i could save my current system with an new freenas installation.

Im thinking about, to build an second FreeNAS system and clone both nas systems. Is there any possible solution with the free version?
It's maybe a overpowered solution for my home file storage, but i wont get a risk anymore.

 

[NugentS]

You can always send a dataset to another ZFS box with ZFS Send and Recv
You need to clarify what "HW RAID is inactive" means. If it means you are using a HW RAID controller as JBOD - this isn't good enough. Its needs to be a proper HBA

And Post your spec properly or I am out