ZFS metadata device suitability

Hi Everyone.

I’m in the process of speccing out a server build to replace my rather cobbled-together existing solution.

Are “normal” comsumer m.2 nvme SSDs (e.g. cruical P3) suitable for use in a 2-way mirror for a ‘special’ vdev for a ~150TiB zfs pool?

Welcome to Level1Tech!

Consumer-level m.2 nvme SSDs should be ok in a consumer homelab, especially in mirror configuration.

The assumption here is that the use case is mostly read.

In this case I’d go for the pro lines in name-brand nvme sticks (WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro, etc.), though.
The bargain basement consumer sticks may cut corners too deep to hit a price point.

If this is a server config for professional use I’d recomment enterprise-class level SSDs.

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Yeah this is a homelab-style thing, by volume mainly just a large plex server but also it’ll hold things like photographs, which are a lot more critical.

I’ll be doing offsite backups of those though, so I’m less worried about losing them to zfs

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s/are a lot more critical/I care about a lot more