If you don’t use Raid-Z(1,2,3), you won’t have the benefit of parity on the backup. Lose too many drives, lose the backup pool. You have to decide on your risk options. If you need to recover from Backup, you need it reliable.
Hardware is the usual advice to stick to server grade, reliable NIC is important for off site. IPMI for out of band and remote admin can be helpful
Resources List including Detailed Hardware and System Build Notes (plus new user advice / help)
