Moving server to new computer with more drives.

[RandomNameAndNumber]

My current freenas setup is a 2x2tb hdd installation. The computer I want to use only has 2 working sata power connections, so I am stuck with 2 physical drives. (HP dc 5800 mini)
I am looking to move the entire installation to a newer model (HP dc 8200) which allows for 4 physical drives.
My question:

Can I move the drives over + add the new drives and expect this server to maintain the same basic settings? By basic, Only I and my wife have access to the files. If not, what process would I use to migrate?

Another easy option would be to get a new PSU. Basically I broke one of the sata connectors, and the simple fix at the time was to electrical tape it up so it didn't short inside of the case...it is time either way. I could just splice a new sata connection into it as well. But for the $20-30 for a replacement PSU, It too would be an easy fix.

I guess since I am talking about it, would adding new hard drives to the system cause me issues, or would the system copy data and rebuild itself with 4x 2tb hdds?

 

[sretalla]

The rebuild you mention while adding drives isn't going to work exactly as you expect.

Do you have any redundancy or are the 2 disks you have just in a stripe?

Theory says a transfer to a new box is no issue, but you will need more research on how you want to proceed with the additional disks to avoid disappointment.

 

[Stux]

The configuration and drives should transplant with only minor issues. Namely you might need to reconfigure the network settings in the console.

Once you have the system transplanted then you can add the new drives as a new vdev to the existing pool quite easily.

 

[RandomNameAndNumber]

Do you have any redundancy or are the 2 disks you have just in a stripe?

They are redundant using ZFS. So my 2x 2tb drives only offer 2tb of storage currently. I NEED redundancy because I am storing things like family photos and music on them. The amount we have is enough that I don't dare risk loss. I only have about 1tb used...but there is no way for me to back this up anywhere. My main gaming pc has a 500gb ssd, and it is half full.

The configuration and drives should transplant with only minor issues.

Would it just be easier to fix the PSU plug, and add the drives to the current server? Would the current server build itself using ZFS and establish redundancy?

I just poked around on the net, and found plenty of PSUs that are working for $20. My main computer monitor is a GDM-FW900, and I am using the newer I5 pc as a monitor riser. It isn't even plugged in lol. I would hate to have to lift this monitor just to remove the riser. Not even kidding, it may be worth it to me just to spend $20 and get a new PSU. I don't trust Sata power splitters, as I had one catch on fire one day. I refuse to chance something like that again.

 

[SavageAUS]

They are redundant using ZFS. So my 2x 2tb drives only offer 2tb of storage currently. I NEED redundancy because I am storing things like family photos and music on them. The amount we have is enough that I don't dare risk loss. I only have about 1tb used...but there is no way for me to back this up anywhere. My main gaming pc has a 500gb ssd, and it is half full.


Would it just be easier to fix the PSU plug, and add the drives to the current server? Would the current server build itself using ZFS and establish redundancy?

I just poked around on the net, and found plenty of PSUs that are working for $20. My main computer monitor is a GDM-FW900, and I am using the newer I5 pc as a monitor riser. It isn't even plugged in lol. I would hate to have to lift this monitor just to remove the riser. Not even kidding, it may be worth it to me just to spend $20 and get a new PSU. I don't trust Sata power splitters, as I had one catch on fire one day. I refuse to chance something like that again.

When it comes to data that you “cannot” lose or is “irreplaceable” then you shouldnt mess around with dodgy power supplies. Do it once, do it right.
If your wanting to add another vdev to your current pool then that’s easy, just add the hard drives to the server and configure them the way you want. If you want to add them to your current vdev then you will need to copy off all the data you have now to somewhere else, destroy the 2 drive pool and recreate a new 4 or how ever many drives pool then copy the data back.
I would also suggest for your irreplaceable data that you store it in more than one place. 3 2 1 rule. Never have data that can’t be replaced in one place.


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[RandomNameAndNumber]

shouldn't mess around with dodgy power supplies

The psu is solid. I just broke the SATA power plug because it got twisted while attempting to close the drive. The plug is still there, but the plastic housing on it broke off.

