Failed Motherboard

[JJ22010]

I recently encountered some issues with my setup, and unfortunately, my ASRock X570M Pro4 motherboard has failed. I'm currently in a bit of a predicament and would greatly appreciate any guidance or advice you can offer.

Current Setup:

• Motherboard: ASRock X570M Pro4 (now non-functional)
• Boot Drive: 2 M.2 SSDs configured in RAID
• Storage: One pool consisting of 3 drives

My Questions:

1. Data Salvage: Is there a way to salvage the data from my existing setup? Particularly concerned about the data in my 3-drive pool.
2. Replacement and Compatibility: If I purchase a new motherboard, can I simply boot from my existing M.2 OS drives? Will this approach allow me to seamlessly access my storage pool, or are there additional steps I need to take?
3. Long-Term Solution: I'm looking for a motherboard recommendation that's compatible with my current setup (AM4 socket, micro ATX) and reliable enough to last for the next 5 years. Priorities include stability, support for RAID configuration, and compatibility with TrueNAS.

 

[Arwen]

Some answers:
1. Yes, (assuming you did not use hardware RAID...)
2. Yes, a simple replacement system board will work. Note that if you change to a different model of system board, the network may have to be reconfigured from the console.
3. Any server system board should work, but hardware RAID should not be used. ZFS IS the RAID. For example, their are some ASrock Rack server boards that are MicroATX with AM4 sockets.

Now the caveats. You list that the boot drive is 2 x M.2 SSDs in RAID. ZFS does not really work with external RAID, as ZFS supplies it's own, and generally superior redundancy. Now if you meant the 2 boot drives were in a ZFS Mirror, all good.

 

[Etorix]

Assuming that it was "just" a motherboard failure, data is fine.
Replacement candidates would be AsRockRack X470D4U / X570D4U / B550D4U server Ryzen boards and variants.
@jgreco has actually made a resource on booting TrueNAS from a hardware RAID1 (vade retro Satanas!) mirrored to a third device. This, however, might be way over the top for a home NAS compared to just using a single boot device and always keeping a copy of the configuration file outside of the NAS.

 

[Davvo]

You only need redundancy of the boot drive if you cannot phisically access the system with ease (usually because it's deployed far from you).
A quick pit-stop with a config backup and a new drive is enough for most users.

 

[JJ22010]

Thank you all for your replies, I definitely don't plan on using a raid in the future for the boot drive. This server is a learning exercise for me so it was just part of setting it up I wanted to learn. Could I just install TrueNAS to a new drive and use the config file?

 

[Arwen]

...
Could I just install TrueNAS to a new drive and use the config file?

Yes, that is the intent. TrueNAS, (both Core and SCALE), are designed so that a failed boot pool causes no real problems. Yes, a outage in replacing. But the configuration file is supposed to restore the server to exactly where it was before.

However, in your case, unless you use an identical server board, you will likely have to re-configure the network from the console after restoring the configuration.

 

[JJ22010]

Yes, that is the intent. TrueNAS, (both Core and SCALE), are designed so that a failed boot pool causes no real problems. Yes, a outage in replacing. But the configuration file is supposed to restore the server to exactly where it was before.

However, in your case, unless you use an identical server board, you will likely have to re-configure the network from the console after restoring the configuration.

I've been using a PCIe 10G Asus Card I can move to the new board, however reconfig of the network is easy enough.