Is my raid card working right?

[Chris230291]

Hello. I decided to build a FreeNas server using my old computer. I bought myself an affordable low end raid card (HighPoint RocketRaid 2720SGL) and installed it along with 3 2TB WD Caviar Greens (to start with).

I have it all up and running but i'm not sure if the raid card is working 100%. I just plugged it into a PCI-E slot, installed FreeNas and didn't install any raid drivers. So is it working? Will it perform better if i install the supplied drivers? How do i even go about installing them?

I've read topics on the forum where people were having trouble installing this raid card and it's drivers. So do i just assume, because mine was detected right away, that the drivers are now included in FreeNas and there is nothing for me to install?

Any advice or a point in the right direction here would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Chris.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that all i did was "initialize" the drives in the RocketRaid bios, i did not set up a raid in the bios. Have i done it right or should i have created the raid in the bios? I just went based on what I've read, which mentioned something like "disable raid in the bios". Everything I've read was from around 2011 though and might be dated.

 

[pirateghost]

If your FreeNAS system sees the drives then you are done. No need to do anything else. If you want to benefit from ZFS, then DO NOT create a RAID in the card's BIOS

 

[Chris230291]

OK sweet thanks, i just wanted to make sure it is running the best it can before i fill up all of the drive space.

Thanks again,
Chris.

 

[gpsguy]

Chris, Hopefully you've read the doc's and realize that you won't be able to add additional drives to expand your original vdev later on.

... and installed it along with 3 2TB WD Caviar Greens (to start with)

i just wanted to make sure it is running the best it can before i fill up all of the drive space.

 

[Chris230291]

Hello gpsguy.

Really? I've read that i will be able to?

I have gone in and attempted to add another disk to make sure what i've read is correct, and as far as i can tell FreeNas is happy to let me do so?

Though I havent actually tried to add a disk as i don't have any spare.

Could someone please clear this up and let me know if i can , or can not add storage to my volume?

Cheers,
Chris.

 

[pirateghost]

no. that allows you to extend/add-to the volume, but it does NOT add a disk to the ZFS RAIDZ. your redundancy will go out the window as soon as you add a single drive to that volume

 

[Chris230291]

no. that allows you to extend/add-to the volume, but it does NOT add a disk to the ZFS RAIDZ. your redundancy will go out the window as soon as you add a single drive to that volume

Hello. So my only option is to buy all 6 additional drives now and start over? Is FreeNas not able to rearrange everything if i add a drive? I don't know how it all works but thats seems like a reasonable assumption?

Chris.

 

[ProtoSD]

How many times does this bloody topic/question have to be repeatedly explained and documented.

Chris, read the sticky posts at the top of forum sections and the documentation. You might actually discover some other helpful information in the process that will spare us all from yet another round of "I'm too good to read the documentation" questions.