I wonder, I have a Pentium 4 which is 32 bit. Can ZFS which is 128bit, work correctly if run by a 32 bit CPU? Does ZFS have different modes, according to the bit number of the cpu? A 32bit CPU with RAID-Z is inferior to a 64bit CPU with RAID-Z?

The reason I ask is, if I make a ZFS raid with 32 bit, and later change CPU to 64 bit, will the RAID-Z be inferior to, if I created the RAID-Z with 64 bit from start? Must I upgrade to 64bit first and create the RAID-Z, or doesnt it matter how many bits I have? I can upgrade CPU to 64bit later, without affecting the RAID-Z?



And, if I upgrade cpu to 64bit, can I use the same ZFS raid flawlessly? Or will there be trouble importing the ZFS RAID to the new 64bit CPU? Can I tuck the RAID to different x86 CPU's without problem, or is the RAID tied to the original CPU's architecture?

(If I take a NTFS disc which stores divx films, and tuck it into another XP machine, the disc will work flawlessly. But, if I take a disc which has windows XP installed, I can not install that disc into another empty computer and expect that installed windows to work flawlessly with the new computer because of different graphic drivers, sound drivers, etc. The windows installation is tied to the original computer)

No, a 128 bit CPU is required , just kidding. 32 bit is Okay.
No, it however uses the endianness of the CPU, x86 and amd64 being both little endian, that shouldn't have any impact for you.
Not specifically.
No, the ZFS will be identical.
No problem. However, be aware that a filesystem created with a newer version of ZFS won't be usable with an older Solaris release supporting only an earlier version of ZFS.
yes
no
But, if I take a disc which has windows XP installed, I can not install that disc into another empty computer and expect that installed windows to work flawlessly with the new computer because of different graphic drivers, sound drivers, etc. The windows installation is tied to the original computer)[/quote]That is true with most if not all operating systems, including Linux and Solaris. You cannot pick an O/S installed for a specific platform and expect the disk to work
on another one.

Great! Thanx so much for your replies! I have so long wanted a ZFS raid and very very soon I am getting one! : o )

But, no external RAID-Z chassi for me. I will have a home made power switch tucked on, for the internal 4 discs. This way I can cut power on boot for the discs should I choose. I expect most of the time the RAID will be off. I will only use the system disc.

I hope there will be no problem for Solaris to recognize the RAID-Z when I reboot and turn on the power to the discs. Like, no requirement to format the drives or so. Ideally, Solaris will automatically recognize RAID-Z itself and make it available for use. And when I reboot with no power to the discs, Solaris will automatically recognize that there is no RAID-Z connected. Or, does this procedure also require manual fiddling with vfstab and prompt commands? Or will it be automatic?

I'm not sure about what would happen if you reboot with the disks offline, but I suspect the system would stay in single user mode waiting for a manual action to fix the unrecoverable error.

It would be better to tell the O/S you want to stop using the pool (zpool export) before turning off the server, and run the "zpool import" command when you resume using it.

I haven't tried this, but I believe no other commands should be required.

Ok I will try to read the manuals. Thanx for your help! You are my Hero! I am so glad to ditch Linux, and have talked about ZFS a lot, and my friends really want to see this! : o )


ZFS RAID, here I come!!!