Shunz

Any comments on which would be better? I'm about to upgrade from a v5 installation to a v6, and this should be a great occasion to replace my existing Cache Drive (and especially the Plex Library and transcode folders) with an SSD. Usage Patterns: Array WD Red x6 + 1 HGST Parity, core i3 4150 16gb, on X10SL7-F Currently mostly used as a Media Server, using PLEX. Maximum 3 streams at a time. My transfers to the Cache drive varies from about 50gb, to 200+ gb at a time Ideally one should now use a 2x SSD Cache Pool, running plex off the pool... Existing Setup, on unraid v5: Cache WD Black 750gb (2.5-inch, 1.5 years old) > Includes Plex Library and Transcode Folders (all in a share-only App folder). Covers and menu currently takes some time to load!! Upgrade option 1, on unraid v6 Benefit: no more spinners for cache drive; straightforward clean upgrade from unraid v5 to v6 Upgrade Cache Drive to Samsung 850 Evo 500gb SSD > Includes Plex Library and Transcode Folders (all in a share-only App folder) Upgrade option 2, on unraid v6 Benefit: I get to upgrade my PC gaming drive from a 256gb to a 500gb No change to Cache Drive WD Black 750gb (2.5-inch) Add 2-year old SSD from PC (about 6.5TBW) Samsung 840 Pro 256gb SSD For Plex Library and Transcode Folders Upgrade option 3, on unraid v6 Benefit: Same as 1 and 2, but at 1/2 the Cache Swap Cache Drive Add 2-year old Samsung 840 Pro 256 gb (about 6.5TBW) > Includes Plex Library and Transcode Folders (all in a share-only App folder)

Did a quick read-through of the massive v6 upgrading guide and the v6 manual. Fwaaah! Some really amazing and long-awaited improvements - better file systems, streamlining (v5 feels generally patchwork by comparison), and dockers are probably my favorite ones right now.

Thanks Rob, bjp999!! I guess I really need to take a good look at v6 soon...!

Thanks Rob! I'm using a Supermicro X10SL7-F with an LSI 2308 SAS controller. There doesn't seem to be any firmware updates for the controller, but the board bios is up to date. Oh wow - I'm only reading it now - unRaid v6 has been officially stable since last month! Woohoo!!! Was waiting for that for a while! I'm gonna take some time to read up on v6 and the upgrading methods soon. The disk rebuild should take another half a day. Should I RMA this other WD Red? It is the previous drive that failed, and it is now unused. After taking notice of the UDMA_CRC_Error_Count, I've already replaced ALL SATA cables with short ones. === START OF INFORMATION SECTION === Device Model: WDC WD60EFRX-68MYMN1 LU WWN Device Id: 5 0014ee 20b26f3dc Firmware Version: 82.00A82 User Capacity: 6,001,175,126,016 bytes [6.00 TB] Sector Sizes: 512 bytes logical, 4096 bytes physical Rotation Rate: 5700 rpm Device is: Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall] ATA Version is: ACS-2, ACS-3 T13/2161-D revision 3b SATA Version is: SATA 3.1, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s) Local Time is: Wed Jul 15 10:56:30 2015 SGT SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability. SMART support is: Enabled === START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION === SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED General SMART Values: Offline data collection status: (0x00) Offline data collection activity was never started. Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled. Self-test execution status: ( 0) The previous self-test routine completed without error or no self-test has ever been run. Total time to complete Offline data collection: ( 4424) seconds. Offline data collection capabilities: (0x7b) SMART execute Offline immediate. Auto Offline data collection on/off support. Suspend Offline collection upon new command. Offline surface scan supported. Self-test supported. Conveyance Self-test supported. Selective Self-test supported. SMART capabilities: (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering power-saving mode. Supports SMART auto save timer. Error logging capability: (0x01) Error logging supported. General Purpose Logging supported. Short self-test routine recommended polling time: ( 2) minutes. Extended self-test routine recommended polling time: ( 698) minutes. Conveyance self-test routine recommended polling time: ( 5) minutes. SCT capabilities: (0x303d) SCT Status supported. SCT Error Recovery Control supported. SCT Feature Control supported. SCT Data Table supported. SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16 Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds: ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE 1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x002f 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 0 3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0027 217 187 021 Pre-fail Always - 8108 4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 498 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 200 200 140 Pre-fail Always - 0 7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x002e 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 094 094 000 Old_age Always - 4965 10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032 100 253 000 Old_age Always - 0 12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 11 192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 1045 194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0022 116 110 000 Old_age Always - 36 196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0 198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0030 100 253 000 Old_age Offline - 0 199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0032 200 170 000 Old_age Always - 3261 200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate 0x0008 200 200 000 Old_age Offline - 0 SMART Error Log Version: 1 No Errors Logged SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1 Num Test_Description Status Remaining LifeTime(hours) LBA_of_first_error # 1 Extended offline Completed without error 00% 4295 - # 2 Short offline Completed without error 00% 4283 - # 3 Short offline Completed without error 00% 4283 - # 4 Extended offline Aborted by host 90% 4283 - SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1 SPAN MIN_LBA MAX_LBA CURRENT_TEST_STATUS 1 0 0 Not_testing 2 0 0 Not_testing 3 0 0 Not_testing 4 0 0 Not_testing 5 0 0 Not_testing Selective self-test flags (0x0): After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk. If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

My 2nd redball in 3 months...! Its a Western Digital Red 6TB. Does the Power-Off_Retract_Count look normal? The value has been unchanged since May 18.

