lars

well, some things might be not optimal, but secure (like switching to vpn to do the secure stuff). a little price to pay for having your box secured i think. movies (same as music) you could run also via subsonic plugin for easy access. L

hi, first of all thx for all the work on it, it is a great plugin (in progress). using it now for about 2 weeks and generally love the added functionality, even not using all of the possible features. so far for the good stuff. now to the downers, it slows many things down to a point not acceptable! running a parity check, i see speed decreases of 50+%! that is insane. also affected are transfer speeds from cache to array etc. i move a lot of files over the week to the server (cache, than on to array). so that is a real dealbreaker to me i have to say. first i blamed other potential issues for it, but in the end it is pretty clear, sf is running it is slow, sf is disabled it is substantially faster. so based on that (and with a tear in my eye) i will uninstall sf for the time being/ until i see some reports this issues are solved. anyway, i hope you keep up the good work and in one of the next versions this issues will be solved! i will be happily back to sf! but for the environment i use it in at the moment it is a no go. cheers L

Wow! The stories your syslog could tell, if a syslog could talk! I'll bet you're a risk-taker. You probably don't bother worrying about static discharge, you probably don't care if power is off before yanking cables! And I know you don't worry about your data when you want to swap drives, because your syslog told me so! That's the first time I have ever seen someone pull the cables to spinning drives, including ones assigned to the array, and reconnect them in a different way, then start the array to see if it all worked. And it did! For the most part, you got away with it. You do like living dangerously. In the end though, I suspect the subsequent problems *may* be because of the live reconnections, however I don't know that for sure. I have not had a chance to examine the other syslogs yet, only the first, but this one has a lot to say. What is below is rather long, my apologies, but it tells the story. Please do read my comments along the way. Above, your steps 1 through 9 seem correct, but step 10 is wrong, the new parity drive lost contact almost 12 hours after it was built, and was quickly dropped from the system. That explains the huge number of subsequent errors, which you can completely ignore, since the real issue is why the drive lost communications like that. There is probably nothing wrong with the Seagate drive itself. Here is a commented version of your syslog: (By the way, the HPA is on the Cache drive (sdj, a 500GB Seagate), not a part of the array, so its HPA is not a real problem here. It's not a good thing, but is not causing parity trouble.) I'm tired... wow!!! amazing the whole box is even turning on this days! next time i have a old pc i have to try sth like that, bet with my luck it gets up in flames halfway thru! L

well, i dont have this prob. on the other hand, i dont have sh*tloads of apps running on my unraid server! for me4 it is the 'master' storage unit. means everything else (nearly) is running on another pc. the unraid server is really just a storage unit, with the exception of subsonic to allow for some fast and easy access to my media files. i would think, feel free to correct me there - as you load more bs on it and more plugins for crap - you might get some functionality of it, but at the same time you make it more vulnerable and in-stable. i like to have a stable running 'nas' end of the day. all the other crap has in my eyes nothing to do on a rocksolid storage/ backup unit. you do that on another pc and shuffle it over to your unraid machine. you take the approach to the do-it-all-unraid, you are asking for this probs... actually may learn by a complete (i know that's hard to get) data loss. anyway, no feelings from my end. as said before, it is my 'safe-keep' for my mediafiles... not the do-it-all machine. L

helpful thread. thx helmonder. i was getting there researching all the steps (well most of them) myself over the last days and got nearly to the same point like you. my setup is very similar, several routers throughout the house, one connected to the internet. here it was just necessary to have within the house 4 (yes, that's rite, 4!) wifi access points, to cover the whole house. so i basically pulled all my old junkers out, put dd-wrt on them and placed them 'strategically' in the house (it's a old house and many of the walls are over 1ft thick, the later added parts have enough friggin steel in it that i have even cell reception probs). on the upside it gave me a nice choice of playing around with networks and sub-networks. i think all in all i should be on a very secure end of it all. greets, L

i see, on it at the moment. for some reason it never even crossed my mind for the unraid/ subsonic machine... guess i was just excited to have it all up and running. thx for your hint. L

