looking for the best Backup option for my needs

[josh.0]

Hey everyone,

I initially built a FreeNAS system by myself for my business following a guide from a Lifehacker article and by watching some YouTube videos. At first, I thought this was something I could handle. I built the system, and it's been serving me well for the past year and a half. But, I've been using it without really understanding how it works. I've read some FAQs and CyberJocks noob slideshow, but I don't really know how to maintain it, or really do anything.

TLDR: I need to know the best way to backup the data on my FreeNAS system to an external USB HDD.

Now, I know that's not the best way. But, for my peace of mind, I would like to do it this week. And, then once that's done, I can do it a better way. Which, will probably end up being a second FreeNAS build.

My current build:
FreeNAS 9.1.1
ZFS formatted, but I don't know what RAID
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230v3
MB: Supermicro MBD-X10SAE-O
RAM: 2 x Kingston 8GB ECC DDR3 1600
HDD: 4 x WD Red WD20EFRX 2TB

I would like to backup my data (currently 1TB worth) to a 4tb WD Elements USB 3.0 external HDD.

I found another forum post that seems to be what I would like to do, I just want to make sure it's gonna be good enough for a temporary backup. This is what it said to do:

4tb USB disk attached to the freenas machine.
I created a volume via the web ui, formatted with ZFS, mounted it on /mnt/Backup
Then, I ssh'd to the machine. Now, I'm currently running rsync -aEv --progress /mnt/STORAGE/* /mnt/Backup/


Please let me know if I need to supply more info. Also, when I create the new ZFS volume, will it just be a ZDev?

After successfully backing up, I would also like to figure out the best way to Backup my data for the future since USB HDDs don't sound super reliable.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Noctris]

is there a reason why you don't want to hook the usb disk to your desktop and just copy the files with a simple robocopy script ?

I personally would avoid making the backup disk ZFS for the simple reason that in case of serious failure, it will only be readable on a machine running an operating system that can access ZFS ( basically freebsd or linux) making it that much harder to get to your data

 

[depasseg]

What exactly are "your needs"? As Noctris mentioned, if you want to be able to access the files from a Windows machine, just copy them that way.

If you want an exact replica, then get the USB drive setup as a new ZFS pool and use replication.

 

[josh.0]

Well, I wanted to do a backup ASAP, and an external USB drive is all I have. So, that's what I meant by my needs. It would be nice to just have it on a drive formatted with NTFS, but when I was reading posts on this forum, it seemed to be a bad idea. I'm currently running a long SMART test on my external HDD to make sure it's good to go.

As for robocopy, I'm not really sure how to do that. Do, I need to on the FreeNAS side, or is it done completely through robocopy on Windows?

 

[depasseg]

It's only 1tb, so I would just use windows. You could even just copy and paste folders.

 

[josh.0]

Okay, I guess that's what I'll do for now. But, for the future, what are some better ways of backing up. Would it be better to connect a HDD through SATA in my Windows PC and use robocopy (as opposed to using a USB HDD)?

 

[Noctris]

Robocopy runs on the windows side of things. There is a gui tool which gives you all options and let's you safe this to a script in the end. You can then schedule as a scheduled task on windows and run it nightly for example

Check https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx

Apparently there is also a newer tool called RichCopy which allows you to save jobs. However it's not clear to me if you can run them on a specific time:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx

Connecting the disk through sata would defintely speed things up a bit. Downside is you can't take the disk out with you ( a backup is good but if the place burns down with both copies in it, you are still screwed).

As alternative ( cause i noticed you just got "backup itch") why use an usb disk ? Look into crashplan, which could make an offsite backup with worries and hasle of having to check scripts and backups AND you can restore anywhere

Side question: you mention 4 disk: how are they configured ? Is this RaidZ1 , 2, 3 ?

second Freenas build is great, but you might want to put that offsite somewhere. As mentioned: when the building goes, you backup AND data goes.

 

[josh.0]

Yes! I definitely have "backup itch"... A lesser important drive in my PC started clicking this week then slowed my PC to a crawl, then was not showing up in My Computer. I almost lost everything on it - I ended up freezing it and slamming against it's side - and now it's working fine again (for the meantime). It didn't have anything too important on it, so I took the reckless approach, but I did recovered almost all the data from it.

So, I want to make sure my important stuff is backed up. And, I definitely should look into Crashplan.

My FreeNAS system has all my work related stuff, and I just want to make sure I don't ever lose it.

