Dead special metadata device, metadata is corrupted

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

I had a special metadata device completely die on me, with no parity, and no backups. (I know better now) I am wondering if there is any way to recover my data.

When I try to import the Pool the following error is given

Termius_rySTJyPfci
Termius_rySTJyPfci729×342 23.6 KB

and when adding a nice little -f into the mix it wants me to destroy and re-create from a backup, which I don’t have

I have tried everything and don’t know where to go from here, so any help would be great.

Sorry if I’m missing info!

SYS info

Linux tillamook 5.15.107+truenas #1 SMP Tue Jul 4 16:27:21 UTC 2023 x86_64 GNU/Linux

3x1TB in RaidZ1, 3x 6TB in RaidZ1 with a 256gb metadata drive. connected to an LSI 9211-8i
2

The answer is you are most likely looking at complete data loss.

How did the device die? Did it just stop showing up, like after a power loss event? If so you can try to power cycle it: Fix your dead SSD with the power cycle method - Dave Farquhar

Another thing to try is an ssd repair/recovery service. This is most likely to work if one of the solder contacts went bad, or if the controller can be switched out with a sacrificial device. I have no particular recommendation here.

When do you add the special device? There is a theoretical scenario where if you added a special device recently to an existing pool with data, especially if there are snapshots, then some data may be potentially be recoverable with advanced custom effort from someone highly experienced with advanced custom zfs recovery, like wendell. This of course relies on such a person’s availability and willingness. If the pool was built a special device from the beginning, there is basically no hope, the data blocks are essentially just random noise with nothing to determine how they relate to each other.

One thing you could try is: Klennet ZFS Recovery
Though is is also doubtful.

3

Thanks for the Reply, I added the metadata device in late June this year, I think my best chances are on SSD data recovery as I can’t afford full array recovery.