Best way to backup freenas pool#1 to Freenas pool#2?

[RichTJ99]

Hi,

Is there an automated way to have a nightly sync of all data on pool #1 to pool #2? Is that the best way to handle a backup of my freenas data?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[MrToddsFriends]

Is there an automated way to have a nightly sync of all data on pool #1 to pool #2? Is that the best way to handle a backup of my freenas data?

I'm using snapshots and replication
http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_storage.html#periodic-snapshot-tasks
http://doc.freenas.org/9.3/freenas_storage.html#replication-tasks

One can use localhost as the remote machine
https://forums.freenas.org/index.ph...to-a-different-local-zpool.26308/#post-166513

 

[Yatti420]

You can use rsync nightly aswell.. Completely up to you.. Various methods to achieve what you want to do..

 

[Mlovelace]

+1 for snapshot replication. I replicate snapshots to an off-site freeNAS for DR, works great.

 

[Ericloewe]

You can use rsync nightly aswell.. Completely up to you.. Various methods to achieve what you want to do..

I find ZFS replication to be superior whenever it's viable. I consider rsync mostly a compatibility option with non-ZFS systems.

 

[RichTJ99]

I was thinking a file by file copy - maybe the Rsync method initially - a file by file copy.

I am already using snapshots on pool 1. Is the suggestion that those snapshots get replicated onto pool2? Is that better/safer?

EDIT: Will the replication task work on the same system? I have one physical box with 8x6tb drives as pool1, and 6x2tb drives as pool2. Right now my data size will still work using pool2 as a backup. Am I better off moving that data to another physical box vs using a separate pool?

To many eggs in one basket?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

Is the suggestion that those snapshots get replicated onto pool2? Is that better/safer?

That is what is being suggested by @Mlovelace and @Ericloewe. It has the major benefit of being able to preserve the entire file system structure (multiple potentially nested datasets), where rsync can only replicate files and folders. Safety is a somewhat different issue.

To many eggs in one basket?

Replicating to another box avoids the risk of physical loss or destruction of one box taking both pools. It's up to you to decide if that's a risk you need/want to mitigate.

 

[RichTJ99]

I have an older HP N40L microserver. Would that be suitable for a backup only freenas box?

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

In theory, if it meets the minimum requirements (and your backup storage capacity needs), it should be OK. Others are definitely using the N40L with FreeNAS. I suggest a forum search for N40L to see what kind of experiences people have with it.