Makes me nervous to use software raid instead of a dedicated hardware raid controller. The pcb of a hardware raid controller is an oftenoverlooked component to the equation. E52603v3 32gb ddr423 non ecc but plan to go ecc when i have an opportunity asrock x99 i7 pro gaming supports rdimms my array is 5x wd 8tb mix of reds and white labels shucked from easystores im torn between raidz2 and raid 10 with an extra disk for backups. This is something of a misconception as all raid is software raid. It has a lot of features that are not suited to freenas. My first freenas build, which will be purely dedicated to freenas. Then the device hdds reached eol and i found how difficult is to extract my valuable data without having the right raid controller.
Mar 20, 2011 the controller that shipped with the enclosure did not support raid 5 in firmware and the embedded controller on my motherboard could not be used with a sata port multiplier. Basically, freenas wants direct access to drives and then creates a softwarestyle raid with all the array, instead of having it controlled by a raid card. Features freenas open source storage operating system. Typically you always want to use a hardware raid controller rather than a software raid controller. All my personal data backup using the following hardware. I understand the raid controller needs to be disabled as freenas wants to do this part. Can i use the jbod option on the raid card, or do i have to buy a normal sas controller for the zfs option.
Also the fact that windows software raid is lols k at best when dealing with 3 spindles. I found a script for freenas that can be scheduled via cron to scrub each zfs pool and send an email of the results. Lets start the hardware vs software raid battle with the hardware side. Selfbuilt nas w freenas and a hardware raid controller guys, i am just starting to do research and spec out a desktop nas freenas but as i read more into it i found that mobo raid controllers i plan to do 4x3tb raid5 are considered evil of all sorts, so they encourage people to get a controller. Top solutions manuals and documents regulatory information videos top solutions. While some hardware raid cards may have a passthrough or jbod mode that simply presents each disk to zfs, the combination of the potential masking of s. Moreover, since this card does not depend on the operating system, you do not have to worry about the operating. It eliminates most, if not all of the shortcomings found in legacy file systems and hardware raid devices. Jun 03, 2018 hello, i want a home server with freenas and a plugin for plex, is this configuration good. You can run a single or several services, completely isolated from your f. For zfs, you do not need a heavy raid engine since parity is managed in software running on cpus. Zfs includes a sophisticated yet efficient strategy for providing various levels of data redundancy, including the mirroring of disk and the zfs equivalents of hardware raid 5 and higher with.
Linux use smartctl to check disk behind adaptec raid controllers. Latest raid experiment virtualbox and freenas 8 tb raid 5. How easy is moving freenas drives from one server to another. Nas set up, hardware raid vs freenas or nas4free h. Freenas suggests a parity arrangement based on the number of available disks, and allows you to override that suggestion with a custom one. Freenas is based on zfs, which is an opensource file system, a raid controller and an enterpriselevel volume manager, which guarantees perfect data integrity. Im still researching freenas and nas4free so i will post my updates here as i go on. He also highlights the advantages of zfsthe file system, raid controller, and volume manager that freenas relies on. Freenas has some advanced configuration options with raidz and raid2z, and the software raid drivers for windows provided by supermicro are awesome, but to keep the playing field as level as possible, raid0 configured through the os was what i chose.
Marvel 9215 sata iii controller two marvell 9215 that can be used for embedded platform applications such as home nasmedia servers, dvrnvr and settop boxes, or vendors can develop their own software raid boxes with freenas. Scsi port cards free delivery possible on eligible purchases. Apr 30, 2007 raid5 is definitely not recommended on a software raid, you can do it but performance is going to definitely suffer. Performance isnt a huge concern but reliability is as this is designed to be a archive. Hardware raid strongly discouraged ixsystems community. Ian turner has a great write up about how he built a freenas server with the adaptec 2610sa raid controller and he uses the aaccli utility for managing the raid controller from the command line.
The controller that shipped with the enclosure did not support raid 5 in firmware and the embedded controller on my motherboard could not be used with a sata port multiplier. Since ive climbed the raid ladder over the years software raid to windows home server to the cheap perc i decided it was time to bite the bullet and get a real raid. Also, it is flashed with it firmware already so it will act as a simple hba and work with freenas. Freenas openfiler microsoft iscsi performance shootout. Ive been running freebsd for a while now, and finally want to venture into using raid with freebsd.
Im trying to determine what raid controllers will be compatible with esxi and possibly provide passthrough, so that i can use freenas as my file server. I want to add a raid 5 array to my freebsd server, and cant exactly afford a hardware controller at the moment. Even though were using a bunch of hard drives, freenas doesnt use a raid hardware controller. Low profile cards are generally used in 2u systems, but can be found in larger systems also. Or a hardware raid controller that supports online expansion and has a triple parity raid, or at least raid60 support.