Heh, in contrast, today a raspberry pi costs just a few cups of Starbucks!

Haha out of curiosity, how long did that hard disk last?

Whoah!!! $4,500 is a princely sum! And not even accounting for today's value after inflation, heh. My first was a 1.2Gb Quantum. The guy said "you can put everything you want inside!!!"

Thanks, gary!! Heh I can't wait for the 10TBs to become available. 2-week preclears FTW!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Heh 3rd WD 6TB finished preclear, on Christmas. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! == invoked as: ./preclear_disk.sh -A -c 3 /dev/sdc == WDCWD60EFRX-68MYMN1 WD-WX21D947NSHF == Ran 3 cycles == Using :Read block size = 8388608 Bytes == Last Cycle's Pre Read Time : 13:31:58 (123 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Zeroing time : 16:16:42 (102 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Post Read Time : 26:38:58 (62 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Total Time : 42:56:39 == Total Elapsed Time 159:15:54 == Disk Start Temperature: 31C == Current Disk Temperature: 35C,

Switchman I think you might be on to something - my first preclear was done while I was away on vacation, hence absolutely no other activity such as Plex.

Heh looks like its gonna take 72 full hours to finish a preclear cycle (with pre-read)

The first Red 6TB Preclear timings for some of my other drives

The slower zeroing 6TB in question:

My 2nd Red 6TB drive seems to have a significantly slower zeroing timing than the first one I bought several months ago. (unraid 5.0.5) 1st WD Red 6TB (updated info) precleared while on vacation, therefore, no other apps (e.g. Plex) running == WDCWD60EFRX-68MYMN1 == Ran 3 cycles == Using :Read block size = 8388608 Bytes == Last Cycle's Pre Read Time : 13:21:05 (124 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Zeroing time : 12:07:27 (137 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Post Read Time : 26:19:26 (63 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Total Time : 38:27:52 == Total Elapsed Time 128:41:48 == Disk Start Temperature: 33C == Current Disk Temperature: 37C, 2nd WD Red 6TB - zeroing seems much slower == WDCWD60EFRX-68MYMN1 == Ran 3 cycles == Using :Read block size = 8388608 Bytes == Last Cycle's Pre Read Time : 13:42:57 (121 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Zeroing time : 17:15:43 (96 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Post Read Time : 27:40:40 (60 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Total Time : 44:57:22 == Total Elapsed Time 146:30:34 == Disk Start Temperature: 37C == Current Disk Temperature: 38C, Update: 3rd WD Red 6TB - seems consistent with the 2nd preclear, though even slower == invoked as: ./preclear_disk.sh -A -c 3 /dev/sdc == WDCWD60EFRX-68MYMN1 WD-WX21D947NSHF == Ran 3 cycles == Using :Read block size = 8388608 Bytes == Last Cycle's Pre Read Time : 13:31:58 (123 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Zeroing time : 16:16:42 (102 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Post Read Time : 26:38:58 (62 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Total Time : 42:56:39 == Total Elapsed Time 159:15:54 == Disk Start Temperature: 31C == Current Disk Temperature: 35C, Helium 6TB for comparison == HGSTHUS726060ALA640 == Ran 3 cycles == Using :Read block size = 8388608 Bytes == Last Cycle's Pre Read Time : 11:59:36 (138 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Zeroing time : 11:40:15 (142 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Post Read Time : 23:40:32 (70 MB/s) == Last Cycle's Total Time : 35:21:46 == Total Elapsed Time 118:03:47 == Disk Start Temperature: 31C == Current Disk Temperature: 38C, Are such variances typical? (e.g. CPU loads, etc) What's worrying is that a 3rd Red 6TB that I am pre-clearing right now, seems to have an even worse zeroing time (Pre-read + 75% zeroing @ 36 hours elapsed). Despite buying this 3rd drive 3 weeks after the previous one, it still has the same 20th October 2014 manufacturing date. Some other observations: - I've played around using different SATA ports. The preclear was completed on the board's SATA port. - Pre-clearing on the LSI SAS controller stalled once, and another time zeroing slowed down to about 24MB/s. LSI controller had no problems with my existing drives. - Multiple HD Tune benchmark showed no read/write speed anomalies. Starts at about 170+MB/s and steadily drops to about 70MB/s at the end of the drive. Is this a problem? Or am I just looking too much at these pre-clear timings? Full preclear results text in the next post. Thanks!!!

