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Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2013 07:38:09 -0600 (MDT)
From: Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com>
To: Jeremy Chadwick <jdc@koitsu.org>
Subject: Re: ZFS and Glabel
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 (wonkity.com [127.0.0.1]); Sat, 08 Jun 2013 07:38:09 -0600 (MDT)
Cc: freebsd-fs@freebsd.org, "Reed A. Cartwright" <cartwright@asu.edu>
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On Sat, 8 Jun 2013, Jeremy Chadwick wrote:

> On Sat, Jun 08, 2013 at 02:24:46AM -0700, Reed A. Cartwright wrote:
>> I currently have a raidz2 pool that uses whole disks: da6, da7, etc.
>> I want to label these using glabel and have zfs mount them using the
>> labels.  This way, if an HDD fails, I will be able to easily replace
>> the drive.
>
> Can I ask what you mean when you say "that way if a HDD fails I'll be
> able to easily replace the drive?"
>
> What about using labels makes the process of disk replacement "easier"?

In general, the nice thing about labels is that they give a particular 
drive a static name.  That name does not depend on the controller 
hardware or method of connection, it's not calculated in any way, so it 
remains the same.  Most other ID methods are calculated in some way, and 
can/may change.