How do I install and configure from scratch but use an old pool?

[CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet]

I made the jump to 11.2 the other day. I thought I had done everything by the book. I'd backed up my data, backed up my config, shutdown all Jails and Plugins, turned off all service... I had to flash my SAS controller, so I disconnected the disks etc. etc. etc.

The one thing I didn't even think of though, was that I was upgrading from 9.10.2-u5 straight to 11.2-u5. Cue much self kicking.

This jumping of several major releases of FreeNAS has caused one or two issues, mainly related to tasks and services that run on a schedule. I've fixed all the issues I've found but it's got me wondering whether there's anything else that got screwed up by my less than ideal upgrade practices.

So... I'm strongly considering a fresh install to avoid any possible issues that I have caused and for peace of mind. I would just be reimportaing my existing pool though. I figure that as I need to recreate my Warden Jails anyway and there are a few datasets I've been wanting to recreate (either to change permission type or as a way of organising them)... perhaps it's time to redo my config and Users with the (relativly small amount of) knowledge I have learnt since I first installed and used FreeNAS.

My questions are as follows.

A. If I recreate the Users and Groups from my current install on the fresh install, along with who owns what Dataset... am I good to go in regards to permissions?

B. Is there anyway I can create a fresh install on the same disks as my current install without losing my current install or will creating a fresh install require me to format my boot disk? (I can just use a spare SSD I have laying around if that's the case EDIT: so much for that, for some reason the FreeNAS install just does not like my 120GB SiliconPower S55).

C. Further to the above (and I know this is a dumb question but being a dd novice, I thought it's better that I ask than assume...) if I use a new SSD for my reinstall but wish to resuse the existing SSD as my boot device (without mirroring it with the second SSD), will a simple dd image be all that I need to swap the boot disks?

D. Assuming I recreate their mounted storage, will my Warden Jails still function (so I can create new iocage Jails at my leisure)?

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Here's my todo list for creating a new config, if anyone can spot anything obvious that I've missed, then please let me know. I've bolded any questions that I have.

1. System
   1. Recreate All uses and Groups (I've screenshoted all the info that I'd need to fill in again).
   2. Change the hostname
   3. Change the Locale, timezone and keyboard map.
   4. Make sure the boot disks scrub is configured.
   5. Enable "Show console messages in footer"
   6. Change MOTD to something obscene.
   7. Show advanced fields by default.
   8. Configure the email alert settings.
   9. Set System Dataset to "tank".... Will this cause any issues as I'd already have an existing System Dataset on my storage pool?
2. Tasks
   1. Schedule a Scrub of "tank".
   2. Create a schedule for Short and Long S.M.A.R.T. Tests.
3. Network
   1. Hostname already set above.
   2. Set default gateway.
   3. set primary dns to 1.1.1.1
   4. set IPMI address and default gateway.
4. Storage
   1. Configure a periodic snapshot task.
   2. Configure a replication task.
   3. Double check / assign ownership of my existing datasets.
5. Sharing
   1. Recreate my shares.
6. Service
   1. Configure and enable the S.M.A.R.T., SMB, SSH and UPS services.
7. Jails
   1. Recreate any Jails dataset mount points and the Jails Config (again, I've screenshoted everything).
   2. Login into the old UI to start any Warden Jails or Plugins.

Is there anything obvious that I'm missing?

 

[dlavigne]

Did you end up doing a fresh install? Did it work out?

 

[CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet]

Thanks for asking.

I did end up doing a fresh install as I figured there'd be little if any risk as long as I used a new boot disk and didn't do anything stupid. On a side note, I had planned to use the Silicon Power S55 120GB I had laying around but whilst it worked fine when connected to several of my Linux and Windows systems, the FreeNAS installer just would not install to it. I checked SATA ports and cables, partition table types and formats. All the while, the S55 worked fine on everything apart from when it came time for the FreeNAS installer to format the disk.

Everything went pretty smoothly. My Jails are back up and running and I haven't had any permissions is. I did have to boot into my old install a couple more times than I had wanted as I overlooked a couple of settings that I forgot to write down. The only real issue I've encountered is with the one Warden Plugin I use, Syncthing. When using the Legacy WebGUI, the Plugins page doesn't display correctly, so I can start or stop the Plugin.

I ended up installing the new Syncthing Plugin from the new WebGUI. I was planning to migrate the config from the old Syncthing Plugin to the new one but the config files aren't were the Syncthing documentation say they should be on a nix like system. The issue has been further complicated by the fact that the old Warden based Plugin just started working again for reasons I'm still not clear on (my working theory is that it start up again after a reboot... I just can't remember whether I rebooted).

I thought that my experience might be of some interest to other users so I am actually working on an update post/reply answer my own questions, detailing some of the steps I took and the checklist I made that I think would be applicable to pretty much every FreeNAS user / system.