unraid disks and retain data

[imthenachoman]

My parents have a FreeNAS server that was built for them. The system has gone to crap. I cannot boot from USB, if I try to do transfer from it the system crashes, if I do a du - sh (from a shell via the web or SSH) it freezes. I don't have time to try to figure out what is wrong and I am not experienced with FreeNAS.

My hope is I could some how "unraid" the disks in it and retain data on specific disks so I could just unplug the disks and plug them into another computer I have. The other computer only has 2 SATA ports so I cannot move all the disks at one time.

The system has 5 disks:

• ada0 - 80 GB
• ada1 - 2 TB
• ada2 - 2 TB
• ada3 - 2 TB
• ada4 - 2 TB

I do not know what the right terms are but I see 4 volumes in the storage tab:

Code:

| Name		  | Used		  | Available | Compression   | Compression Ratio | Status  | Readonly	  | Comments |
|---------------|---------------|-----------|---------------|-------------------|---------|---------------|----------|
| backup		| 3.6 TiB (49%) | 3.7 TiB   | -			 | -				 | HEALTHY |			   |		  |
|	 backup	| 2.6 TiB (51%) | 2.5 TiB   | lz4		   | 1.18x			 | -	   | inherit (off) |		  |
|		 one   | 1.3 TiB (33%) | 2.5 TiB   | inherit (lz4) | 1.18x			 | -	   | inherit (off) |		  |
|		 two   | 1.8 GiB (0%)  | 2.5 TiB   | inherit (lz4) | 1.16x			 | -	   | inherit (off) |		  |
|		 three | 1.3 TiB (35%) | 2.5 TiB   | inherit (lz4) | 1.18x			 | -	   | inherit (off) |		  |
|		 four  | 4.5 GiB (0%)  | 2.5 TiB   | inherit (lz4) | 1.61x			 | -	   | inherit (off) |		  |

If I click on the first backup and check volume status this is what I see:

Code:

backup
	raidz1-0
		ada4p2
		ada3p2
		ada2p2
		ada1p2		

Since one, two, three, four, are all smaller than 2 TB, I thought I could some how "unraid" the disks and put the data in those volumes/folders/??? into different disks.

The end goal is being able to plug each disk, one at a time, into another computer to get the data off of it.

 

[kdragon75]

Nope. RAID spreads the data across the disks plus the checksum. This is what makes it resilient to failure of any drive while still being able to detect errors. If you can move the disks to another system all at once, you can install FreeNAS to a new drive and import the volume. Its not hard, you just need a system with 4 sata ports as you can boot from USB. Take a look at the user guide for help on the install and import process.
http://doc.freenas.org/
One point of warning, ok two actually. When you install the new system, leave the disks disconnected to avoid formatting the wrong disk. The second point of warning is that once you have installed the new system and have the drives connected, EXIT THE SETUP WIZARD. Again DO NOT USE THE SETUP WIZARD. With that, as long as you can read and follow the simple instructions in the user guide, you should have smooth sailing.

 

[imthenachoman]

I don't have a spare system is the problem. I'll see what I can do.

And, if I can get a spare system with 4 SATA ports, when you say do not use the setup wizard, I can still use the import wizard from the web interface, right? Boot FreeNAS from USB > install to same USB > plug in 4 SATA drives > exit setup wizard > import volumes. Right?

 

[kdragon75]

Boot FreeNAS from USB > install to same USB

That won't work... you can't erase the disk and then copy files from it. You will need two USB drives or you can burn the ISO to a CD/DVD.

plug in 4 SATA drives > exit setup wizard > import volumes. Right?

That SHOULD do. If it will not import there are a few commands to run but it's simple.

 

[kdragon75]

You can also just get an HBA card for the extra ports. You need to have enough power cables too then.

 

[imthenachoman]

You can also just get an HBA card for the extra ports. You need to have enough power cables too then.

Trying to minimize cost. And I'd have no need for anything I buy after I'm done getting the data so...

 

[imthenachoman]

That won't work... you can't erase the disk and then copy files from it. You will need two USB drives or you can burn the ISO to a CD/DVD.

That SHOULD do. If it will not import there are a few commands to run but it's simple.

Thanks! Now to find two USB sticks. :)

 

[Chris Moore]

I do not know what the right terms are but I see 4 volumes in the storage tab:

You really must learn the terms so you are able to communicate:

Slideshow explaining VDev, zpool, ZIL and L2ARC
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...ning-vdev-zpool-zil-and-l2arc-for-noobs.7775/

Terminology and Abbreviations Primer
https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/terminology-and-abbreviations-primer.28174/

Why not to use RAID-5 or RAIDz1
https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-raid-5-stops-working-in-2009/

 

[imthenachoman]

Thanks! I was just trying to get data recovered from FreeNAS because I am not really looking to use it permanently so I didn't have the time to invest learning the necessary terminology. I was able to get the data off so my needs are resolved. If I do plan on using FreeNAS in the future I will be sure to learn the terms.