Completely insecure It was never designed to be visible from the world. Example: Passwords are sent in the clear. Web-server never been tested for attack vectors. You WILL be hacked. Use a VPN at the least to protect yourself. interesting! to say the least... would like to hear your view on the subsonic plugin!!! ppl i have on it i trust. so thats not the issue. but using a account on it with subsonic dns 'forwarding', how secure would you rate that in general? the actual server sits behind a dd-wrt modified router but is not on vpn set up. basically just the usual stuff, nat, port open for the particular server etc... really would like you/ somebody else to chime in on the security issue! generally it should make a sticky with info's concerning that! i think most ppl are not even aware of this! i was only 'halfway'. and i usually have my machines seriously over-secured. but being very new to unraid, i was happy to get it running without probs, installed subsonic (taking care of the friends and myself at work) and the apc ups up (have some more control about the batteries) and wasnt really thinking about unraid being potentially wide open over the wan. so any information about wan/ internet security issues and solutions would be in my eyes extremely useful to everybody and (considering useful input by some of the 'pro's' here) worthy of a sticky. L

Make sure it's a single rail PSU Yes, i am looking at this PSU Corsair CP-9020048-UK Builder Series CX 600W Power Supply http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-corsair-builder-series-cx-cp-9020048-uk-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu i would say with corsair, ocz and the likes you cant really go wrong. just consider your 'near' future expansion plans when deciding on the wattage for your new psu. generally it is not good to have it running close to max. but i would think 600w will give you quite a bit of room for now. on the other hand, shopping around might turn up a 'bigger' psu for the same price or less! i was shopping in january for sth in the area 600w and ended up with with same brand 750w for about $20 less total than the smaller one (on sale, $25 after sale rebate, $15 instant rebate). it might be worth it to spend an hour or so shopping around. dont get scared away by shop warranty etc policies, its the manufacturer warranty that counts in the end. L

Performance gains from doing this will be minimal. Thanks for the info, no point changing to 2x2 if i won't see any performance increase. No RAM upgrade for now then that wasn't what i tried to suggest to begin with, if you have to run out and buy it new. more as a tip if you have it sitting around and collecting dust. about the performance gain you can argue. in some cases there is very little, some software comes to life with the use of dual channel capabilities. i am by no means a unraid expert, so i tend to believe the statement that it does little to nothing for unraid. here is some basic starter info about dual-channel memory... just in case you are interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture

i wouldn't argue that. just had never a chance to 'play' with one of them yet. also the the rpc-4224 looks liek a worthy contender, i just cant see the 4 additional bays really being worth a $100 more. one question about the rpc-4220 i have btw - does it support sata III? supposedly the 4020 does not, i never tried it. they would kill me at my jobsite if i start to experiment with the servers there LOL.

have to agree with the 4gb in a 32bit system as a max. in this case than 2x2gb instead of 1x4gb, otherwise go wherever you like to 8, 16... on a 64bit os. just keep in mind, there is a line between show-off and practical use. 4 should be plenty anyway, my 8 dont seem to bring any advantage (maybe for the directory caching combined with subsonic and 600K media files). in real life.

while not a tower case, but a 4U server rackmount i would suggest looking at the Norco RPC-4020, a pretty awesome case offering nearly ideal specs to max unraid out (that's in number of hdd's). i never tried it (we have them mounted in server cabinets where i work), but i am sure you can also just place them in a tower-like fashion. now before you start yelling about the roughly $300 pricetag, consider the fact that you get 20 sata/ sas hot-swappable bays build in! plus another 2 3.5" fixed hdd cages (i would make that cache and parity). at about $90 for a 5in3 cage this baby paid alread for itself before you count in the case... a way to look at it. one thing that s*cks a bit are the 7 80mm fans - they are kind of loud. if your "tower" is located in the basement/ another room no problem (they are actually not as bad as many other server case fans), if not - you want to replace them with sth more quiet. otherwise, solid design (very solid, weighs in just under 50lbs empty LOL), lots of space and config options. a true contender to all the tower options. just do the math! between $50-100 for the tower case, another $90+ per 5in3 cage.... L

