RAIDZ2 with different hard drives of the same capacity

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John_The_Bomb_Awesome

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Nov 24, 2013
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I was wondering if it was necessary to have all identical hard drives for a RAIDZ2 set up, I've read that it was necessary for a RAID 6 set up but can't find any info on if it was necessary for RAIDZ2.
 
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RealBeast
While it is best, they do not have to be identical.

Just like in RAID 6 you will only use the space of the smallest drive for each drive, although in ZFS you can use the leftover space (slices) it is not recommended and can cause problems, particularly if the space is used in another array.

HERE is a best practices guide for ZFS.
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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Sep 13, 2010
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While it is best, they do not have to be identical.

Just like in RAID 6 you will only use the space of the smallest drive for each drive, although in ZFS you can use the leftover space (slices) it is not recommended and can cause problems, particularly if the space is used in another array.

HERE is a best practices guide for ZFS.
 
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Solution
RealBeast

RealBeast

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Sep 13, 2010
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Oh yeah, that is no problem at all, I do it all the time mixing drives. Some will say that you should only use the same drive with the same firmware but modern controllers are more resilient and I've not had issues in many years with mixing brands. It is best to use the same speed drives (7200rpm) so that one does not slow down the whole array. No Green drives in arrays ever though.

I want 8 Hitachi Ultrastar He6 drives for one of my arrays once the demand at the NSA is satisfied. :D

 
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