Vorlagen

I typically won't need more than 4 concurrent Plex streams. Though I have mostly x264 and 1080p, I am looking to acquire more h265 and 4K content so would like to be able to future proof the build so Plex could transcode those down the line. I appreciate you taking the time to work through these use cases and point me in the right direction.

Great. Let's say I drop the "win10/Gaming VM" use case and settle on NAS + Plex server... Sounds like an iGPU would be the way to go to get good hardware transcoding without an additional dedicated GPU. It's been mentioned before and I see it in the forums, but some (or all?) iGPUs require an an-of-yet unreleased unRAID build that moves onto a new Linux kernel. Yet many are apparently are using iGPU with great success already. Are they on older iGPU platforms that are currently supported by unRAID? Are there tried and true unRAID builds you can recommend for use with Plex in a Docker that I can base a new build off of?

Really appreciate the distinction there. My first reaction is that an iGPU would lag behind a dedicated GPU for use with a VM/gaming. Are you implying that an iGPU is necessary for hardware transcoding? Why is it that the Quadro P2000 is such a favorite for unRAID Server Builds vs a GTX GPU (what is inherent in a Quadro that lends itself for use here)? Are there "known good" builds (MB/MB Bios, CPUs, GPUs, etc) I can gravitate towards to explore further?

SUMMARY: unRAID server is 12 years old and has served me well but hardware is starting to fail. Have some questions and need guidance on my next steps (brand new unRAID build our not?). Over the last 12 years, it has effectively run 24/7. The HDDs have gradually been updated as they failed or higher capacity was needed (now running a 12 disk array with 40TB capacity), drives reformatted to XFS, and the unRAID OS updated several times (now on 6.3.5). I have of course thought about upgrading hardware over the years, but it has been adequate for my needs (exclusively used as a NAS for a Plex Server running on a secondary PC). Unfortunately, my 12 year old hardware is showing signs of its age (performance degradation and that "I'm dying" electronic smell). While it may be possible to diagnose and fix the specific issue, the overall age of my system means I need to shit or get off the pot when it comes to a brand new unRAID build. Use Cases: NAS: Previously with a Plex server on a separate Win10 PC as its primary client. The Win10 PC is also starting to show its age, so I'm in a unique position where I'm willing and able to potentially build a new unRAID server to utilize it as a NAS, a Plex Server (Docker?), and a new Win10 workstation (VM?). Win10 VM for Gaming/Daily Driver: Seems like some users have had great success and some have struggled with VM performance. Since I'm going to be building a new unRAID server from scratch, I'm hoping there are tried-and-true hardware/unRAID configs that can be shared to maximize my chances for success. Would love to read an exploration of how practical this is. Lots of resources on this but hard to know if this is the right decision or where to start. Plex Server: Is running Plex Server on Docker preferable to running it on a VM (like the above Win10 VM), and is it well-featured/maintained (I note the PC Plex Server gets updated every week or so)? Can it take advantage of CPU/GPU hardware transcoding? Again, if there are tried-and-true hardware/unRAID configs to support this use case, I'd love to explore it. This turned into an awful wall of text. I have searched through threads on this forum but the amount of information is overwhelming and it's hard to find the appropriate resources to start with. I am a computer engineer so not afraid of getting my hands dirty, but it's been a long time since I've gotten involved in a project like this. I'm hoping to find some kind souls who're willing to chat with me about options... Feel free to move this post to a more appropriate forum, link me to other posts, documentation, and to RTFM, if appropriate.

Intermediate Update: I performed my upgrade to 6.3.5. It went smooth except I had to re-assign boot order in the BIOS (the possibility of this was in the v6 Upgrade Wiki article indicating sometimes the BIOs tries to be "helpful" when installed disks changes). I am currently having it re-build the parity on my original parity drive (playing it safe). I do see that unRAID recognizes my new drive as a 4TB drive. Once my parity rebuild is complete, I will perform the parity swap to the new 4TB drive. Presuming it all goes well, I will post a final update, and mark this thread as solved.

Thanks BobPhoenix--- Are you confirming Squid's hypothesis that v4 doesn't support >2TB drives, or just speculating what my options would be if that were the case? I ran the lm proc/cpuinfo command per the "Upgrading to unRAID v6" wiki guide and it appears I do have the lm in the CPU flags so I should be able to update to the latest v6. root@Tower:~# grep --color lm /proc/cpuinfo flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arc h_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm

Hello all--I'm running 4.5.6 currently and am attempting to upgrade my Parity drive from a 2TB drive to a 4TB drive. To do this in the past, I've simply unassigned my old Parity drive (or removed/replaced it entirely with the new drive using same port), started the array, then stopped the array, assigned the new disk, and subsequently was given the option to bring the array on-line and start a Parity-Sync. The issue I'm currently experiencing is that with the new drive assigned to the Parity slot, the Main page still shows the Parity drive as Not installed. The only option I have is to simply "Start" the Array "Start will bring the array on-line (array will be unprotected)." I can see the drive in the Devices tab and can assign it to the parity slot there, but it's like the drive subsequently isn't being recognized and won't "take". I've tried this with both the new drive in a new port, as well as replacing the old parity drive port directly. If I subsequently put the old drive back in and re-assign it as parity, it successfully recognizes it as a new drive and lets me bring the array online with a Parity-Sync. Not sure what the issue is--I feel like if the drive wasn't being recognized it wouldn't see it in Devices and let me select it. Is there something else going on that I am missing?

