ZFS replace disks in freebsd, how and when

Question

I have the following zpool configuration:

zpool status
    NAME        STATE     READ WRITE CKSUM
    data        ONLINE       0     0     0
      raidz2-0  ONLINE       0     0     0
        da1     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da0     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da3     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da4     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da2     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da5     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da7     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da6     ONLINE       0     0     0
      raidz2-1  ONLINE       0     0     0
        da21    ONLINE       0     0     1  (repairing)
        da14    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da22    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da23    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da13    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da9     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da12    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da20    ONLINE       0     0     0
      raidz2-2  ONLINE       0     0     0
        da11    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da18    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da8     ONLINE       0     0     0
        da10    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da15    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da16    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da17    ONLINE       0     0     0
        da19    ONLINE       0     0     0

da21 has 1 CKSUM fail every ~2 weeks. Do i need to replace it already, or should i wait till there are more errors? I am rather on the cautious side, but don't want to replace a perfectly healthy disk either.

To actually do it, are the following steps correct? The official guide (https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23823_01/html/819-5461/gbbvf.html#gbcet) has some steps in between that depend on "cfgadm" but i don't have that on freebsd, so I rather make sure I am not doing something stupid before I start getting my hands dirty.

zpool offline da21
<*physically replace device*>
zpool online daXX
zpool replace data da21 daXX

Can I do this during a scrub, or should i wait for the scrub to finish/stop it?

Any help greatly appreciated :)

For anyone wondering, it worked as above. The command to replace it was "zpool replace data da21 da21". Thanks for the helpful suggestions nonetheless. — Sebastian, Oct 22 '18 at 09:10

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 16 '18 at 14:53

da21 has 1 CKSUM fail every ~2 weeks. Do i need to replace it already, or should i wait till there are more errors? I am rather on the cautious side, but don't want to replace a perfectly healthy disk either.

I would first replace the cable and check if the problem persists in another bay/another enclosure/another controller (if possible on your setup). I have had most checksum errors in one of those situations. Failing disks usually show themselves with read or write errors.

It also would essentially be free in comparison to another full disk replacement, which you can still do if the errors persist (especially on Z2 or Z3, where the pressure to act is much lower). Of course, if you cannot take the slightest risk, you should not do that - but in this case, you would already use Z3 or multiple mirrors, wouldn't you? And you still have a current and verified backup ready, so the risk is very small.

Can I do this during a scrub, or should i wait for the scrub to finish/stop it?

If there's time, I would always wait out the scrub. You then can be sure that other disks in the vdev do not also exhibit hidden errors which could lead to serious damage if not found out before removing the disk (depending on your level of additional disks).

If there is no time, simply cancel the scrub with zpool scrub -s <poolname>.

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 11 '18 at 14:12

I'd replace it now, personally. No point worrying about it failing later, and then having to scramble to get a replacement.

Are they hot swap? I'd just pop out the old one and pop in the new one. If you can avoid doing it while a scrub is running, then do so.

ZFS replace disks in freebsd, how and when

2 Answers2