 

[Noctris]

If it really is that important: take it offsite with something like crashplan or a rotating disk you take home. Another remark. Without meaning any insult, from what i understand, you are not really an IT Guy. It's cool you want to do all of this on your own. But you might want to have someone with some experience take a second look. In case of failure you don't want to discover your backup hasn't been working for a while now or you tought it worked while it didn't.

I noticed you edited the post saying you don't know the raid level. When looking at the freenas interface. Do you have 8Tb ( more or less) 6tb or 4TB at your disposal ?

 

[josh.0]

Oh, ya, sorry forgot to answer that. I have 4tb of storage. It's RAID10, I believe.

And, ya, I have no clue what I'm doing. I did think about trying to hire someone to look at it. But, I don't really know how to go about doing that. I'm in Chicago, so I would imagine someone here could help. But, my google search for "FreeNAS expert chicago" didn't really lead me anywhere.

 

[gpsguy]

You could also put something like the Vantec EZ Swap 4 3.5" Aluminum Removable Trayless SATA Hard Drive Rack With LCD and Fan in your Windows machine and backup to it. I have one in my primary Windows desktop.

Besides being able to backup FreeNAS to it, you might want to use it to backup your Windows machine.

 

[Noctris]

If you have 4TB in your case it could be RaidZ2 or striped mirror. Both allow 2 disks to die, raidZ2 is slightly more safe

In all honesty: what you are asking is not really that "freenas" related. You don't need a freenas expert to accomplish this. Any it guy with a basic understanding of network/nas can accomplish a simple copy. The crashplan plugin might be a bit more tricky and require a bit of freenas knowledge. But don't worry too much that this must be a "freenas" expert. Just look for an it guy you (can) trust

 

[josh.0]

Well, the copying part I'm not really worried about. I am currently running robocopy and backing up the data to my USB HDD like you suggested. But, it would be nice to have someone come in and make sure everything is running smoothly. I set up SMART test tasks today, and I'm trying to learn a little bit, but if a drive fails or I need to expand storage, I would not know how to do that.

I got it in my head that I needed to backup my data, and I looked here on these forums, and there were so many options, I simply got a little overwhelmed. But, I'm gonna see how this robocopy goes, and maybe it'll give me a little peace of mind.

 

[gpsguy]

Directions for expanding storage can be found in the documentation. If you prefer a PDF version of it, you can download a copy from a link in my signature. Likewise, if a drive failed, just follow the instructions to replace a drive, in the documentation.

Since you are not quite sure how your pool is configured, go into the shell (either from the server console, the webGUI, or SSH into it) and type zpool status. If you're not familiar with SSH, the easiest way to show us the results might be to take a picture of it and post it with your message.

 

[josh.0]

 

[Bidule0hm]

First I recommend to read the manual, pretty much everything (including replacing a failing drive) is explained ;)

Then I recommend to read the links "Terminology and Abbreviations", "Cyberjock's ZFS Guide" and "The FAQ" in my signature.

Edit: well gpsguy has been faster...

 

[gpsguy]

Your pool is configured with striped mirrors.

ps. BiduleOhm is probably tired, since it's nearly 3AM in France.;)

 

[Bidule0hm]

I'm never tired \0/

I'm a night bird...

Edit: I'll change my profil status... done.

 

[josh.0]

gpsguy: Thanks for the suggestion about the Vantec HDD Rack, I think I'll end up getting it.

BiduleOhm: Thanks for pointing me to that reading material, it definitely pointed out several terminology errors I've made so far. Hopefully I will be able to wrap my head around this stuff one day.

Two things:

1. I use Kingston RAM with an X10 Supermicro MB. So, I should never put 4 slots of Kingston in my MB? If I upgrade, will I have to buy all new RAM?
2. If I ever reconfigure, should I switch to RAIDZ2?

Now, onto my backup... I got a lot of Error 5 messages. So, it wasn't too successful. I'll try to read more up on what to do.

Thanks everyone for all the help so far!

 

[Ericloewe]

1. I use Kingston RAM with an X10 Supermicro MB. So, I should never put 4 slots of Kingston in my MB? If I upgrade, will I have to buy all new RAM?

It's safer to use Hynix modules as the last two. I think the details are in the Supermicro X10 FAQ.

2. If I ever reconfigure, should I switch to RAIDZ2?

RAIDZ2 is the safer option. Striped mirrors are faster. Depends on your needs.