I want to expand current pool.

[ARKansans]

Hi there, I have
FreeNas-11.2-U6
Running on this server (not VM)
Intel® Server System P4308CP4MHEN
Intel® Server Board S2600CP4
2x Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2670
Micron 32GB (4x 8GB) mt36kszf1g72pz-1g4d1dd
6x4TB Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 4TB 64MB Cache in RAIDZ2

I need to expand the pool now, it's getting close to 90% capacity (I know that's not good)
I've googled it and usually get two stories
1# It's possible and safe to add one or more HDD's at a time.
2# It's only possible to add the same amount of driver and they must be the same type.
2.1# I have ST4000VN000 now but I can only buy ST4000VN008 now, is that ok?

But most of those results were "old" and I wasn't sure if the FreeNas had changed.
What are my options, and what would be recommended?
I'm new to this whole NAS thing btw.

 

[sretalla]

1# It's possible and safe to add one or more HDD's at a time.

Not correct. DO NOT DO THIS. This will result in your pool becoming a stripe of your RAIDZ2 VDEV and the single disk VDEV that you add, which will mean loss of all pool data if the single disk fails.

2# It's only possible to add the same amount of driver and they must be the same type.

Not true, but it's usually recommended to add VDEVs at least of the same type (RAIDZ2 in your case, so at minimum 4 disks).
Adding a RAIDZ2 VDEV of different number and size of disks is perfectly acceptable.

2.1# I have ST4000VN000 now but I can only buy ST4000VN008 now, is that ok?

Any disk model is OK (provided you are comfortable that it will meet your reliability and performance needs)... FreeNAS will work with whatever you give to it.

You could also just replace the disks with larger ones 1 by 1.

 

[Jessep]

If you are not familiar with SMR please research it. SMR disks are not appropriate for use in FreeNAS, make sure any disks you choose are not SMR.

 

[ARKansans]

Not true, but it's usually recommended to add VDEVs at least of the same type (RAIDZ2 in your case, so at minimum 4 disks).

Adding a RAIDZ2 VDEV of different number and size of disks is perfectly acceptable.

1# So because I have RAIDZ2 setup I don't have to think about needing to use exact same disks, but with RAIDZ1 or other I would have to have the same disks?
1.1# Sorry still learning this all. So, I only have 1 VDEV now because I've only made/built my pool once, right?

2# To enlarge my pool I have to group a minimum 4 HDD's and turn them into a VDEV that I then insert into my current pool, right?
2.1# To make a VDEV to insert into my pool to enlarge it I can use any sizes of disks?
2.2# Even mixed sizes, like 2TB+3TB+1TB+4TB, just as long as it's minimum 4HDD's?
2.3# Would I suffer any performance hit or data integrity loss by doing this?

3# I could combine at minimum 4 HDD's (because it's RAIDZ2) and up to 10 HDD's (or more) into a VDEV to enlarge the pool?

4# Let's say I would have 6HDD-VDEV and 4HDD-VDEV in one pool setup, and 2 HDD's from the 4HDD-VDEV would crash, would I loose the whole pool, all my data?
4.1# wouldn't be safer to have 6HDD-VDEV and 6HDD-VDEV in one pool then?

Any disk model is OK (provided you are comfortable that it will meet your reliability and performance needs)... FreeNAS will work with whatever you give to it.

4# So if I bought 4x ST8000VN0022 HDD's that are 7200rpm instead of 5900rpm and 256mb buffer instead of 64mb and added them into VDEV the
FreeNAS wouldn't care about that, but would the new HDD's work at their rated capacity or would FreeNAS lower the new HDD's stats equal to the older HDD's?

You could also just replace the disks with larger ones 1 by 1.

5# So I could just buy a 14TB HDD and replace it any 4TB HDD I have installed, and therefor gain around 8TB of storage?
5.1# And I could do that with out any performance hit or data integrity.


Sorry about all these questions, just want to be sure that I have the correct information, it's some sort of OCD
English ain't my native language, so I often get quite confused.

 

[Jessep]

I would suggest you do more reading.

Here is Chris Moore's list of useful threads as a primer.

Links to useful threads

I created this resource so I could share this list of links with the forum. I accumulated these links over the last few years to help me remember where to find some important information. I hope that others will find this helpful. Most are...

www.ixsystems.com

 

[ARKansans]

If you are not familiar with SMR please research it. SMR disks are not appropriate for use in FreeNAS, make sure any disks you choose are not SMR.

I use my FreeNas mainly for running PLEX and storing my media, read somewhere that SMR disks would be ok with that, or is that just not true?

 

[CraigD]

Say NO to SMR disks!

Have Fun

 

[ARKansans]

Could some one answer these questions I had?

I want to expand current pool.

Hi there, I have FreeNas-11.2-U6 Running on this server (not VM) Intel® Server System P4308CP4MHEN Intel® Server Board S2600CP4 2x Intel® Xeon® Processor E5-2670 Micron 32GB (4x 8GB) mt36kszf1g72pz-1g4d1dd 6x4TB Seagate NAS HDD ST4000VN000 4TB 64MB Cache in RAIDZ2 I need to expand the pool...

www.ixsystems.com

Been reading a lot and keep getting mixed answers.
Especially regarding expanding the pool by adding another vdev to it. According to the manual I have to use the same Z-level and size.
also says to extend it I require atleast 4hdds, and that I have to have the same number of disks to expand the pool.

 

[sretalla]

According to the manual I have to use the same Z-level and size.

According to recommended practice, yes... you can technically add different sizes, numbers of disks and different RAID types... this is not recommended, but possible.

It is generally seen in the forum that adding the same RAIDZ level with a different size is something that can run smoothly. You need to be prepared for performance (read/write speed) to vary a bit if you mix against the recommendation from the manual, but for most people's needs, it's perfectly fine.

If your intention by adding a new VDEV is to get more IOPS, then you need to stick with the manual (and rebuild your pool anyway to start from scratch), but if all you want is more capacity, just stick to the same RAIDZ level and add what you want.

 

[ARKansans]

According to recommended practice, yes... you can technically add different sizes, numbers of disks and different RAID types... this is not recommended, but possible.

It is generally seen in the forum that adding the same RAIDZ level with a different size is something that can run smoothly. You need to be prepared for performance (read/write speed) to vary a bit if you mix against the recommendation from the manual, but for most people's needs, it's perfectly fine.

If your intention by adding a new VDEV is to get more IOPS, then you need to stick with the manual (and rebuild your pool anyway to start from scratch), but if all you want is more capacity, just stick to the same RAIDZ level and add what you want.

Allright thanks, so making a VDEV of 10+6+4+4 (24tb) with the current 6*4tb (24tb) in RAIDZ2 is "perfectly safe" to achieve larger pool size and data integrity? I'm not really fussed about the iops at the moment.

 

[CraigD]

Allright thanks, so making a VDEV of 10+6+4+4 (24tb) with the current 6*4tb (24tb) in RAIDZ2 is "perfectly safe" to achieve larger pool size and data integrity? I'm not really fussed about the iops at the moment.

You can mix drive sizes, you only get to use the smallest drive size on each drive in each vdev

You example with a 10TB drive, a 6TB drive, and two 4TB drives will work in a RAIDz2 vdev and will add about ~6.5TB of usable storage to your pool

Have Fun

 

[Jailer]

@ARKansans you really should check out Cyberjock's presentation before you go any further.

https://www.ixsystems.com/community...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/