[atmosx]

I use ZFS (4 x 2TB drivers in mirror mode = 4TB pool) for my backup system since 2014. I never had to "learn" anything ZFS related, the interface is fairly simple if you're familiar with CLI apps and the documentation for ZFS is crystal clear. The system overall is very easy to reason about. Works in a "set-and-forget" mode for me, every now and then I create, destroy or resize some volumes. I had to swap a broken HDD and re-silver once in 5 years it was two hours work IIRC.

[hanklazard]

Awesome, that’s the kind of experience I’m looking for. Some tutorials make it seem really complex and intimidating.

[atmosx]

The main drawback you have to keep in mind is that you cannot modify pool size. Every pool can have one or more volumes. For advanced features like ARC caching, I'm just using sensible defaults.

Also, keep in mind that ZFS need at least 8GB of RAM, possibly 16GB for up to 16TB of data.