Moving an existing ZFS to new hardware

[bobbob1016]

I'm likely going to go from my current setup to a new build. Going from non-ECC to ECC, the whole deal. Would I be correct in assuming I can just take my current drives and flash drive with FreeNAS and plug them in to the new machine? I'm going from an Intel x86-64 chip to an Atom based one (http://www.asrockrack.com/general/productdetail.asp?Model=C2750D4I#). Not sure if the FreeNAS I have installed would have the right kernel basically.

I'd prefer to move the existing drives/install as I have my plugins setup the easily, and would prefer not to have to reinstall/reconfigure them all.

 

[L]

Yes, you should be able to save off your config, detach your pool, install on new hardware, apply config, then import the pool.

 

[bobbob1016]

Yes, you should be able to save off your config, detach your pool, install on new hardware, apply config, then import the pool.

Ok, basically meaning, I install FreeNAS on the new hardware, and import the config. Not just plug and play the flash drive.

Edit: I realized that could be read as me being snarky. I wasn't trying to be. Just wanted to make sure I was understanding correctly. Thanks for the help!

 

[danb35]

Most likely you could simply plug-and-play the flash drive. Download config, fresh install, upload config is the "safe" answer.

 

[L]

The core of the install also includes a mapping of the physical hardware. The image you have installed on the old server might not contain all of the correct devices/drivers for the new hardware platform.

 

[cyberjock]

Yes, you should be able to save off your config, detach your pool, install on new hardware, apply config, then import the pool.

You don't need to do any of this. Simply take the USB boot stick and your pool drives and put them in the new machine. Everything with automagically work.

 

[alpaca]

Currently running 9.2.1.9 and thinking about a new server, and running 9.3 on it. Can I just save config, detach pool and physically move the disks over to the new box and import the pool/config?

 

[Oko]

Currently running 9.2.1.9 and thinking about a new server, and running 9.3 on it. Can I just save config, detach pool and physically move the disks over to the new box and import the pool/config?

IMHO you are pooling the Devil for the tail. 9.3 is not a small evolutionary release of FreeNAS. It is rather very dramatical departure from 9.2.xxx branch with bunch of significant changes. For starters OS is now being installed on ZFS not UFS. That alone would made me think twice. IIRC the ZFS pool version on 9.3 is also updated.

Just out of curiosity what is real motivation for "upgrade"and what problem(s) are you trying to solve with 9.3? If it is just to replace 9.2.1.9 because it is boring? That is the biggest complement a NAS appliance can get. NAS is suppose to be a boring file cabinet.

 

[alpaca]

I am looking to move from a 24bay to a 36bay chassis and add a second pool of SSD for VM storage using the new/improved ISCSI features of 9.3. Using older x5650 processors in this 24bay and perhaps looking to move to something more power efficient, with some additional PCIE slots. I am sort of leaning towards Rsync-ing the separate datasets over 10Gbe to the new chassis (mirrored vdevs) and then adding the drives from he "old" chassis as additional mirrors and expanding that bulk storage pool.

I'm in the early bits of planning this and snooping for the most effective transition methods.

 

[Oko]

Makes sense now! I would personally export ZFS pool on my old box. Move the disks to the new box. Do the fresh installation on the new box. I would use SSD drive (you can get the small one for $20). Import the pool and recover configuration from my notes. I would personally be scared to import configuration from sqlite. However I will concur that I am not big FreeNAS expert so I hope you get the answer from people who have done this in the past.