On 14 September 2015 I created the storage zpool that I'm still using.
It's there in the log:
2015-09-14.15:23:35 zpool create -o ashift=12
-f storage raidz2 /dev/disk/by-path/[...]
My first 4U rackmount 24-bay machine, inferno, was built in June 2013
and is now the backup fileserver. That had 8× 3T discs in it.
In September 2015, I built pyromachy with 8× 4T discs; then I started
doing cross-server backups with zfs send. This was the occasion on
which I realised, with an initial sync time estimate of 11 days over
100baseTX, that I could order a gigabit ethernet switch and it would
arrive in time to speed up the sync.
In January 2016 I replaced a disc. That's when the current zpool on
inferno dates from, though I don't recall why I would have rebuilt it
then. Possibly I was bringing it up to 4T discs to match pyromachy.
In October 2016 I added a second slab of 8× 4T discs to each server.
(With appropriate controller upgrades; I had been using an 8-channel
SATA card, but upgraded to 24.)
In September 2017 I replaced a disc.
In September 2018 I replaced a disc in the backup server, and again in
March this year.
Some time soon I should probably insert the third slab of discs in
each machine, though I may not restrict myself to 4T. After all, discs
along with everything else are likely to get much more expensive and
harder to find next year.
Build your own fileserver. It's fun, and nobody you pay will care more
about the integrity of your data than you do.
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