Thanks Peter. I am guessing it is down to two issues if it is really a hardware problem - 4 port sata controller/StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack I got this controller 3 weeks ago and attached two 3tb Drives to it via StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack. Maybe i should have gone for a better controller but it was the cheapest i found on ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/123967-startech-4-port-pci-serial-ata-sata-storage-controller-raid-0-1-pcisata4r1 - PSU. With 10 drives and one HDD rack connected to the PSU, i think it's time i replace to a 650 or 750w PSU Also, is the 4gb RAM enough? Will i notice a difference if i add another 4gb ram? The board has two dimm slots and only one is currently being used 4gb ram sounds like plenty, on the other hand if you run sth like subsonic and/ or directory caching more would poss not hurt. you might wanna check also if your setup is dual channel memory capable (it should be), in this case you would be better off with 2x2 or 2x4gb, it helps with speed issues. as mentioned before, if you go for a new psu, dont skimp around on $10 or 20! nothing is worse for your system than a cheap crappy psu. see also unraid webpage (somewhere under build your own) even there you get told buy a GOOD psu. its not only for unraid, but generally when you build a system. single rail 12v should be a must when looking for replacement. i run a fairly similar setup to yours, have a ocz zt750 in it. kinda overkill, but it stays cool (helps to keep it effiçient) and gives me plenty room for expansion in the future.

to get a rough idea, how your psu is holding up with your hardware i recommend a psu calculator. http://www.msi.com/service/power-supply-calculator/ is one example (actually pretty decent and straight forward) others you will find also with a short search. anyway, if your psu gets to the limits, dont skimp out on a few bucks for a new one. cheap psu's cause more damage than many other things. good quality, 12v single rail is a must, to save some bucks look also for at least broze rated energy savings... i usually use ocz (good price/ quality). also modular psu helps to keep clutter out of your case -> better airflow/ cooling.

Screenshot? sorry at the time you ask for a screenshot i had already uninstalled, reinstalled and narrowed the prob down to one user share/ 2 drives. it seemed to have to do with the fact that one of the drives was just 'loaded' with nearly zero space (a screw-up on my end while setting up the share). after solving that and reinstall sofar no more probs. was hoping my drives just grow magically... ohh well, one can dream

first of all, thx for a great set of plugins! love it generally... now to the but, (i have to say i just installed -most- of the plugins some hours ago)... anyway, BUT is it normal that one of my hdd's (size 3tb) suddenly goes overboard and believes it has 8.98tb and 2.99tb free and the other one of this share (also 3tb) has 3tb used and 3.99tb free? just the one user share. i mean i would love that kind of magic hdd space explosion, it just seems extremely odd

ok, might be a stupid question (but than again, there are no stupid questions, just stupid answers ) once i hit the link to get the file from the first post i get a page with code and comments... so i assume i am supposed to create the file with the rite name (cache_dirs-1.6.7-4jr.plg) and copy the whole stuff into it? it's cool with me, i guess i will manage that. just strives me as odd. usually you get a zip (or sth along that way) at the d/l. if i am wrong here and my browser is just f*cking with me, please let me know! thx, lars