I bought this controller to replace an old perc 5i controller i use in my linux server ubuntu 10. But in freenass case, ive also read you should let freenas. I want a two drive fail recovery, raid 6 or what ever freenas uses for that. You dont need a controller for that and you can use your motherboard sata ports to build the volumes. I tried to use the 9650se 24m8 but since it is pcie 1. I found a script for freenas that can be scheduled via cron to scrub. Im currently looking at either a 3ware or a areca raid controller to do raid56 using freenas with the zfs filesystem. Zfs is an enterpriseready open source file system, raid controller, and volume manager with unprecedented flexibility and an uncompromising commitment to data integrity. Im going to pulling out the smaller capacity dell sas enterprise drives that came with the machine and using the wd reds with the ibm m1015 crossflashed firmware to it mode for.
So zfs software raid set up as x compared to adapter controller z setup as y, for example. Hi, if you want to check if your raid controller is compatible with your esxi build, you need to check the vmware hardware compatibility list here. If freenas utilizes zfs software raid controller, then you would want to avoid a hardware raid controller. When i built this project i had this running on a p3 motherboard which died on me.
Jul 10, 2017 so how hard is it to crash and kill a freenas 11 zfs raid z1 array. The reds are designed to be used in nas devices, but throwing them on a hardware raid. Raidz, the software raid that is part of zfs, offers single parity redundancy equivalent to raid 5, but without the traditional write hole vulnerability thanks to the copyonwrite architecture of zfs. Home tips freenas server with adaptec 2610sa raid controller freenas server with adaptec 2610sa raid controller.
I know both the dell and ibm raid controllers will report a failed jbod disk to the os. The wd red is not a good choice for a hardware raid controller. Jun 21, 2016 im still researching freenas and nas4free so i will post my updates here as i go on. In a hardware raid setup, the drives connect to a special raid controller inserted in a fast pciexpress pcie slot in a motherboard. That means a real raid controller, not a fakeraid card, which is no better than software raid, usually even worse. If youre using a hardware raid controller, it has its own independent operating. Freenas setup, hardware raid or zfs array spiceworks. Aug 16, 2018 setting up freenas, a popular opensource network attached storage nas solution, is not a difficult task. Then in raidz1 it will take your four disks and stripe across them exactly the same as raid5. Jul 11, 2018 linux use smartctl to check disk behind adaptec raid controllers last updated july 11, 2018 in categories centos, debian ubuntu, linux, redhat and friends, storage, suse i can use the smartctl d ata a devsdb command to read hard disk health status directly connected to my system. Its critical for data integrity that the lsi hba cards run in it initiator target mode with the correct firmware revision matched to your freenas software.
Some kind soul put together a freebsd distribution that would handle raid 5. Im looking to build a raid array for storage of media audio, video, file server for both cifsnfs and as a repository for backups. Freenas is a free and open source network attached storage nas software based on freebsd. Anatomy of a hardware raid controller servethehome. So after getting some community feedback on what disk configuration i should be using in my pool i decided to test which raid configuration was best in freen.
This download record provides intel raid web console 3 version 7. They introduce another layer of complexity into the system that is unnecessary. Linux use smartctl to check disk behind adaptec raid. Intel core i3 81008gb ddr42400300w psu2x2tb seagate ironwolf for backups of my pcs raid 1. Freenas is the simplest way to create a centralized and easily accessible place for your data. How to set up a home file server using freenas windows. We have our top picks for getting fast and reliable freenas hbas host bus adapters for sas and sata, using proven options for freenas and zfs. I have an old machine with 8 sata ports, using 7 for storage and 1 for os ssd.
A nas created with freenas is the fastest and cheapest way to create a network device for filesharing or backup. A short video tutorial showing how to set up raid 5 with 3 hard disks on a freenas server. Heres how to get started and configure a working home server. Raid controller patch for disks behind a raid controller. Dec 22, 2017 this server has a raid controller, but we are instaling a freenas which has its own raid software yes hardware raid vs software raid, yet according to freenas community it is better to not configure hardware raid so that freenas could communicate directly with your hard drives and not via your hardware raid, i did use software raid during.
Bought a dl380e g8 to use for freenas hewlett packard. Jul 07, 2009 i prefer to use software raid to save money and to avoid vendor lock ins. Aug 07, 2015 download nas4free raid controller patch for free. If i understand well because raid controller have 1g cache i should use hardware raid and present one logical drive to freenas and not using zfs.
This server has a raid controller, but we are instaling a freenas which has its own raid software yes hardware raid vs software raid, yet according to freenas community it is better to not configure hardware raid so that freenas could communicate directly with your hard drives and not via your hardware raid, i did use software raid during. Trying to use that raid controller will only lead to destruction. Connected storage how to set up a home file server using freenas setting up freenas, a popular opensource network attached storage nas solution, is not a difficult task. The other part of storage is the disks that will store your data. Jails are a very lightweight virtualized environment on the operating system level. A redundant array of inexpensive disks raid allows high levels of storage reliability.
Do i need to buy a raid controller for my raid1 configuration, ive seen. The additional levels raidz2 and raidz3 offer double and triple parity protection respectively. Longtime freenas users will never forget the freenas 8. The zfs file system at the heart of freenas is designed for data integrity from top to bottom. Oct 11, 2019 freenas is based on zfs, which is an opensource file system, a raid controller and an enterpriselevel volume manager, which guarantees perfect data integrity. How can i monitor hp p410 hardware raid degraded in freenas. Sata drive and raid controller recommendation for freenas. Is this a good nas configuration,do i need a raid controller. Eliminates most, if not all, of the deficiencies found in legacy file systems and hardware raid devices. Zfs is an enterpriseready open source file system, raid controller, and volume manager with unprecedented flexibility and an.
