RAID type to choose for 4+3 12TB HDD up to 15

[Senect]

Hi guys this is my first NAS that I'm building, my specs are:
Case: Rosewill RSV-L4500
Motherboard: Supermicro X9SCM
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1270 V2
RAM: 32GB DDR3 ECC
Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro M2 520W
SAS HBA: LSI 9201-8i + HP SAS Expander CARD 24-port
Network: Mellanox MNPA19-XTR X2 (1 inside the NAS, 1 inside the main Desktop for direct link)
HDD: 4x 12TB Enterprise Toshiba HDD (empty HDD for initial setup) + 3x 12TB Enterprise Seagate HDD (they are inside my desktop and they are full of data)
SSD: 128GB Samsung for OS install + 500GB Samsung for cache, both are connected to the main board.

So my question is what kind of RAID type should I use?
Keep in mind that the initial setup will have only 4x12TB HDD and after I transfer files from my desktop to the initial pool I will add the 3x12TB HDD from my PC to the NAS and in the future I will add up the remaining HDDs to reach the max the Rosewill RSV-L4500 allow (15 HDD)

If anyone have a suggestion on what to choose and how to set up, I'm pretty new to the NAS world so bear it mind..

Thanks.

 

[StoreMore]

If you care about your data I always recommend at least RAIDZ2 which requires a minimum of 4 drives. However, this will limit your max as you'll only be able to have 12 drives in your case as you'd really need 16 but your case is limited to 15.

I guess the best way to architect your pool would be to buy 1 more drive up front that way you'll start with a 5 drive Z2 array and then be able to add 2 more 5 drive vdevs to the pool for the total of 15.

 

[blanchet]

For home users, mirror vdevs are probably the best choice, because it gives the best future expansion,
https://jrs-s.net/2015/02/06/zfs-you-should-use-mirror-vdevs-not-raidz/

 

[StoreMore]

For a home users mirror vdevs are probably the best choice, because it gives the best future expansion,
https://jrs-s.net/2015/02/06/zfs-you-should-use-mirror-vdevs-not-raidz/

Good point depending on how many drives you plan to add at a time.

If you care about your data I always recommend at least RAIDZ2 which requires a minimum of 4 drives. However, this will limit your max as you'll only be able to have 12 drives in your case as you'd really need 16 but your case is limited to 15.

I guess the best way to architect your pool would be to buy 1 more drive up front that way you'll start with a 5 drive Z2 array and then be able to add 2 more 5 drive vdevs to the pool for the total of 15.

I laid out several more scenarios for you based on your specific situation which holds a maximum of 15 drives. There is also 2 videos which give great detail on details of RAIDZ and ZFS MIRRORS. I hope this helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AnkHc7N0zM (great video detail details of RAIDZ capacity, integrity, & performance)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuUh3bkzaKE (excellent detail comparing RAIDZ & ZFS MIRRORS)

ZFS Mirrors
capacity of 7 drives + (possible hotspare or cache drive)

RAIDZ2 (adding in groups of 5 drives)
capacity of 9 drives (ability to lose up to 6 drives, only 2 per vdev)

RAIDZ3 (adding all 15 drives at once)
capacity of 12 drives - ability to lose up to 3 drives