Internal SSD + HDD: jHFS+ Fusion, or APFS non-Fusion?

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Internal SSD + HDD: jHFS+ Fusion, or APFS non-Fusion?

I have a Mac mini (Mid-2011) into which I recently installed two new internal drives: a 500-GB SSD, and a 5-TB HDD. Given the current (February 2018) state of APFS non-support for "fused" drives, what would be the pros and cons of each of the following possible configurations of the two new drives? (I'm transitioning from El Capitan to High Sierra.)

(1) Format both drives as jHFS+, and create a CoreStorage Fusion drive using both. Forget about APFS for the time being.

(2) Format both drives as APFS, and go without the "fusion" functionality for now, while hoping that Apple eventually makes it possible to non-destructively "fuse" two existing separate APFS volumes (in different containers) into a single APFS Fusion Container.

(3) Format the SSD as APFS and use it as the boot drive. Format the HDD in jHFS+ and use it as the data-storage drive. Wait for a future opportunity to convert both to a unified APFS Fusion Container.

Wise counsel appreciated. Thanks!

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), 16 GB RAM, Intel HD Graphics 3000

Posted on Feb 13, 2018 7:16 AM

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Answer 1

den.thed

Level 10

95,226 points

Feb 13, 2018 6:21 PM in response to jdmcmurtry

Good questions!

I ran your option 3 (with smaller SSD and HDD) for a few years on a couple of Mac Mini's and it works extremely well. The biggest downside for me was, ensuring that I had a good backup of two different internal drives in two different machines.

Then a little over a year ago I went to plan 4, a single (large SSD) in both Mac Mini's and moved my iTunes library to a large external drive. You can do the same thing with large photo and movie libraries.

The planed up-side to going back to one large SSD, was three fold.

1. Everything else is faster on the SSD and iTunes doesn't care where it's library is stored.

2. The Mac Mini's runs a lot cooler without the extra heat from an internal HDD.

3. Managing good sound backups became much easier.

As keg55 pointed out, an APFS HDD is not currently recommended.

see > How to choose between APFS and Mac OS Extended when formatting a disk for Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 2

keg55

Level 6

11,765 points

Feb 13, 2018 7:49 AM in response to jdmcmurtry

I would choose #3, even though I don't run High Sierra (yet). I'll wait until maybe it reaches its last update (e.g. 10.13.6). But I would not try or use APFS on a Fusion Drive even when Apple makes it available - just my preference.

I have a 2014 Mac Mini bought with a Fusion Drive (128GB SSD + 1TB HDD). I "unfused' it to split the drives since I'm using this Mac as a home server running macOS Server 5.2. I wanted to remove overhead with CoreStorage which is needed for a Fusion Drive. I don't know if the SSD is read/written to less this way or not, but it does seem faster for OS activity. For data storage, the 1TB HDD (HFS+) is fine for that.

Which ever way you go, I would not recommend formatting an HDD APFS since it's not something Apple recommends at this time.

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

95,226 points

Feb 14, 2018 3:42 PM in response to jdmcmurtry

Might be better to make up your mind now, because you can not simple integrate them into a Fusion drive.

The process of creating a Fusion Drive, completely wipes both drives.

see > How to create and disable a Fusion Drive - TechRepublic

and > https://www.macworld.com/article/2014011/storage-drives/how-to-make-your-own-fus ion-drive.html

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Answer 4

jdmcmurtry Author

Level 1

39 points

Feb 14, 2018 1:38 PM in response to den.thed

What's interesting to me is the comparison between the overall performance and convenience of options (1) and (3).

In other words: Suppose you're starting with the internal 500-GB SSD and internal 5-TB HDD both formatted in jHFS+ as separate volumes. Would it be more beneficial to [[A]] convert the SSD (not the HDD) to APFS format and leave the two volumes logically separated, or [[B]] keep jHFS+ on both devices and use CoreStorage to integrate them into a single "Fusion Drive" volume?

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Answer 5

jdmcmurtry Author

Level 1

39 points

Feb 14, 2018 8:30 PM in response to den.thed

The process of creating a Fusion Drive, completely wipes both drives.

Yes, I'm aware of that. All you have to do is back up the data from both drives beforehand, and restore that data to the unified Fusion volume afterward. IMHO, that amounts to only a modest one-time inconvenience.

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Answer 6

den.thed

Level 10

95,226 points

Feb 15, 2018 8:32 AM in response to jdmcmurtry

Yea' tough choice I know.

Never cared much for the Fusion thingy myself, but there should be no worries with good backups.

(seen to many folks with busted or unintentionally split Fusion Drives and no backup)

Personally I'm much happier with just the SSD's in my Mac MIni's.

(the Mac Mini's run way cooler and I worry less about OS updates)

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Internal SSD + HDD: jHFS+ Fusion, or APFS non-Fusion?

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