ZFS: pool layout

Goals

Using ZFS for NAS appliances storing large media files is a very common scenario. In this specific context, we may want to get:

1. great storage capacity;
2. good resilience;
3. decent performance;

…in that order!

We’ll try & figure out proper storage designs for 8 large hard disks in this specific context.

Concepts

You may well want to read choosing the right ZFS pool layout in addition to getting familiar with ZFS concepts.