In a hardware raid setup, the drives connect to a raid controller card inserted in a fast pciexpress pcie slot in a motherboard. Freenas looks like a simple and quick solution to get a nas box up and running in just a few hours. Selfbuilt nas wfreenas and a hardware raid controller. It is used to improve disk io performance and reliability of your server or workstation. This provides freenas and zfs direct access to the individual storage drives. Comparing hardware raid vs software raid setups deals with how the storage drives in a raid array connect to the motherboard in a server or pc, and the management of those drives. When storage drives are connected directly to the motherboard without a raid controller, raid configuration is managed by utility software in the operating system, and thus referred to as a software raid setup.
Im wondering what the benefits are of avoiding the hardware raid and using the jbod setting and using the software raid features built into freenas. Internal sas hbas for freenas generally fall into two categories based on their connector types. I need a sata raid controller for 24 drives that uses mini sas connectors on the drive side since the backplane of rack unit uses 6 mini sas connectors. Supports 12gbs and earlier intel raid controllers using mr software stack. Buy 8 port sata iii nonraid pcie x4 controller card supports freenas and zfs raid includes mini sas to sata breack out cables with fast shipping and toprated customer service. Use freenas with zfs to protect, store, and back up all of your data. As some of you might know, software raids restoring procedure can be sometimes difficult, hardware raid is straightforward and pain free. How to set up a home file server using freenas windows central. For larger systems where you will need at least 16 hba. Search poweredge raid controller h740p documentation find articles, manuals and more to help support your product. But the real question is whether you should use a hardware raid solution or a software raid solution. Its not clear if freenas will know what to do with this failure is in question. Freenas uses zfs to manage disks and store data, so when we add storage to a system, well create zfs pools.
I know hardware raid controller is supposed to be better, but they are also rather pricey. The only parts i didnt get yet are the raid controller and hard drives to go with it. A raid can be deployed using both software and hardware. As we know, with raid0 good luck if you loose one of the drives and raid1 the space is limited. Its such an entirely different system that this is almost apples and oranges, so i guess i may be more looking into an excuse for using my hardware raid controller. While freenas will install and boot on nearly any 64bit x86 pc or virtual machine, selecting the correct hardware is highly important to allowing freenas to do what it does best. Problem with setting up raid 5 on freenas server fault. So after getting some community feedback on what disk configuration i should be using in my pool i decided to test which raid configuration. Some raid controllers are fullheight while others are low profile. It is used everywhere, for the home, small business, and the enterprise. Jun, 2016 in a hardware raid setup, the drives connect to a special raid controller inserted in a fast pciexpress pcie slot in a motherboard. This download provides intel raid web console 3 version 007. The most helpful knowledge articles for your product are included in this section.
Freenas storage operating system open source freenas. Freenas is an operating system that can be installed on virtually any hardware platform to share data over a network. One of the major sticking points of zfs the main file system of freenas is that you dont need a hardware raid controller. I know this is not a true hardware raid card, but when creating a mirror with the hardware, freenas does recognize the new volume. Mar 06, 2018 it can either be performed in the host servers cpu software raid, or in an external cpu hardware raid. Aug 10, 2008 a short video tutorial showing how to set up raid 5 with 3 hard disks on a freenas server. Current rig is an i7, 32 gigs of ram, 500gb ssd, 1 tb disk. Convert lsi 92118i hba card to it mode revised 2 february 2017. I need to add an 8th drive for an 8drive raid6 nas setup. So i decided to switch to diy nas with opensource os. Deciding between hardware and software raid in my freenas. Does above setup look okay as a suitable storage option and should i use onboard raid controller or software raid controller in freenas thanks, ken. Poweredge 1900 and poweredge 840, sata hds, freenas.
The uncontested most popular storage controllers used with freenas are the 6 and 12 gbps gigabits per second, sometimes expressed as gbs broadcom formerly avago, formerly lsi sas host bus adapters hba. And imho zfs in freenas is not ready for enterprise. Can anyone recommend a recently built raid card that would work right off the bat with the latest freenas build. With dedicated raid controller all this will happen in the processor of the controller. Io device search for your freenas, no need to use the passthrough, just create a vm with the proper size, and install freenas on it. It needs to run with threadripper on a x399 mainboard. The official freenas hardware guide ixsystems, inc. Latest raid experiment virtualbox and freenas 8 tb raid. Freenas makes two partitions on the drive, one for swap i think 2g or 4g is the default and a second for zfs. Support for poweredge raid controller h740p documentation. Scott details how to plan an installation and configure freenas, as well as how to use both the console and web interface. Buy 8 port sata iii nonraid pcie x4 controller card supports freenas and zfs raid includes mini sas to sata breack out cables. When setting up a raid array, common knowledge says that hardware raid is preferable to software raid. A software mirror raid 10 equivalent option is also available for maximum performance.
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