Awesome! Looking forward to it. well, they finally got here. initially put one in attached 2 drives restarted the server and all went without a prob. once that was established shut down the server and added 2nd card, restart and the server didn't start (started cursing etc, the usual stuff one does ). anyway, established pretty fast that one of the hdd's was junk. so switched that out and restarted... all is good. fazit: there is no prob running multiple of this card. and the price is just to good to not fill unused pcie 1x slots with it. i guess i get one more to use in my last pcie 1x slot soon, the rate the hdd's are filling up i will need it and it is a nice and cheap way to utilize otherwise useless pcie slots and some of the older drives you have sitting around. haven't seen any issues yet in terms of speed etc. so i think - if you dont have the money at this point to fork out in the $100+ range for a 4/8/16 port controller and you have one or more slow pcie slots open thats the way to go for gradual adding drives for under $15 per 2 hdd's.

yep it is. thx jimmyjoe! since the cards are ordered now and coming anyway i guess it will become an experiment in low cost building and the potential downfalls , hope martinq was rite and it worx in unraid (at least one of them ) anyway, once they get here and i try it myself i shall keep you guys updated on the results.

thx. as said before... did i actually? anyway unraid claimed to run to the clearing process... and it seemed to take little time compared to some claims. so i was positively surprised. i sure will pre-clear in future to keep my server up. with the new build it was just not really an issue. anyway, no idea what it did really... it claimed to clear the drives (took about 8 or 9 hrs for the three) and formatted afterwards (fairly short - 20min... 1/2hr!?). anyway did the job, the hdd's went to other stress-testing before. so i guess it's as good as it gets. consider myself anyway lucky that way... never ever a hdd disaster in over 20yrs.

yep well... .... anyway, just ordered 2 of them, cheapskate that i am... will once again take about 2 days to get to miami and another week to get to me here in jamaica. once they are here i will take the 2 step process (get one in and working first and see what happen with two as second step). generally i do not really see probs... who knows. so far this whole build goes way to smooth in my opinion. that might be the superior unraid software solution or just pure luck so far. run actually in minor probs. nothing to do with the server. the majority of the network here was still running on 100base-t. so i was initially really p*ssed when i got trans rates of about 9mb LOL. than starting to do the math, that's actually not so bad on 100mbit . so i ordered a 1gbit switch (should get here by next week) and 1gbit cards for the pc's still running on 100. should solve that prob. anyway, back to the multiple syba controllers - i don't see any prob really sofar putting them in. i was more wondering about potential speed issues. at least on my mb all 3 pcie x1 slots are on the same pcie-bus (northbridge amd 970). i should have made that clear. i am more concerned about probs/ speed issues due to having 2 of this cards hooked up to the same bus, especially if the are used at the same time (read or write). so any ideas along this line would be welcome! as said before, it's the cheap way out at the moment + it gives otherwise "useless" ports a meaning for really little money (the cards get actually good reviews for what they are). and i sure wanna keep the x4 and x16 slots open for better/ more port controllers at a later time. so far (pretty firm) i look at 2 'old' seagate 750/7200 (data), a seagate 250/7200 (cache - yep big enough, read it all... no question there) and a wd-green 3tb to hook up to this cards. anything to keep in mind, as far as you guys can think about it!? once again, thx for any help in advance... L

Sure does! ok, thx m8!!! guess i go ahead and order 2 of this babies as mentioned before, at the moment money is tight. i have a huge assortment of hdd's sitting around at this point, even more with ext. usb drives (i had 12 at the time i switched to unraid) just need to take them apart at one point. for now i would be fine with another 4 hdd's hooked up to 2 of this cards. $15 is a steal i think, i can't see any other use for the pcie x1 ports - so, perfect use i guess. gives me for now 2x3tb, 1x1tb for data drives and a port for a 250gb cache drive. leaving still one pcie slot for another low cost syba card + 2 more drives before we get into bigger cards on the pcie x4 and x16 ports. by that time i guess i look into another psu and case as well LOL. actually, that was another think i wanted to ask! any experience with multiple of the syba cards? any probs there to your knowledge? as always, thx in advance for your time and knowledge.... L

hi! just trying to double confirm here. the- IO Crest 2 Port SATA III PCI-Express x1 Card (SY-PEX40039) -will work with unraid5-rc11? the card is dirt cheap with $15, i have pcix1 ports unused (2 of them). so if it is confirmed that the card works, it would take some load of my stretched budget at this point. i rather spend $30 right now, filling the otherwise useless pciex1 ports and be able to add hdd's to get much needed space instead of waiting til i have cash left over for a fully blown pciex4 card supporting 4,6 or 8 drives. just don't need that right now and cant really afford it.

