Non-Root Pool Creation Practices

Create non-root pools with whole disks by using the d* identifier. Do not use the p* identifier.
- ZFS works best without any additional volume management software.
- For better performance, use individual disks or at least LUNs made up of just a few disks. By providing ZFS with more visibility into the LUNs setup, ZFS is able to make better I/O scheduling decisions.
Create redundant pool configurations across multiple controllers to reduce down time due to a controller failure.
- Mirrored storage pools – Consume more disk space but generally perform better with small random reads.
```
$ zpool create system1 mirror c1d0 c2d0 mirror c3d0 c4d0
```
- RAID-Z storage pools – Can be created with 3 parity strategies, where parity equals 1 raidz), 2 raidz2), or 3 raidz3). A RAID-Z configuration maximizes disk space and generally performs well when data is written and read in large chunks (128K or more).
  - Consider a single-parity RAID-Z raidz) configuration with 2 VDEVs of 3 disks (2+1) each.
```
$ zpool create rzpool raidz1 c1t0d0 c2t0d0 c3t0d0 raidz1 c1t1d0 c2t1d0 c3t1d0
```
  - A RAIDZ-2 configuration offers better data availability, and performs similarly to RAID-Z. RAIDZ-2 has significantly better mean time to data loss (MTTDL) than either RAID-Z or 2-way mirrors. Create a double-parity RAID-Z raidz2) configuration at 6 disks (4+2).
```
$ zpool create rzpool raidz2 c0t1d0 c1t1d0 c4t1d0 c5t1d0 c6t1d0 c7t1d0
raidz2 c0t2d0 c1t2d0 c4t2d0 c5t2d0 c6t2d0 c7t2d
```
  - A RAIDZ-3 configuration maximizes disk space and offers excellent availability because it can withstand 3 disk failures. Create a triple-parity RAID-Z (raidz3) configuration at 9 disks (6+3).
```
$ zpool create rzpool raidz3 c0t0d0 c1t0d0 c2t0d0 c3t0d0 c4t0d0
c5t0d0 c6t0d0 c7t0d0 c8t0d0
```