Z Pool and VDEV configurations

[thetraveller333]

I just received the last of the components and I'll be attempting a boot up in a few days. This is my setup:

Case: Antec Nine hundred, ATX Mid tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Mother board: ASUS P8Z77-V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131820

Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.4 GHz LGA 1155 77W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502

Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX750
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139016

Hot Swap drive cages: 3X iStarUSA 3X5.25in to 4X3.5in SAS/SATA, model #BPN-DE340SS-Blue
http://www.directron.com/bpnde340ssblue.html

USB stick for OS: Patriot Supersonic Boost XT 8GB USB 2.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220652

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB, dual channel kit DDR3 1600 MHZ
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004E0ZKLQ/?tag=ozlp-20

Hard Drives: 12X WD 3TB Red
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236344

Host Bus Adapter: LSI 9201-16i, PCIe 2.0X8 SATA/SAS HBA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816118142


I'm considering the following configurations and I would love some comments.

I'm not concerned with performance, as much as reliability of data. If option A or B is possible, then I would increase my reliability.... I think.

I would appreciate any advice you could offer.

Option A: 2 Zpools with 1 VDEV each and mirror the 2 Zpools. (total avail. = 12 TB)
Zpool #1 = 1 VDEV of 6 drives in RAID-Z2
Zpool #2 = 1 VDEV of 6 drives in RAID-Z2
Zpool #1 and Zpool #2 are mirrored

Option B: 1 Zpool with 2 VDEV and mirror the 2 VDEVs. (total avail. = 12 TB)
Zpool #1 = VDEV1 of 6 drives in RAID-Z2 and VDEV2 of 6 drives in RAID-Z2, with the 2 VDEVs mirrored.

Option C: 1 Zpool with 2 VDEV but don’t mirror the 2 VDEVs. (total avail. = 24 TB)
Zpool #1 = VDEV1 of 6 drives in RAID-Z2 and VDEV2 of 6 drives in RAID-Z2.

 

[Agent1]

Can you do that???? (option A)? That seems redundantly over redundant.

I am guessing option C for sure.

 

[cyberjock]

Option A is SO overredundant. You'd be better of with a RAIDZ3 than doing mirrors AND RAIDZ2.

Option B... same thing

Option C looks like the best option. If you REALLY want LOTS of redundancy, you can do RAIDZ3 of 7 drives of 2 vdevs.

 

[bollar]

I like redundancy as well. My vote would be for two RAIDz3 pools striped together to coax a little more speed out of the zpool.

 

[jgreco]

Just so you know, two IBM M1015's are significantly cheaper (like as in less than half the price of the controller you suggest). It makes it more possible to maintain a spare controller. I kind of hate magic expensive hard to replace hardware though.

 

[paleoN]

Neither options A or B can be achieved directly. Not to mention you would be better off with 4 x 3-way mirrors for 12TB raw at that point.

I'm a fan of Option C or 2 raidz3 vdevs. Get an L2ARC and/or SLOG if needed to boost performance.