Migrating from TrueNAS Core to Windows

TrueNAS General
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1

Hello there!
Due to certain circumstances we are forced to move to Windows Server.
On TrueNAS, ZFS with RAID is raised. Tell me, is it possible to somehow connect these drives to Windows so as not to have to worry about transferring data to intermediate media?

2

Well, it depends on what exactly you’re looking to do. OpenZFS on Windows is a thing, but few people have run it in something like a production environment.

3

Do you think OpenZFS will be able to read disks with data on RAID? Do you need any preliminary preparation?
As for production, it’s not required. I would be able to quietly transfer data at night for a week, transferring only changes to other disks. Just an alternative - to put 150 people on Sinology 220, for 2-3 days… You understand.

4

I do not like the implications of that question at all. Are you using hardware RAID?

5

I’m afraid not. Created at TrueNAS

6

Fine. Perhaps I can somehow remove one of the drives from the RAID array and move the data to it, creating a separate pool?

7

Afraid? No, that’s a good thing. Too bad it’s not going to last much longer…

Your options are the usual ones:

  1. Copy stuff over as you normally would (SMB?)
  2. Give OpenZFS on Windows a try

In any case, make sure your backups are in order.

8

Those. OpenZFS should recognize the raid created by Truenas and the data on it? Then great! Thanks a lot.

9

TrueNAS uses OpenZFS, so the answer is, hopefully, “yes”. Don’t jump in blindly, again, OpenZFS on Windows is not as mature as it is on FreeBSD or Linux.

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10

Thanks a lot )

11

If there is important data on those disks and you just slap them into a Windows system without first having a backup of that data then you are almost guaranteed to lose everything. Even if it’s supposed to work, trusting that assertion could be a career ending decision.

I’d also go as far as to suggest that the person insisting that you move to Windows Server does not understand what they are asking for or why.

2 Likes
12

Agree. :point_up_2:

First I would ask why the move to Windows server and who is making that decision and based on what factors?