Re: [zfs-discuss] What to do with a disk partition

[Harry Putnam]

Blake  writes:

> I think you will be helped by looking at this document:
>
> 
>
> It addresses many of your questions.
>
> I think the easiest way to back up your OS might be to attach a disk
> to the rpool as a mirror, use 'installgrub' to get the grub boot
> blocks onto the new mirror disk, then detach this disk and put it in
> storage.

Thanks for the pointer... looks like I can confuse myself with this
guide for quite a while ... hehe.

One question springs to mind immediately about attaching a mirror for
backup of the os.

I'm doing this on pc hardware.

I don't know enough yet to understand how zpools repair themselves or
how the parity data really works to recreate missing data.  Or what
might happen if a zpool were mounted with a disk missing.

Imagine I have all hardware controller plugins used up with disks in
various pools. So to install a disk to use for the mirror, something
else will have to be unhooked (I mean manually).

When I boot up to transfer zpool data to the newly added mirror disk,
one or another zpool will be missing a disk.  Is that something that
will cause some kind of big problem?  Or would I be able to do
something so the effected pool did'nt get mounted... or maybe other
choices I have no idea about yet?

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Re: [zfs-discuss] What to do with a disk partition

[Blake]

I think you will be helped by looking at this document:



It addresses many of your questions.

I think the easiest way to back up your OS might be to attach a disk
to the rpool as a mirror, use 'installgrub' to get the grub boot
blocks onto the new mirror disk, then detach this disk and put it in
storage.

There are also more advanced backup methods covered in the document above.



On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 11:51 PM, Harry Putnam  wrote:
> I'm still learning and haven't setup anything I can't destroy if it
> can be better put together some other way.  I would like to save any
> updates and customizations so far if possible.  But that isn't
> critical either.
>
> Originally I installed osol-11 101b (now at 108) on a 60gb disk
> partitioned 25/45 with the OS on the 25.  These were just fdisk
> partitions, no slices.
>
> I've since installed 2 more drives and have 2 more to install once I
> get a working sata controller.
>
> The purpose of this server once I quit tinkering so much and decide I know
> enough to put it into service is just a home backup server.
>
> So currently I have 3 disks to work with.
> Disk 0 (60gb) as mentioned holds the OS on a 25gb fdisk partition c3d0p1.
>     And another zpool on the remaining 45gb at c3d0p2
> Disk 1 (250gb) 1 fdisk partition (full disk)
> Disk 2 ( 500gb 1 fdisk partition (full disk)
>
> I've done nothing so far with the last 2, just did get them installed
> but I had planned to put them into a raidz1 configuration, which would
> give me 750GB in that zpool, and use them to backup 4 windows machines
> and one linux machine.  That is, assuming that isn't a nitwit thing to
> do and some other configuration would be better.
> Any opinions/suggestions .. welcome.
>
> I'd like some opinions on how best to utilize the remaining 45gb
> partition on disk 0.  The one with the OS on the other partition.
>
> I originally thought I'd use it to backup the OS itself, but after
> listening here a while I wonder if that would be better served if I
> had made rpool encompass that whole disk.  Instead of having rpool as
> the OS of 25gb on c3d0p1 and rpool.bk as a zpool on the other 45gb
> partition at c3d0p2.
>
> I guess I'm asking if its wise to have more than 1 zpool on a disk?
> Especially if one of them holds the OS.
>
> Or is it wiser to reinstall on a single partition of the whole disk?
>
> How do people backup there OS, in general.  Just keep a herd of
> snapshots letting the oldest be destroyed over time...?
>
> Is Keeping those on the same zpool and disk as the OS wise?
>
> Its a home setup so I don't need to get too fancy like having backups
> offsite or whatever.. nobody elses data will be at risk. Of course an
> irate wife with lost data might not be too pretty of picture...
>
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>
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[zfs-discuss] What to do with a disk partition

[Harry Putnam]

I'm still learning and haven't setup anything I can't destroy if it
can be better put together some other way.  I would like to save any
updates and customizations so far if possible.  But that isn't
critical either.

Originally I installed osol-11 101b (now at 108) on a 60gb disk
partitioned 25/45 with the OS on the 25.  These were just fdisk
partitions, no slices.

I've since installed 2 more drives and have 2 more to install once I
get a working sata controller.

The purpose of this server once I quit tinkering so much and decide I know
enough to put it into service is just a home backup server.

So currently I have 3 disks to work with.  
Disk 0 (60gb) as mentioned holds the OS on a 25gb fdisk partition c3d0p1.
 And another zpool on the remaining 45gb at c3d0p2
Disk 1 (250gb) 1 fdisk partition (full disk)
Disk 2 ( 500gb 1 fdisk partition (full disk)

I've done nothing so far with the last 2, just did get them installed
but I had planned to put them into a raidz1 configuration, which would
give me 750GB in that zpool, and use them to backup 4 windows machines
and one linux machine.  That is, assuming that isn't a nitwit thing to
do and some other configuration would be better. 
Any opinions/suggestions .. welcome.

I'd like some opinions on how best to utilize the remaining 45gb
partition on disk 0.  The one with the OS on the other partition.

I originally thought I'd use it to backup the OS itself, but after
listening here a while I wonder if that would be better served if I
had made rpool encompass that whole disk.  Instead of having rpool as
the OS of 25gb on c3d0p1 and rpool.bk as a zpool on the other 45gb
partition at c3d0p2.  

I guess I'm asking if its wise to have more than 1 zpool on a disk?
Especially if one of them holds the OS.

Or is it wiser to reinstall on a single partition of the whole disk?

How do people backup there OS, in general.  Just keep a herd of
snapshots letting the oldest be destroyed over time...?

Is Keeping those on the same zpool and disk as the OS wise?

Its a home setup so I don't need to get too fancy like having backups
offsite or whatever.. nobody elses data will be at risk. Of course an
irate wife with lost data might not be too pretty of picture...

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