Re: [gentoo-user] Rearranging hard drives and data.

[Frank Steinmetzger <Warp_7@gmx.de>]

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Am Mon, Dec 21, 2020 at 03:19:08AM -0600 schrieb Dale:

> > Something to look into before going the traditional raid/nfs route:
> > moosefs or lizardfs.  I am using arm based odroid HC2's and over the
> > softraid based nfs I was using there are considerable power savings
> > (especially if you take into the account redundancy) as it takes a
> > number of these low power arm systems to match the power requirements of
> > an older desktop), better data protection (actual, not theoretical for
> > 2x raid 4 disk 10's replaced by a single 5x hc2's using the same disks
> > with mfs :) and the ease of mounting it into the filesystem.  Downside
> > is needing a fast network for best performance but an NFS will need that
> > anyway for similar reasons.
> >
> > BillK
> 
> 
> I was reading somewhere about FreeNAS OS that is commonly used on a NAS
> and it uses ZFS.  It sounded a lot like a LVM or BTRFS, (sp?), type file
> system.

ZFS combines LVM/RAID and the filesystem into one software. So you don't
need to set up two separate layers (RAID and filesystem).

> I can't find ZFS in the kernel so it seems it is only used with
> that OS/software.

IIRC, ZFS uses a licence that is not compatible with the kernel's. That's
why ZFS on Linux (ZoL) cannot be integrated into the kernel. Instead, you
build an external kernel module (available in portage), which isn't always
compatible to the newest kernel out there.

> I'm not sure if it uses anything else for file systems either.  While I
> have seen moosefs and lizardfs mentioned on this list, I have no idea how
> it works or anything.  If I use FreeNAS, I may not have many options.

FreeNAS is openbsd based. It uses the BSD-variant of ZFS natively.

> At this point, I don't know if I will use Gentoo or something that is
> made just for NAS setups or even something else that is binary based
> like Arch, some *buntu or something.  The downside of Gentoo, I may not
> update very often.  We know how Gentoo is when going months or more
> without updating.  I have kinda picked a case so far.  The rest is still
> being thought about. 

Yeah, a pure server should be left alone unless something is broken. My
NAS sits in the corner, unused and switched off for many weeks in a row. So
when I do switch it on, I usually do an eix-sync right away.

> I also wouldn't mind having a media center type box as well.  I thought
> about buying some sort of used game station type box for a media box. 

I was flirting with the idea as well. But since I don't have a TV or any
good living room speakers at the mo, I just won't have any real use for it
right now. My favourite candidate is a ZBox Nano CI329. It is passively
cooled and looks nice. It has two ethernet ports, which makes it ideal as a
network server and firewall, HDMI for the TV, a 2,5″ internal bay and a
hidden mSata slot under the mainboard (to reach it you have to break the
warranty seal, b/c the ZBox can be bought as a barebone or as a Windows box,
which has its bloatware preinstalled on a small mSata SSD). Its power
consumption is very low, rivalling that of a Raspberry. Sadly, they ditched
the infrared port which previous generations had. Because they are ideal
media players for the living room.

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