FreeBSD bootloader won't boot from the correct pool

Question

I've installed FreeBSD 10.1 on a system which has two ZFS pools, and which boots from an other hard disk, which contains only the bootloader. The main pool disks are connected to SATA ports on a PCI-E card, while the bootloader tries to boot from the wrong pool (the second pool, which is connected directly to the SATA ports on the motherboard).

The error is the following:

Can't find /boot/zfsloader
FreeBSD/x86 boot
Default: storage:/boot/kernel/kernel
boot:
/
Cant't find /boot/kernel/kernel
FreeBSD/x86 boot
Default: storage:/boot/kernel/kernel
boot: 

I tried to set vfs.root.mountfrom="zfs:zpool" or "zfs:zpool/ROOT" in /mnt/boot/loader.conf but it doesn't work.

If I unplug the disks of the second pool, the system boots up correctly.

Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

Ok, I figured that out by myself.

ZFS Loader doesn't allow to set a root pool to boot from, but it tries to guess the correct one by pooling the BIOS for the boot priority order.

To make it boot from the correct pool, I set as first booting device in the BIOS the drive containing the bootloader, and as second and third the drives belonging to the root mirrored pool.

Answer 2

try to cp -r /boot from correct pool to wrong pool. ensure that bootfs property on wrong pool is empty or set to correct pool.

Answer 3

Boot from an approriate distribution CD into "live CD" mode. Log in as root.

Now, let's say your bootable pool is called "tank";

import the pool without mounting it -

zpool import -N -f tank

Then set the bootfs property approriately. A common boot filesystem name is "tank/ROOT/default";

zpool set bootfs=tank/ROOT/default tank

that's it for the bootable pool. Repeat for the non-bootable pool, this time setting the bootfs property to "". There, you're done.