Updating a system

[JasonP123456]

I have a freenas system that has been working very good for my needs. It is in a raidz2 configuration with 4 drives. I recently updated the 1TB drives to 3TB's. This is a Plex system and general data backup. I am now down to 1.5TB left and have been researching and see I can reuse those 1TB's, by adding another RaidZ2 Vdev to the existing pool to add space (that extra 1.8TB's will be a lot for now). I only filled the disks up quickly due to ripping my DVD's and adding them to the system. Now that is done, the data won't be increasing at any substantial rate. Now to what I have:
--FreeNAS 11.2
--MB- MCP69 M2+ https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=370#specification
--CPU- AMD X4 635 (I think it is the c2 version if that matters) https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Athlon-II-635-2-9GHz/dp/B0035K4X28
--8MB ddr3 - Corsair 2 sticks of 4MB (I know the specs on the present board show ddr2 only, but this IS what is in there. the link is to my previous order. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZDJ42O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
--4x 3TB WD blues
-- LAN card https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PTB6WL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
-- PS is a 500 watt (it will be upgraded!!!)
-- Boot disk is a 8GB usb stick. I know it is not the safest way. I'm sorry. I apologize.
-- I don't know the case but it is a mid tower and I can easily fit 9-10 drives in it. It was designed to fit 4x 3.5 HD's, 4x IDE DVD drives, and two floppies in it.

The present board only has the one PCIe slot but is used by the LAN card. On-board LAN is a 10/100 hence the add on card.
-I can upgrade to this board reusing CPU and RAM- ASRock N68c-GS FX https://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/N68C-GS FX/
This gets me on-board LAN 10/100/1000 and an open PCIe x16 slot.
-Add in a IBM LSI SAS9220-8i M1015 46M0861 (IT mode of course) https://www.amazon.com/IBM-46M0861-...&qid=1555300662&s=electronics&sr=1-1-fkmrnull
-Use some SATA breakout cables like these to use those 4x 1TB drives. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116098
-Later, use some SAS breakout cables like these. https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matter...nics&sprefix=mini+sas+,electronics,180&sr=1-3 I have a 3TB SAS drive I bought without reading the fine print.
-Later, I can move into one of those faux 6 core CPU's that use the AM3+ socket.
-If needed, later add another PCIe card to the x1 slot. I've seen some x1 cards to get two more SATA ports.

I can do all but the "Later's" for about $100 plus the cost of a bigger PS.
Again, I am happy with the existing performance. I just want to have more storage space.
-Does my logic seem sound?
-If I use that 3TB SAS, can I add it to the existing RaidZ2 pool with the SATA 3TB's so it has 5x 3TB's in a RaidZ2 and without recreating that entire Vdev? (I know the SAS will run at the slower SATA speed)
-Would I even need to upgrade the CPU if I have no performance problems now? i.e. Will these upgrades use more CPU?
-Are there any issues to having two different sized Vdev's in the same pool?
Yes, I know. Fans, fans, fans. That HBA may even get its own fan as I read they do get warm.

In advance, Thank you very much for the input.

 

[Chris Moore]

I apologize up front that I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked to read and respond to your questions.

LAN card https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PTB6WL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You should bring your existing network card over to the new system board. The Realtek interface on the new board is not a good one. The brand is generally very poorly supported in FreeBSD. It would work, but slowly.

-Does my logic seem sound?

I think you might want to consider moving to newer/better hardware, because your hardware is very old, even with the upgrade which is more of a lateral move to different than a real upgrade, and it isn't the best as far as compatibility with FreeNAS goes. Still, it should work

-If I use that 3TB SAS, can I add it to the existing RaidZ2 pool with the SATA 3TB's so it has 5x 3TB's in a RaidZ2 and without recreating that entire Vdev?

No, you can't expand an existing vdev at this time. Work is being done that may change that in the future, but it is not available yet.

-Would I even need to upgrade the CPU if I have no performance problems now? i.e. Will these upgrades use more CPU?

The upgrade of your storage capacity shouldn't make a difference in performance. But I would suggest putting all the drives on the SAS controller. I just like it better than way than having a mix of SATA and SAS connectivity and in my experience it performs better.

-Are there any issues to having two different sized Vdev's in the same pool?

No. The "size" of the vdev is the number of disks in the vdev. What you are suggesting, two vdevs that with the same number of disks but the disks are different capacity, that is fine. I have done that myself when I was upgrading at different times.

I would suggest a different SAS controller from a vendor I have bought from and I know they will deliver it already flashed with the correct firmware:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-H200-6Gbps-SAS-HBA-LSI-9210-8i-9211-8i-P20-IT-Mode-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID/163142320696
It is basically the same but fabricated by Dell. The big reason for the suggestion is that I trust the vendor to deliver the correct firmware.

 

[Chris Moore]

-Use some SATA breakout cables like these to use those 4x 1TB drives. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816116098

PS. For less money, you can get a pair of those cables here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Mini-SAS-to-4-SATA-SFF-8087-Multi-Lane-Forward-Breakout-Internal-Cable/371681252206

 

[Chris Moore]

-If needed, later add another PCIe card to the x1 slot. I've seen some x1 cards to get two more SATA ports.

Also, once you have a SAS controller, you can use a SAS expander to add many more drives all connected to the one controller card. No need for more controllers. Here is a card I have used at work:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/RES2CV360-INTEL-36-PORT-6G-SAS-EXPANDER-BOARD-FOR-INTEL-R1000-R2000-TYPE-SERVERS/132665195104
or this one that is a bit less expensive:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-SAS-Expander-CARD-DELL-PN-5R10N-010141900-000-G/372129423450

 

[JasonP123456]

Chris,
Thank you very much for your input and those links. I forgot about the Realtek LAN issues, hence, why I chose that Intel LAN in the first place. (A lapse of memory that I needed jump started.) I will use it. I did change my mind on the MB. I am gong with a Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Rev:2.0. https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-870A-UD3-rev-20#ov
It has the SATA3 vs the other MB having only SATA2. That way, I can get away from the USB boot and utilize a pair of small mirrored SSD's for boot and safety. It also will allow me to get to 16MB of ram if needed. I'll run the 8 HD's off of the HSA to keep that field the same. The SAS expansion is an awesome item that I didn't know about. I did research it. Just cable the HSA to the expansion, breakout cables to the drives, power it, and go. I take it that the expander works just like a network hub does. That less expensive one looks like it will link more drives than I will ever be spinning. I'll keep that one in mind when I get to 9+ drives. By that time, I will be looking at a true upgrade to the MB/CPU.
I know FreeNAS is like a Cadillac with all the bells and whistles; with it being best to be powered by a V8 or, better, a V12 twin turbo. I have just a 4 cylinder now. This all started as an experiment with an old desktop I had laying around, a YouTube video, and a few hours of time. To be quite honest, I am very surprised on how smoothly it has been running for me so far.
Again, thanks for all the info.

 

[Chris Moore]

I take it that the expander works just like a network hub does.

More like a network switch, but yes, that is the basic idea.

Again, thanks for all the info.

You are very welcome. Let us know if you have any questions.