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OS drive for OI/Napp-it server

A

ajssbp

n00b
Joined
Jun 17, 2011
Messages
21
Hi everyone,

I'm only missing one more piece before I embark on my file server build. I have 5 2tb Samsung drives that I am using along with some older dual core Xenon chips. The last piece I need is an OS drive.

I know all the advantages and disadvantages of an SSD, and I'm just not sure I can justify spending that much money on an OS drive. However, if that is truly the best choice for long-term stability/data safety I'm willing to spend the extra for the peace of mind. That being said, what is your favorite OS drive for an OpenIndiana Box with Napp-it? Thanks.

-Adrian
 
OS drive on OI does not need to be a big deal unless it is running in a no down time environment. i have mine running on a standard 250gb 5400 drive i had laying around. if the os drive dies just replace, reinstall and import the zfs pool. easy as that. if you dont want to have to deal with that just raid 1, 2 OS drives most mobos can do this and it can even be done after install using ZFS mirrors (i think).

Hope this helps.
 
Hmm....not sure what the previous Poster was intending mentioning motherboard raid 1...

Anyway, what you want is two, small, cheap laptop drives and set them up in OI as a Zfs mirror for the rpool. Very easy to do and all done from within OI. Just make sure you set up the second drive to allow it to also allow it to boot and then do a test by removing drive 1 and reboot.

Absolutely no need/value in an ssd for your use.
 
wondering will there be alot of read and write on the OS drive for OI ?

else probably 16GB CF on a CF-SATA convertor would do the job ?
 
Better of with laptop drives...there is log activity plus you get the advantage of snapshots and using beadm to create separate/recoverable boot environments.
 
I mean there is more space with a laptop drive to enable snapshots on the rpool...and rollback...or better still use beadm to take snaps of the BE before making any updates/installs/majot config changes so you can roll back to a known working BE on reboot if anything stuffs up.

The ability to rollback the os has saved me on a number of occasions where a config. change has created issues...esp. when I was changing significant parts of the lan/dhcp server setup.
 
Is there a reason why laptop drives specifically are better than regular 3.5 inch drives? Also, does anyone have a good recommendation for a PCI/PCie SATA card that OI will boot off of? I've done some research, and it seems like they are pretty hit or miss. I've only got 6 SATA ports on the mobo, and I know it's best to use the mobo ones for the storage drives, so If I do go the route of 1 drives in zfs mirror for the OS drive, it would need to go on a PCI SATA card. Thanks for the input so far!

-Adrian
 
people like to use laptop drives because of the low power draw and low heat. The speed of the OS drive doesn't really matter in this case.
 
Exactly, cheap, quiet, reliable and low power and more than enough space for snaps. Buy 2 and go a mirror. Sleep soundly.

You can most certainly use the mobo ports...esp. for the o/s...ie. no need for an additional card.

I run my server o/s drives (and dvd etc) off the mobo.

re: ...
o If I do go the route of 1 drives in zfs mirror for the OS drive
Click to expand...
I assume you mean two drives in a mirror.
 
davros123 said:
re: ... I assume you mean two drives in a mirror.
Click to expand...

Yeah, 2 drives, fat fingered that one.


davros123 said:
You can most certainly use the mobo ports...esp. for the o/s...ie. no need for an additional card.
Click to expand...

My issue is that I'll have 7 drives (5 2tb drives for storage, and 2 laptop drives) but only 6 SATA ports on the mobo. I'll need some kind of add-on card to connect them all. Hence my question about the add-on card.
 
check out the IBM M1015...rebadged LSI card...it's a top shelf LSI 2008 card with 8 ports (2 x 4 port sas -> 4 sata), very cheap (<$50) on ebay, very reliable, fast, takes 3TB drives and easy to flash to IT mode (<5 minutes)...check posts on this forum about it. Highly recommend this as a HBA.
 
If I am just going to put the 2 OS drives on it I don't really need 8 ports (I'm thinking). Would a more inexpensive solution still work just as well or should I just bite the bullet? My thinking goes that if I'm only going to be putting 2 smallish laptop drives on the card I don't particularly need it to be overly fast, support huge drives, etc. Thanks

-Adrian
 
davros123 said:
Hmm....not sure what the previous Poster was intending mentioning motherboard raid 1...

Anyway, what you want is two, small, cheap laptop drives and set them up in OI as a Zfs mirror for the rpool. Very easy to do and all done from within OI. Just make sure you set up the second drive to allow it to also allow it to boot and then do a test by removing drive 1 and reboot.

Absolutely no need/value in an ssd for your use.
Click to expand...

This was what i was taking about but also with the possibility of fake-raid using the mobos raid controller. didnt know he wasn't planing for a HBA/RAID card though. sorry if my post was a little confusing.
 
Poplap said:
This was what i was taking about but also with the possibility of fake-raid using the mobos raid controller. didnt know he wasn't planing for a HBA/RAID card though. sorry if my post was a little confusing.
Click to expand...

I wasn't necessarily planning for a HBA/RAID card, it just kind of came out that way. I didn't find your post confusing, I understood what you were saying.
 
It seems people are confused...(or perhaps just me)...so I will try and make this simple.

OI uses zfs.
The rpool in OI is a zfs pool
Do not use raid with zfs (yes, a few exceptions, but this is not one of them)
Use the M1015 in IT mode as a HBA, it's then NOT a raid card. It's cheap and fast.
Use the motherboard for the two o/s drives and set them up in OI as a zfs mirror
Buy a HBA, like the M1015 or similar LSI card and sas/Sata breakout cables
The moth board Satan ports can be slower than the HBA (in my experience) so...
Put the 2 os drives (mirror) on the mobo
Put the 5 data drives on the HBA.
Smile :)
 
Why an sad for the o/s?

Are you planning on rebooting it alot?

Unless you have alot of money to waste and are planning 2 for a mirror...i'd not recommend this or see any real value.

You could buy 3 laptop drives for the price of an ssd...and see no diff. For 99% of the time.

If you freely want an sad, add it to the pool as a zil or a cache ...but again, in most home use cases this too will have no benefit where sharing is via cifs...(does have value as a zil with nfs shares though...) High epeen, but no value for most people....and then there is the wear...

Or if you are running vm's, then perhaps have is as a separate pool just for the ssd's to hold the vm's.
 
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