# [ESXi + FreeBSD] Hot plug (remove) freezes complete system



## hyperbart (May 26, 2013)

Hi guys,

At home I have a VMware ESXi 5.1 Update 1 (Build 1065491) with a FreeBSD machine based on ZFSGuru, equipped with VMWare Tools and 16 GB of vRAM.

The FreeBSD machine has exclusive access (via VT-d) to an IT-flashed IBM M1015 with five Hitachi's, a Crucial M4 and two Seagates attached to it. The 5 x 3 TB Hitachi's are configured as a RAIDZ array, the 2 x 2 TB Seagates as a mirror, the M4 serves as an L2ARC and ZIL.

To back up and safeguard my data I was thinking about sending and receiving my critical data from the RAIDZ array to the mirror and "breaking" the mirror by removing one of the two disks and place it on an off-site location. When I reinsert the disk, FreeBSD would automatically resilver the mirror so I always have a consistent backup. By switching the disks (one week the first, the other week the other one) the wear and tear would be spread pretty evenly.

Now the problem is that when I remove one of my two Seagates (haven't tested it with my Hitachi's yet) that the complete FreeBSD VM freezes. It doesn't matter if it's the first or the second. The result is that the console is unresponsive, I can't reach any Samba shares anymore and the only solution is resetting the complete VM.

Can anyone point me in the right direction or help me analyze the problem? Which logs can I provide?


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## hyperbart (May 26, 2013)

The ZFSguru/FreeBSD machine is equipped with version 9.1


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