From Openmediavault to FreeNAS - some advice?

[zimon]

I was using Openmediavault for quite some time and I now want to "upgrade" to FreeNAS. But before I am doing that, I want to seek some advice from you guys whether it makes sense what I want to achieve.
I have basic Linux knowledge but absolutely no FreeBSD/OpenBSD knowledge.

I have a HP Proliant Microserver with 8GB RAM, 3x 1.5TB HDD with ext4 and one with 500GB ext3 where I have all the Data on which should be migrated to FreeNAS (most media files and the latest Backup of my photo library). AFAIK FeeNAS can mount and read from ext3. According to that I also have 120GB SDD where I am planing to install FreeNAS on.

The NAS should mainly act as a media server(DLNA) and backup server (backups from windows/linux and mac machines) but I don't want to run into trouble when there is a HDD failure so I thought I use a RAIDZ1 with my 3 1.5TB drives but according to this: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/zfs-primer.38927/ RAIDZ1 is not recommended for drives over 1 TB in size. So would it make more sense to buy another 1.5TB and add it to the Pool after the data is migrated? (even if its a different manufacturer)

Since I have a SSD where I want to place the OS on, I was wondering if it makes sense to use it as Write/Read Cache for the ZFS? (The SSD is a few years old so it is not the fastest). If the SSD does not suit the needs of a R/W Cache is it recommended to have one? (like an extra SSD for that?)

I am a bit confused watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-mRgeDS8rk since it says that installation via usb drive is not supported anymore?

I will read through the documentation before I am installing FreeNAS tomorrow but I would appreciate any help and advice, tricks and tips.

 

[anodos]

The NAS should mainly act as a media server(DLNA) and backup server (backups from windows/linux and mac machines) but I don't want to run into trouble when there is a HDD failure so I thought I use a RAIDZ1 with my 3 1.5TB drives but according to this: https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/zfs-primer.38927/ RAIDZ1 is not recommended for drives over 1 TB in size. So would it make more sense to buy another 1.5TB and add it to the Pool after the data is migrated? (even if its a different manufacturer)

1.5TB is pretty small by today's standards. If I were you and had money for a new hard drive, I'd consider spending a bit more and getting a pair of 4TB WD reds and ditch the 1.5TB drives rather than buying a fourth 1.5TB drive.

Different people weigh risks differently. I don't think that a 3-disk 1.5TB RAIDZ1 array is inherently risky, but mirrored pairs give a better upgrade path than RAIDZ1. Adding a new mirror is pretty painless and increasing drive capacity can be achieved incrementally.

No matter what you do, RAIDZ and mirrors are about performance and redundancy. They do not obviate the need for regular backups.

Since I have a SSD where I want to place the OS on, I was wondering if it makes sense to use it as Write/Read Cache for the ZFS? (The SSD is a few years old so it is not the fastest). If the SSD does not suit the needs of a R/W Cache is it recommended to have one? (like an extra SSD for that?)

This is not the cache you are looking for. L2ARC and SLOG are solutions to rather specific problems. If things are slow, add RAM. Avoid tips / tricks to make things go faster. Usually the defaults are good enough (that's why they are defaults). Read the various stickies in the forums and read the FreeNAS documentation at doc.freenas.org.

 

[zimon]

Thanks for the input.
If I understood you correctly, you are suggesting that I should have 2 mirrors? one with 2 1.5TB and one with 2 new 4TB instead of buying a new "old" 1.5TB? I agree that 1.5TB is outdated but I really dont want to ditch all of my hard drives, but I am going to upgrade them step by step. (so I need a solution which makes that possible).

My goal is that in a case of a disk failure it takes me less then 5 min to get everything up and running (in case I have a new disk).