About spare disks

Insight & Feedback
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1

Hello everyone.

I’m currently using the free version of Zima OS.

So, with 4 drives.

It works well.

I have a question: what about spare disks?

Can I add them to the free version?

If so, how many?

How do I configure them in Zima OS?

How does it work?

Do I have to upgrade to the paid version?

Thank you.


dany@ZimaOS:~ ➜ $ lsblk | grep -iE "sd|md0"
sda           8:0    0 447.1G  0 disk  
└─sda1        8:1    0 447.1G  0 part  
sdb           8:16   0  14.6T  0 disk  
└─md0         9:0    0  43.7T  0 raid5 /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
sdc           8:32   0  14.6T  0 disk  
└─md0         9:0    0  43.7T  0 raid5 /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
sdd           8:48   0  16.4T  0 disk  
└─md0         9:0    0  43.7T  0 raid5 /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
sde           8:64   0  16.4T  0 disk  
└─md0         9:0    0  43.7T  0 raid5 /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
dany@ZimaOS:~ ➜ $ 




dany@ZimaOS:~ ➜ $ lsblk -f | grep -iE "sd|md0"
sda                                                                                                             
└─sda1      ext4              1.0                           3db567c2-e9db-4dc5-aea8-f06ae906900c                
sdb         linux_raid_member 1.2   zimaos:2c687430170ffc53 a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2                
└─md0       btrfs                                           a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2   33.8T    23% /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
sdc         linux_raid_member 1.2   zimaos:2c687430170ffc53 a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2                
└─md0       btrfs                                           a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2   33.8T    23% /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
sdd         linux_raid_member 1.2   zimaos:2c687430170ffc53 a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2                
└─md0       btrfs                                           a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2   33.8T    23% /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
sde         linux_raid_member 1.2   zimaos:2c687430170ffc53 a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2                
└─md0       btrfs                                           a327f5d4-f069-7380-ae4d-51fab01a4ab2   33.8T    23% /var/lib/casaos_data/.media/Dany-Main-Storage
dany@ZimaOS:~ ➜ $
2

From your output, your current setup is already using all four data drives as active members of one RAID5 array:

sdb + sdc + sdd + sde -> md0 -> RAID5 -> Btrfs

So at the moment you do not have a spare disk in that array. A spare disk would normally be an extra unused disk, not part of the active RAID, waiting to replace a failed drive automatically or manually.

I would be careful here because I do not think ZimaOS currently exposes a clear “hot spare” configuration option in the Storage UI. The official RAID guide shows creating RAID arrays, but I could not find official ZimaOS documentation explaining hot-spare setup through the Web UI.

Also, because you are on the free version and already using 4 drives, the licence/storage limit may matter. The ZimaOS pricing page says Plus is for “unlimited storage” use, so if you want to add more disks beyond the free limit, you may need Plus. IceWhale should confirm the exact rule for spare disks.

My suggestion:

Do not add the spare manually by CLI unless IceWhale confirms it is supported by ZimaOS, because the Web UI may not track it properly.

For now, I would ask IceWhale:

  1. Does ZimaOS Free support a 5th disk as a hot spare?
  2. Is hot spare supported in the Web UI?
  3. If not, is CLI-added mdadm spare officially supported?
  4. Does adding a spare require ZimaOS Plus?

Also remember, a hot spare is not a backup. It only helps after a disk failure. You still need a separate backup for important data.

3

Thanks.

For now, it was just a request for information.

Your questions address my concerns and the questions I have.

I’ve forwarded them to IceWhale support.

I hope they’ll get back to me.

If you didn’t see my spare drive, it’s because I hadn’t installed it—neither physically nor electrically.

Thanks for your reply.

4

Hello, gelbuilding,

So far, I haven’t heard back from icewhale.
I still don’t know what to make of the spare disks,
or even if it’s possible to create a second pool
in the free version of Zima OS.

Best regards,
Respectfully,
Dany.