I took a gamble at the Prolink because it has universal sockets, which I needed for the 90-degree power cord connection because the back of my unraid server is very close to a wall. Looks like I have to find a way to make do with an APC...

I'm not sure if it is too early to say, but I don't think the Prolink seems to be working, at least at the moment. On Sysinfo UPS Status tab: (from /sbin/apcaccess status) Error contacting apcupsd @ localhost:3551: Connection refused Syslog: Aug 26 02:38:17 unraid apcupsd[3286]: apcupsd FATAL ERROR in linux-usb.c at line 609 Cannot find UPS device -- For a link to detailed USB trouble shooting information, please see <http://www.apcupsd.com/support.html>. (Errors) Aug 26 02:38:17 unraid apcupsd[3286]: apcupsd error shutdown completed (Errors) Syslog usb re-plugging Aug 26 02:30:22 unraid kernel: usb 3-3: new low-speed USB device number 7 using xhci_hcd (Drive related) Aug 26 02:30:22 unraid kernel: hid-generic 0003:0665:5161.0005: hiddev0,hidraw0: USB HID v1.00 Device [iNNO TECH USB to Serial] on usb-0000:00:14.0-3/input0 (Drive related) I've tried looking around for information for the past 2 hours, can't find anything yet. The only thing I thought I could do - but didn't help - was to change the "use serial port?" to /dev/hiddev0

Oh? Its a standard protocol? Ahhh, yeah it should work then... I think I'm gonna give it a shot. Heh thanks!!

It seems that the apcupsd - APC UPS Daemon may support UPS of other brands. Can it? There is a description Under Cable Type:(smart/usb/dumb/ether): Use "smart" for APC UPS, "usb" for some other brands, "dumb" for others with appropriate cable to serial port, "ether" to slave off of apcupsd running on another server. I'm considering buying one of these to try out: http://www.prolink2u.com/new/products/index.php?cid=374 I know APC is the recommended brand, but because it forces me to use male/female PSU connectors instead of the regular power plugs (I need a 90-degree one, as my server needs to be close to a wall), the Prolink seems more attractive.

Heh, Gary, you're right - I kinda regret using the WD Black 4TB for my parity. There's nothing wrong at all about the performance, it is the acoustics that's too audible!! The first phase of the pre-clear has these regular typical grating sounds. The reds are either nearly inaudible. Doing a 1-cycle pre-clear now, will do 2-3 more after I change the stock i3 cooler. Also, the intel stock coolers are so much more noisy than I expected! Now I'm gonna consider selling my 4TB black and give a left arm for the HGST 6TB. Heh. Between the time of the first post and now, 6TB reds have just been announced. Perhaps a good time to bite the bullet now. Plus, the helium drives run very cool!

Naaa the pins was bent only during re-packing, which is AFTER all the troubleshooting and having the engineer asking me to bring it over for RMA-ing. Once it returns, he'll get the board fully tested for me. I'm waiting for a new one anyway, heh. Ahhh... Summer! It is always hot and humid where I'm from, so, I really missed the winter so much in Korea during my honeymoon in February. Whoah, Canada, heh talk about over-compensating for the scorching Texas weather!

Heh... No worries. Whoah, glad you had a nice trip! Where'd you go? Its unlikely to be the PSU - I've tested it with with the existing PSU that my current PC is using (a Corsair HX 850); though I can't be that sure since both are Corsair PSUs. Yes, both the ATX power and 8-pin CPU were plugged in. Also tried using non-ECC memory at the behest of the retailer's engineer. I've sent the board for RMA-ing. However, during the process of packing the board, I bent 2 pins when I noob-mistakenly tried to place the black plastic LGA cover directly over the LGA array, instead of over the locking mechanism. Argh! So, instead of a 1-2 week direct-replacement process (immediate replacement if there are stocks), it is now a repair procedure that usually takes about 4 weeks. Couldn't wait, ordered another board, which should arrive next week. Heh A couple of images in the meantime... Troubleshooting with the PSU from my current dusty PC

Thanks gary, c3! I've spent the better half of the past few nights doing up the system and routing the wires/cables (haven't posted any updates yet), but the system just doesn't boot up! - Power on, no beeps, no POST, fans spinning - IMPI connectivity works, heartbeat LED blinking, but general functions (e.g. sensors, KVM) not working - Powered the system with all permutations of components plugged in (with/without CPU/RAM/fan-headers etc) Hope its not the Corsair AX760 that's being incompatible... Though there's several threads that suggests it could be the PSU... http://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/supermicro-x9dri-f-no-beeps-no-post.1282/ Gonna go on a short trip over the weekend, will be back to see what else I'm gonna do...

Heh, will probably have to ship the SS-520FL to Singapore...

Your suspicion is justified - the fully modular high efficiency fanless PSUs below 600w are nearly impossible to readily find in Singapore, especially the fanless ones. However, this review looks hopeful. The Corsair AX 760 has 84% efficiency at 40w loads http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Corsair/AX760/6.html