I'm trying to come up with a FreeNAS build that would be used as a backup destination (where the backups are stored) from my main FreeNAS server. I'd like to know if the following is possible or if there are any recommended changes that should be made. This is in a home environment.
My FreeNAS box is a physical box and I have a second VMware "server" (consumer components, DIY build) that I'd like to load FreeNAS onto as a VM to create a backup destination for my main FreeNAS box. The VMware server is currently using VMware Server, sitting on top of Win2k3, but I'd like to change that to ESXi (the free one).
If I create a FreeNAS VM on the ESXi server, can I create a JBOD setup with the various 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB drives I have to make one large volume? If so, would I do this as UFS or ZFS? I'd like to do this rather than buying new drives to keep the costs down. As this is a backup to my main box, redundancy, performance, etc is not a concern.
Also, how much RAM should I allocate to the FreeNAS VM? I only have 8GB total on the VMware box (not much, I know), so I'd like to avoid allocating 4GB+ just to FreeNAS, so I have left over memory for my other VMs. Purchasing more memory is not practical for me.
If there are any other considerations I've missed, please let me know. As mentioned, I'd like to know if what I'm proposing should work before I get started rebuilding systems, etc.
Thanks for your assistance.
My FreeNAS box is a physical box and I have a second VMware "server" (consumer components, DIY build) that I'd like to load FreeNAS onto as a VM to create a backup destination for my main FreeNAS box. The VMware server is currently using VMware Server, sitting on top of Win2k3, but I'd like to change that to ESXi (the free one).
If I create a FreeNAS VM on the ESXi server, can I create a JBOD setup with the various 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB drives I have to make one large volume? If so, would I do this as UFS or ZFS? I'd like to do this rather than buying new drives to keep the costs down. As this is a backup to my main box, redundancy, performance, etc is not a concern.
Also, how much RAM should I allocate to the FreeNAS VM? I only have 8GB total on the VMware box (not much, I know), so I'd like to avoid allocating 4GB+ just to FreeNAS, so I have left over memory for my other VMs. Purchasing more memory is not practical for me.
If there are any other considerations I've missed, please let me know. As mentioned, I'd like to know if what I'm proposing should work before I get started rebuilding systems, etc.
Thanks for your assistance.
