Jump to content
  • 0

Drivepool on System Drive - Possible?


cyrax83

Question

Hi, I'm wondering if Drivepool would work for my needs. Let me tell you about my current config

 

HP Microserver N36L

Solaris Express 11 running from Internal USB stick

6x3TB running in raidz ZFS

 

I'm looking to move to a windows solution but the problem is I've got no space to fit another drive.

 

If I install my Windows OS on one of the 3TB drives, can I use the remaining space on that drive, as well as all the other drives for one large pool? i.e. is it possible to still use the system drive for storage?

 

If it's not possible, should I be partitioning one of the 3TB's to say 50gb for windows then the remaining 2.95TB partition adding it into the remaining 3TB drive pools? Will this work and if so will it cause any compatibility or file/data issues?

 

I'm looking at having one drive failure redundancy

 

Unfortunately it doesn't seem possible to install windows on a USB stick/drive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 answer to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

the WHS2011 version of DrivePool (1.3) does not allow you to add the system disk to the pool at all. However, the "generic Windows" version (2.x) does allow you to add the system volume.

 

 

But either way, I'd recommend partitioning the system disk, to only include a "small" section for the OS and programs, (like ~100GB), and use the rest for data/pool. You could do 50GB, but that's 16GB for the OS, plus the page file (roughly 1.5x the installed RAM), plus the hibernate file (roughly 75% of the installed RAM), plus temp storage (like updates). 60GB would be better, but if you install a lot to it, you'll fill it up pretty fast.

 

And no, this would definitely not cause any issues, other than maybe backup issues (Windows Backup is kind of draconic, not a lot of options) and IO usage.

 

And speaking of which, IIRC, that model has a 1x and a 16x PCI express port. You could add an eSATA controller card and hook on more drives that way.

 

 

And there are a couple of ways to get Windows to boot off of USB. Namely, Windows To Go comes to mind. But that requires Windows 8 Enterprise, which is VLK. That, or there is a Windows 7 "USB edition" that I saw a while ago. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Answer this question...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...