Never have data that can’t be replaced in one place.

I may have to just settle for 3 drives in the server. My reasoning is that I have 2x extra 2tb hdd. I think you are making good sense with this concept. Technically there is backups of EVERYTHING that is critical, but there is a pile of games that I have collected over the years that are somewhat irreplaceable due to the nature of the internet and things vanishing. I will use one of the 2tb as a single drive inside of my primary PC for now, and just add the 3rd one to the NAS server. Since I have 3 sata plugs that are still good, this would hold me over for the time being,a nd the be the best use of the 2 excess hard drives I bought to store data on.

Thanks!

 

[RandomNameAndNumber]

I finally got around to adding that 3rd 2tb HDD. Man, what a headache. I am at the point where I just want to totally delete everything and start from scratch.

I created boot media, and got into the web console, and it will not allow me to rebuild a ZFS drive from all 3, and it seems to have something to do with my previous configuration.

I am trying to figure it out, but I really just want to blow it all up, because as @sretalla said in his first post here, it is not working as I expected.

*Adding*

I managed to delete the Volume manager, but it still will not allow me to wipe the drives.

 

[SavageAUS]

I finally got around to adding that 3rd 2tb HDD. Man, what a headache. I am at the point where I just want to totally delete everything and start from scratch.

I created boot media, and got into the web console, and it will not allow me to rebuild a ZFS drive from all 3, and it seems to have something to do with my previous configuration.

I am trying to figure it out, but I really just want to blow it all up, because as @sretalla said in his first post here, it is not working as I expected.

*Adding*

I managed to delete the Volume manager, but it still will not allow me to wipe the drives.

If your just wanting to wipe the drives can you boot a live Linux USB and wipe them that way?


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[RandomNameAndNumber]

If your just wanting to wipe the drives can you boot a live Linux USB and wipe them that way?

One of the drives is REFUSING to wipe. It keeps kicking out an error. I have only restarted the system a few times. I am getting pretty frustrated lol.

Code:

Traceback:
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/django/core/handlers/exception.py" in inner
  42.			 response = get_response(request)
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/django/core/handlers/base.py" in _legacy_get_response
  249.			 response = self._get_response(request)
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/django/core/handlers/base.py" in _get_response
  178.			 response = middleware_method(request, callback, callback_args, callback_kwargs)
File "./freenasUI/freeadmin/middleware.py" in process_view
  162.		 return login_required(view_func)(request, *view_args, **view_kwargs)
File "/usr/local/lib/python3.6/site-packages/django/contrib/auth/decorators.py" in _wrapped_view
  23.				 return view_func(request, *args, **kwargs)
File "./freenasUI/storage/views.py" in disk_wipe
  864.				 notifier().disk_wipe(devname, form.cleaned_data['method'])
File "./freenasUI/middleware/notifier.py" in disk_wipe
  3639.					 "Failed to wipe %s: %s" % (devname, err)

Exception Type: MiddlewareError at /storage/disks/wipe/ada1/
Exception Value: [MiddlewareError: Failed to wipe ada1: dd: /dev/ada1: Operation not permitted
]

 

[file_haver]

I have moved my drives from one freenas machine to another. All you need to do is have your config saved somewhere safe and expect to have to reset the network settings if the new machine has different ethernet.

 

[RandomNameAndNumber]

Had an ULTRA busy day. I had to use windows setup to delete partitions from the discs to get them to clear. I don't know why, and I almost don't want to find out. I did manage to get it taken care of, and set back up again, but I did have to clear all of the drives to do exactly what I wanted, which was a raid setup with redundancy. Nothing was going right yesterday at all, including a nearly 2 hour car ride to save my mother-in-law from a blown up car radiator. Wife and kids were with her, so I was totally obligated to take care of it. This was all going on while I was trying to get the drives setup. It gets easier every time. I am becoming more familiar with FreeNAS. I have some issues with flash drives that were freeNAS OS drives. Windows hates them, and instead of throwing out another one, I did find a way to clear them off. It takes a while, but it is worth it.