Thanks Squid/johnnie.black. I actually tried booting after running a chkdsk and assocaited repair on the USB boot drive and it's displaying the shares again. I've updated this thread to show [SOLVED]. I'll work on updating to 6.3.2. Since I'm coming from 4.5.6 the v5 upgrade plugin doesn't seem to be an option. I will go through the instructions here: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/Upgrading_to_UnRAID_v6 Though I'll backup everything for a wholesale backout, it looks like I just need to save my .key file, network.cfg, iden.cfg, and shares configs. I'll take a screenshot of what drives are which (particularly parity), but this seems like only an extra precuation if I plan on restoring my .cfg files. I take it the actual FORMATTING of the disks is the same, so if I had issues and needed to restore back to my old settings I could restore the entire contents of the old thumbdrive. Re-format thumb drive, copy over new v6 files and my .cfg and .key, then boot. I understand the Permissions Tool will need to be run once I boot up the first time. Anything else I should keep in mind?

[SOLVED]: EDIT: Able to restore access to file shares by running a chkdsk and repair on the USB Boot Drive from another computer. Hello-- I've been running unRAID for many years though I'm still on a legacy 4.5.6 version. Use the unRAID server daily and have never experienced this issue before. Turned on the unRAID server this morning and found I'm unable to access my files via any of my clients (Windows or Mac). Typically would access it over \\tower or my static IP of \\192.168.1.101. Now am unable to connect to the network location from any clients. Accessing the WebGUI via http://192.168.1.101/main.htm shows unRAID is started up, shows all my drives attached and green, etc. I can also still telnet to the IP directly and log in without an issue. WebGUI screenshot: I've done my fair share of unRAID troubleshooting over the years, but have never found a situation when the WebGUI came up and reported happy but I was unable to get to my files. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated as to what I should look at or try next. Cheers.

I've actually been able to get the server into a happy state by consolidating data onto larger drives and utilizing other, still functional ports on the MB. However, the fact that I've lost 2 MB ports already is indicative that this old hardware is on the way out and I don't want to be caught without a functioning server if it takes a dive the rest of the way. That said, I don't necessarily need to copy over the config to a new unRAID server exactly--I'm happy to reassign the drives. Thanks for your tip on the big red flag of assigning a data drive as the parity disk. Essentially though, your recommendation is to simply build the new unRAID hardware, plug in the new data drives, and assign them as needed.

In Short: Need guidance on the best way to refresh my existing unRAID hardware/software/setup because original PC hardware from 2008 is starting to fail on me (maintaining data). Details: I built an unRAID tower in 2008, which has performed admirably and has protected my data and given me network attached storage for the last 7.5 years. Through HD failures, recoveries, and all, it has performed well for my 13 installed data drives. The version of unRAID on the server is currently 4.5.6 (I know, pretty old). Recently, some of the drives have stopped being recognized by unRAID. After some experimenting (swapping out drives, shuffling drive bays, etc) I determined that it's not an issue with the HDs themselves, it's that either the Motherboard or the cabling supporting them has started to fail. All of this leads me to think that perhaps I need to refresh my motherboard and other fundamental hardware pieces. My current setup is all SATA II. I'd like to refresh all my hardware and set the grounds for an unRAID server that will last me another 8 years! That said, I have 13 current HDs full of data. Would like some high-level guidance from the friendly folks on this forum about the best ways to accomplish this. I think at the very least I need to get a new MB/assocaited CPUs/RAM/cables/etc and use the existing HDs. Open to other crazy suggestions from folks who have done this sort of upgrade in the past. Thanks again for your help.

Annnnd a chkdsk repair worked and I'm back up and in action. Many thanks to jonathanm. Cheers!

EDIT/UPDATE: Annnnd a chkdsk repair worked and I'm back up and in action. Many thanks to jonathanm. Cheers! Greetings, I have had a stable unRAID server on build 4.5.6 for many years now. This morning when I turned on the unRAID tower I was unable to access the file share through the typical \\tower or even the IP at \\192.168.1.101. The server is booting up fully and I can access the web console. It says everything has started and does not report any issues ("Started - Configuration Valid"). From the same computer, I can ping tower and its IP address, but am not able to access any file shares (nothing at the network location). All other computers on my network see the same issue. I do not know of any changes to the hardware or the software overnight that would explain this behavior. I was able to telnet into the server to attempt to get a syslog to post here, but received the following error: root@Tower:~# cp /var/log/syslog /boot/syslog.txt cp: cannot create regular file `/boot/syslog.txt': Read-only file system Is my Lexar Firefly USB drive causing an issue here? If it won't let me make the log file, I wonder if it's dying, being seen as read-only, etc, and is otherwise causing a problem. Any suggestions on how to further diagnose the issue or has anyone seen anything like this before? Thanks in advance for your input.

I have exactly the same question--will these PCH issues being discussed be alleviated by the gigabit ethernet on the new C-200 model?

Thanks for your help--I actually did try it without the parity search and still received the errors. RobJ--what I was trying to say was that my PC, which normally plays HD, also can not (I was checking to see if it was OS X that was the problem). As far as HD playing power, my iMac normally chews through 1080 without any issue. ipconfig/all on the windows boxes show no issues, just like ifconfig shows no issues, must not be cables.