>>>> Is the Gentoo Software RAID + LVM guide the best place for RAID >>>> install info if I'm not using LVM and I'll have a hardware RAID >>>> controller? >>> >>> Not ready to take the ZFS plunge? That would greatly reduce the complexity >>> of RAID+LVM, since ZFS best practice is to set your hardware raid controller >>> to JBOD mode and let ZFS take care of the RAID - and no LVM required (ZFS >>> has mucho better tools). That is my next big project for when I switch to my >>> next new server. >>> >>> I'm just hoping I can get comfortable with a process for getting ZFS >>> compiled into the kernel that is workable/tenable for ongoing kernel updates >>> (with minimal fear of breaking things due to a complex/fragile >>> methodology)... >> >> That sounds interesting. I don't think I'm up to it this time around, >> but ZFS manages a RAID array better than a good hardware card? > > Yes. If you use ZFS to wrestle a JBOD array into its version of > RAID1+0, when comes time for resilvering (i.e., rebuilding a failed > drive), ZFS smartly only copies the used blocks and skips over unused > blocks.
I'm seriously considering ZFS now. I'm going to start a new thread on that topic. - Grant >> It sounds like ZFS isn't included in the mainline kernel. Is it on its way >> in? >> > > Unlikely. There has been a discussion on that in this list, and there > is some concern that ZFS' license (CDDL) is not compatible with the > Linux kernel license (GPL), so never the twain shall be integrated. > > That said, if your kernel supports modules, it's a piece of cake to > compile the ZFS modules on your own. @ryao has a zfs-overlay you can > use to emerge ZFS as a module. > > If you have configured your kernel to not support modules, it's a bit > more work, but ZFS can still be integrated statically into the kernel. > > But the onus is on us ZFS users to do the necessary steps.
