Importing configuration on a new FreeNAS installation

[Fiorinol]

I have an issue where I have this box that's running FreeNAS, and the boot drive, which is a USB stick, is suffering from corruption due to power outages. I'm looking to replace the USB stick with a new one. I have the config file saved as well as the global GELI key. The person who used to handle this box just vanished overnight, I'm stuck with it, and I have little to no idea how to proceed. Tutorials online seem to imply that I need to "just import the config through the webGUI", which I'm not following.

From my understanding, I'm supposed to install FreeNAS on the drive from a boot device, but from there, I have no idea how to import the config or what to do with the key. And unfortunately, I don't have the leisure of messing around with the box itself for too long. I don't think cloning the USB stick would be a good idea either as there's corruption going on. Ideally, I want to swap the old stick with a new one with as little downtime as possible.

 

[Chris Moore]

I have an issue where I have this box that's running FreeNAS, and the boot drive, which is a USB stick, is suffering from corruption due to power outages.

Definitely want to get some sort of UPS system on that. Also, it is a good idea to use a mirrored pair of drives (SSD recommended) instead of the USB sticks. USB drives are notorious for random failures.

I have the config file saved as well as the global GELI key.

You will also need to save the recovery key and passphrase. Better to have it and not need it. What version of FreeNAS are you running, so I can point you to the correct documentation?

The person who used to handle this box just vanished overnight, I'm stuck with it, and I have little to no idea how to proceed.

If you have no experience with FreeNAS, you should take some time to review the documentation before proceeding. On an encrypted pool, doing it wrong can cost you all your data. Do you have a backup?

Tutorials online seem to imply that I need to "just import the config through the webGUI", which I'm not following.

Please share as much information as possible, according to this guide:

Updated Forum Rules 12/5/18
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/updated-forum-rules-12-5-18.45124/

This is so we know what you are dealing with and we are better able to assist you. Sorry about how you have been put in a bind like this.

From my understanding, I'm supposed to install FreeNAS on the drive from a boot device, but from there, I have no idea how to import the config or what to do with the key. And unfortunately, I don't have the leisure of messing around with the box itself for too long.

If your storage system is currently working, you can leave it online and do the installation using a different system. FreeNAS detects the hardware during each boot to allow you the ability to shut down the system, make hardware changes and bring it back up without any hardware glitches.
So pick any old computer and do a fresh install of FreeNAS on the new boot media. Let it pick an IP address from DHCP or some other address than the existing storage server. After it is booted (on the temporary hardware) go to the webGUI and install the config file. When the config file is installed, the system will want to reboot. This will set the IP address, and all the other settings that were copied from the existing storage server. During the reboot, when the system gets to the BIOS screen, shut it down and take the boot media to the system that needs a replacement boot drive. Shut it down, swap the boot media and boot the system back up. You will need to unlock the drives with the GELI key before you can access the storage pool. That should be the gist of it.

I don't think cloning the USB stick would be a good idea either as there's corruption going on. Ideally, I want to swap the old stick with a new one with as little downtime as possible.

If you can give a little more detail about the problem you are having, it might even be possible that there is already a mirror of the boot drive in the system and it could be as simple as removing the defective unit and rebooting.