Move Zpool and Volumes from old FreeNAS to New FreeNAS

[Chris Routh]

I'm guessing I'm missing something simple here. I expected to find an existing post on this but haven't managed to get an answer related directly to moving an array and it's data from from and old FreeNAS server to a new one with a new install.

I used Zpool export on server 1 and then move the drives into server 2. I ran 'zpool import Datastore1' on server 2 and the Zpool was detected and imported. I cannot see the ZFS volume however. Import does not detect it. Is there a file I need to copy from server 1? Is there something I should have done to export the volume before exporting the pool on server 1?

 

[depasseg]

So you imported it using the CLI? You should use the GUI. Export it from the CLI and then use the GUI to import.

 

[Chris Routh]

Interesting. I will try that. Do you know what commands the gui runs that Ive missed?

 

[depasseg]

Yeah, all the ones that add the pool info into the FreeNAS database.

No, sorry, I don't know. If you mount using the CLI, your pool and datasets should be available at /mnt/whatever but FreeNAS doesn't import the pool and dataset configuration into it's environment.

 

[joeschmuck]

You know the simple way to have done that would have been to just move the drives, power up the new machine and autoimport the pool. No exporting required.

 

[DrKK]

Interesting. I will try that. Do you know what commands the gui runs that Ive missed?

No, that's not the issue.

What the issue is, is that if you run it from the CLI, then the GUI will not have recorded this fact in its database, see. So the GUI is unaware.