For the past three years I've been using a QNAP TS-251+ as a simple NAS and Plex server. I wanted this to be a no-fuss machine, but two things made me question RAID and QNAP.
First, when I decided I wanted to move to different drives, I hoped RAID1 meant that I could replace one HDD, let it replicate, then replace the second, and let it replicate. Sadly not! I ran into difficulties and had to recreate my data disks from scratch. Second, the QNAP interface was complex and I didn't like that the bi-monthly system updates required a firmware flash. After three years, it finally hung during a firmware update and is now unusable.
Even though I don't want to mess with computers anymore, I decided to build my own using OpenMediaVault, which I really like the looks of (thank you for making it!). I've purchased a system in which I can place my two 2.5 inch SSD's using hardware RAID1; it also has a slot for an mSATA. I'd like to have the system and data on a single disc, in two partitions. If one disc dies, I can continue on as I replace the dead one with no fuss. I can stick a small mSATA disc as the system disk, but that means I have to back that up separately as well, right?
It looks like NAS types of systems, and Open Media Default specifically, want there to be a separate system disk. Is it unrealistic to want system and data on a single disk that is mirrored and easily replaced? I'd rather not have to backup the system partition and data discs separately. I'm not committed to RAID, I simply want an automatic bootable mirror. Suggestions?