hi all, finally all the needed parts arrived in kingston 2 days ago and the first unraid server (on my end) was build yesterday. so far all went way to smooth for my liking , wondering when the first prob shows! anyway... here the specs: case: some no-name fullsize tower with 13 bays (3 x 5.25, 10 x 3.5) - completely gutted for case use only - $0 mb: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 (i went with it, even after reading all the iffy comments) - $58 cpu: AMD Athlon II X2 270 Regor 3.4 (had that collecting dust here) - $0 ram: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 8 Dual Channel Kit 1600 (surely complete overkill, but was something sitting around here as well for some time - client paid for it, never heard of again... so i used it ) - $0 cpu-cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 (just improving cpu temp and noise factor) - $17 hdd: 6 x WD Green Desktop 3TB SATA 6.0 GB/s (new, that was a bummer) - 6 x $132 psu: OCZ ZT Series 550W Fully-Modular 80PLUS (new) - $85 video: since the mb has none, old pci ati rage (really crappy piece, but does the bios job) - $0 some old case fans (140 and 120mm variety) i had laying around usb-stick: kingston 2gb (was some promo give away) - $0 unraid plus (for now) the goal was to build a box at around $1000 (well knowing the hdd's alone will be around $800) as network server for audio and video (majority audio with about 80%). giving me a little room for the next couple month and til all the stuff is transferred to it. once that is done, some of the external usb-drives i used so far (mix of 3tb, 2tb, 1tb) will be gradually dismanteled and added to the server via controller cards. a cache drive is coming at this time as well + a move of all the stuff in a old 4u rack case i still have sitting here to accomodate all that. at this point, all was starting smooth at first try (gave it a test run with únraid free first) and now also in full config (1 x parity, 5 x 3tb data), very pleased. like to take this opportunity also to thank everybody on the forum for their posts in general (it was a great source so far for information all around) and the ppl keeping up with my questions etc.! one thing i do not really understand is the moaning about the clearing times for the drives seen here in many threads! i read in more than one thread to expect times in the 25-30hr range to clear a 3tb drive... that sounds at this point outlandish to me! i just cleared (not the pre-clear script, just thought there was no point, since it is a new machine and no uptime gets lost) all (6 x 3tb) drives including formatting and (a useless, since empty) parity check in less than 8hrs!? now , i put that (since i don't know better) to the last unraid (5-rc11) software and possible improvements there (tell me if you know better). i don't believe it is my hardware, which is middle of the road at best beside the outlandish ram. since this really peaks my interest, i would love to hear of others about there drive clearing times with the latest builds. i can't imagine tom did the lars is the 10.000st user and is allowed to do it in a 1/4 of the time gig anyway, any comments, questions etc welcome. thx again all for your invaluable info's. Lars

point well taken. but you have to agree you are quite a extreme example mate . i see your point completely. and, just in case it didn't come out as clear as intended in my initial post... i was more focusing on the 'start up' user... maybe having a couple of computers and a small server or two. i wouldn't dare to argue with you considering a setup like yours. gee, if it wasn't about the initially mentioned budget considerations i would just go for it cause it is convenient. in my situation (living in jamaica with constant power spikes, brownouts and cuts) i see the money better invested in powerline conditioning and ups unit. at least a decent ups might also be a consideration for ppl in the first world building a server!? it is amazing how much damage can be done to hardware by over/under power and interuptions. (i am sure you have that sufficiently covered with your sets). thx, L