I tried to create a RAID-1 array inside Cockpit and got an error. Eventually, I realised that mdadm must not be installed so I did that from a terminal inside Cockpit. After that I tried again and it then seemed to work. I hope this helps someone else to avoid the same issue.
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You are able to do RAID-1 directly from within btrfs without lvm / md devices. btrfs will support RAID-0, RAID-1, RAID-10 today. I’m using RAID-1 and am pleased with this. I’ve posted about recovering from device failure and it was perfect.
If you want RAID-5 you should read about the status first. As of this post it’s not ready for production use.
There’s no issue using md - it works well. This is a less complicated alternative that integrates completely with FreedomBox features such as snapshots. I have a single filesystem at /.
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Thanks Joseph,
It’s good of you to help. You mention BTRFS but on my setup that isn’t a listed option in the drop-down box in the format dialogue. I will read the article at the link you gave but I have almost zero knowledge of BTRFS. At this stage it’s a case of baby steps and better the devil you know (slightly). 
At this stage it’s a case of baby steps and better the devil you know
Nothing wrong with this, it is exactly how I started with FreedomBox except with no RAID devices.
When I did my first FreedomBox I did not know of the btrfs dependency for some features. I think I set up ext4 for / and /home. It was fine. Then I tried making one with btrfs when I had no experience with btrfs. That was fine too. Today I don’t sweat the filesystem layout: everything in /, btrfs, and use the raid1 layout. I am a fan. There are others on the board that run ext4, and that’s good for them.
I see you’re new. Welcome aboard!
Thank you. Good to be part of it.