Setting up another Backup box and drive format question

[Bizquick]

If I'm not going to go to the ZFS approch and just use unraid array like it is.
should I format the drives for XFS instead of BTRFS. I know the defaults use XFS anyway but if I'm not going to play with the snap shot plugins or any of that stuff. just thinking the speed on XFS might be a little better.

Oh also after I format all the drives and I don't have any data or shares. Do I need to let the system do a full parity check? I mean all the drives are blank and have been wiped several times over.

[trurl]

Don't know exactly what you have in mind when you say a disk is "blank" or "wiped".

 

A formatted disk contains an empty filesystem, it is not a clear disk. A clear disk is all zeros so has no effect on parity.

 

If you intend to start with all clear disks in the array, then parity would be valid since it would also be clear. Then formatting the disks in the array to write empty filesystems on them would update parity just like any other write operation, so parity would still be valid.

 

If you are not starting with all clear disks, then you need to build parity.

[trurl]

And, if these disks are known to be good, no reason to go through all the time and trouble to clear them. Building parity would be much quicker.