time for some change

[JohnK]

It has been years since I've been here and so much has changed! The two systems listed in my signature has been rock solid for years, granted I only turn on my backup server every few months to rsync my data.

As I no longer have space for a full-size server rack, I am looking to downsize to something smaller and hopefully quieter and I'm considering my options. With that said, I do have three questions:

1. Is there any urgent reason to upgrade my current FreeNas versions? I like to leave things alone rather than break them

2. Let say I go with TrueNas on my new system, will there be any problem keeping my backup (very likely my current main) on FreeNas, considering that I would like to rsync between the two?

3. Is it possible to run ESXI on TrueNas hardware? Yes, I understand the need for passing through drives etc . I currently run Nextcloud, Plex, and a windows server on VMs. I do not like using jails as it has aged me unnecessarily.. I note it has limited Cores, but none of my VMs working that hard and I seldom transcode anything..

 

[JohnK]

It has been years since I've been here and so much has changed! The two systems listed in my signature has been rock solid for years, granted I only turn on my backup server every few months to rsync my data.

As I no longer have space for a full-size server rack, I am looking to downsize to something smaller and hopefully quieter and I'm considering my options. With that said, I do have three questions:

1. Is there any urgent reason to upgrade my current FreeNas versions? I like to leave things alone rather than break them

2. Let say I go with TrueNas on my new system, will there be any problem keeping my backup (very likely my current main) on FreeNas, considering that I would like to rsync between the two?

3. Is it possible to run ESXI on TrueNas hardware? Yes, I understand the need for passing through drives etc . I currently run Nextcloud, Plex, and a windows server on VMs. I do not like using jails as it has aged me unnecessarily.. I note it has limited Cores, but none of my VMs working that hard and I seldom transcode anything..

ok, so after some digging on the forum, I think that I can answer my own questions.
1. Leaving FreeNas alone on my primary server and will upgrade my backup server. Not a big deal there if I break things and can easily roll back.
2. People seem to get rsync to work between the two, so no problem there.
3. After doing a lot of research here, it is probably possible, but I might be better off building from scratch, unless I can get past my issues with jails/plugins...

 

[Arwen]

Just be aware that a new version of TrueNAS has pool features enabled that would prevent the old FreeNAS from importing the TrueNAS pool. Not a problem if you use "rsync" between them. But, if you use ZFS send & receive, that probably won't work.

In theory, you can create a pool on TrueNAS that is compatible with your old FreeNAS. But, it's not something that is straight forward on TrueNAS.

 

[JohnK]

Just be aware that a new version of TrueNAS has pool features enabled that would prevent the old FreeNAS from importing the TrueNAS pool. Not a problem if you use "rsync" between them. But, if you use ZFS send & receive, that probably won't work.

In theory, you can create a pool on TrueNAS that is compatible with your old FreeNAS. But, it's not something that is straight forward on TrueNAS.

thank you, I will surely take that into consideration. I generally use ZFS send&receive for bulk movement and rsync for continuous backups, but do foresee using ZFS s&r for moving to new drives.

 

[JohnK]

thank you, I will surely take that into consideration. I generally use ZFS send&receive for bulk movement and rsync for continuous backups, but do foresee using ZFS s&r for moving to new dQui

Quick update.

So, I first upgraded my Backup server to TrueNas with absolutely no problems other than RSYNC from FreeNas to TrueNas no longer worked! After a few hours troubleshooting, I took the plunge and after taking snapshots etc, upgraded my main Server, once again with no issues!

RSYNC now back up and running!

So that completely answers 1 and 2. Decided to stay on current hardware and first just upgrade my disks, maybe get a smaller enclosed server rack to muffle the 836's fan noise.