Freenas Questions

[Robby0328]

Hello all,

I am currently setting up a freenas server at home. (Just waiting on the drives to come in) Here are the current specs.

Dell PowerEdge T110

Xeon Processor (Quad with HT)
12GB of ECC ram (Udimm) soon to be 16gb
4 x 2tb WD Red drives
Onboard Sata connectors
2 Onboard USB headers (Will have 2 32GB PNY flash drives)

I read that that should be more than enough to handle freenas without the major kernel panic of doom. Can I set up in freenas to have both flash drives mirrored? Also Should I change anything about this build?

 

[Georg Kullgren]

Yes, you can have the flash drives mirrored. It's easy to boot from one of them, insert the second flash drive and create the mirror.
Check chapter 5.3.1:
https://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_system.html

 

[depasseg]

Can I set up in freenas to have both flash drives mirrored?

Yes, during install, just select both devices.
Looks good to me, but I'm not the build-checker-guy.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

I read that that should be more than enough to handle freenas

I grew frustrated with the 16GB RAM limit and the 2TB hard drive limit, but it will work just fine.

boot from one of them, insert the second flash drive and create the mirror

Don't do this.

during install, just select both devices.

Do this.

 

[Yatti420]

Why can't we clone a boot mirror from GUI (if necessary)? If you haven't installed yet then ya just do it via installer..

https://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_system.html#boot

 

[danb35]

Why can't we clone a boot mirror from GUI (if necessary)?

You can, it's just that installing onto both on the same time is faster and easier (most of the time), and it avoids problems if one of the flash drives is slightly smaller than the other.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

And, I'm not yet convinced that mirroring after installation actually results in a bootable 2nd device. Can anyone confirm?

 

[MrToddsFriends]

And, I'm not yet convinced that mirroring after installation actually results in a bootable 2nd device. Can anyone confirm?

Worked flawlessly for me some 10 to 12 months ago, when I tried this several times.

Mirroring USB boot media via the GUI even works if the target is slightly smaller than the source. IIRC iXSystems made a patch about a year ago to enable this (by not using the whole space for the boot partition on USB media).

 

[Robby0328]

I grew frustrated with the 16GB RAM limit and the 2TB hard drive limit, but it will work just fine.

Don't do this.

Do this.

I thought it didn't have a 16gb and 2tb limitation. It's not a big deal for me but just for clarifications max drive size is 2tb Each and max of 16gb pf ram? or are you talking about the physical computer?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Dell PowerEdge T110

I'm talking about this model.

If what you actually have is a Dell PowerEdge T110 II, the RAM limit is 32GB and the drives can be as big as you want.

 

[Robby0328]

I'm talking about this model.

If what you actually have is a Dell PowerEdge T110 II, the RAM limit is 32GB and the drives can be as big as you want.

That's what I thought you meant. I was confused at first. I'm pretty sure it's a Gen I I'll have to double check. I can't complain for someone giving it away :D

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

I actually paid money for a used T110. If that's what you have, rest assured it will work just fine as long as the limits don't cramp your style. The main reason I switched to a T20 with 32GB of RAM is that I run a VirtualBox jail. It's also quieter and less power hungry than the T110.