DanielCoffey

Lee - SpaceInvaderOne covers this in his unRAID Introduction to VMs video... I have just started this video myself as I am working through setting up a Win10 VM for the first time.

It was really hard to measure the temperature in the X2M case as the card was just above the PSU and facing downwards. I have moved the card over to the main machine now and can get a better look at it through the side panel.

Good suggestions, thanks. I have one spare SATA port on the old machine that I can use to put the new cache SSD temporarily.

FOR SALE : Six WD Red 3Tb (WD30EFRX) drives CLEARED : Yes, all drives have been cleared and zeroed SMART : See attached LOCATION : United Kingdom only POSTAGE : FREE (Royal Mail Special Delivery) COST : All six drives are being sold as a set. I will not split the set. I would like £50 each, so a total of £300 secures all six drives. PAYMENT : PayPal only, email on request. Returns accepted within 14 days in appropriate packaging, buyer pays return shipping. These drives have been pulled from my current NAS due to an upgrade and have been lightly used with between 7600 and 7800 Power On hours. They have been owned by me since new and were purchased from Scan.co.uk. They are all zeroed and are ready for your array. Also included in the package will be two extra FREE drives that I no longer require - a WD Green 1Tb and a WD Green 500Gb. Any questions, just ask. Daniel. TAKEN : No Longer available. SMART_Reports.7z

Doesn't Plex have some sort of metadata file with the thumbnails and tags that you picked for your movie collection? Where does that reside? So far I have moved over the movies themselves and installed a fresh Plex docker onto the new NAS.

I am in the process of setting up a duplicate of my unRAID NAS and would like to know how to move my Plex settings and metadata over from the old array to the new one. Both machines are running unRAID 6.3.5. Both have the movies in exactly the same folder structure as I have already duplicated the media. Both are actually running the exact same Dockers (Plex and Krusader). Once I have migrated Plex over to the new array, the old one will have the Plex Docker stopped. Is there a guide or FAQ that has this information?

I am trying to get my head around how the user interface on an unRAID machine with VMs is used when you want to change from one VM to another and how the machine handles sleep, both of the VM and the unRAID machine itself. Given the following configuration, could you answer any of the questions below please? Hardware : i7 7700K with iGPU, one 780ti GPU, one monitor with multiple inputs, keyboard with sleep key (fn-F12), iPad unRAID setup : NAS serving Plex stream, VM1 as lightweight Linux machine on virtual iGPU, VM2 as Windows 10 gaming machine on main GPU, only one active VM at a time. Sleep rules : the unRAID machine must be available to serve Plex when asked but can spin down HDDs when not in use and should sleep using the sleep plugin after 30 mins when no Plex user and no VM user. The active VM should be able to sleep when not in use for a short while or be hibernated if not needed for a long time. Note : while the monitor has multiple inputs (HDMI from iGPU, DP from main GPU), I have to select them via a button on the monitor bezel and an onscreen menu. Monitor will wake to the last used input. I have space in the machine for a secondary physical GPU and also a spare input on the monitor. === Situation A : Stop and Start usage. I am using VM1 for light browsing but get called away from the PC for a while. On a bare metal machine I would normally press the keyboard sleep key to force sleep, deal with the situation then return and press a key to wake. What do I do here to achieve the same result? Situation B : Stop using for long interval. I am using VM1 for light browsing and get to the end of the day. I would like to sleep the VM and also allow unRAID to enter sleep after a while. I will not resume usage till the end of the day. Assuming unRAID is asleep when I return, what do I have to do to wake up both unRAID and the VM? Situation C : Switch to gaming VM. I am using VM1 for browsing then decide to change over to the gaming VM2. What do I have to do in order to hibernate VM1 (so that it releases CPU cores and RAM) and then activate the gaming VM2? === Thanks in advance for the help. If you think I should rearrange my machine or would benefit from different hardware (such as second discreet GPU or a KVM), feel free to make suggestions. This will be running on my main PC in the sig below where I have 4x8Tb drives and an unRAID USB ready to go. The SAS9201-8i will probably move over to this machine.

It is a good suggestion but I actually have a second bank of four 8Tb drives going through preclear now. In a few days I will have my main machine acting as the active NAS/VMs with the "old" NAS acting as backup. Both machines will have 4x8Tb and an SSD cache. The active machine will also have an NVMe in bare metal passthrough for the VMs.

Thanks. Since the drives are now likely to be sold rather than passed on to family (dad didn't want them), I will zero them using the middle part of the preclear tool.

Having just upgraded my array to use fewer but larger drives, I am left with a stack of smaller, older ones. Since these drives have no business or confidential information on them, what steps would you take to prepare them for selling or passing to a family member? Do I simply format? Should I zero? They are all currently sitting on the array in my Unassigned Devices group.

It is just really just the preclear that I was needing to know about. I agree that the first parity build is the critical one and that is running now while I wait for the warranty replacement drive to arrive. Once that parity is completed at least I know I can let the array start and I can do the preclear of the drives I need. Thanks.

Can I perform other tasks on an array such as running Mover or building Parity while new disks are going through the preclear script? The situation is that my array healthy but is currently stopped. I have three out of four new 8Tb disks coming to the end of their preclear (using the preclear plugin) but I now have even more disks that will need to be precleared (shortly to be followed by the warranty replacement for the one failed disk). I would like to remove some small but empty drives, incorporate the first three successfully cleared disks into the array, start the array and rebuild parity but also want to have the next batch of disks running through the preclear. Can I do this all at the same time?

On the subject of VMs and GPU passthrough... I have seen the suggestions that you enable the iGPU (if your CPU has one) for unRAID's use and leave the main PCI GPU free for your VMs but what do you do in the use case where your CPU (say a Xeon) has no iGPU? I presume you would have a quick look at the PassMark performance of a typical iGPU of the current generation and pick up a lightweight PCI GPU for unRAID, yes? Would general "browsing and YouTube" VMs need their own light GPU too or can they make use of the emulated version of the one unRAID had access to? I mean this situation... say the board has GPU1 (lightweight) and GPU2 (gaming). Say you have unRAID for NAS and Plex Docker (to a viewer on the network), VM1 for browsing/Youtube and VM2 for Win10 gaming. Can VM1 make use of GPU1 or does it need its own discrete card?

The same drive failed the preclear in only 15 minutes and gave a yellow SMART warning on the Dashboard. It is going back. 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 0x000b 100 100 016 Pre-fail Always - 0 2 Throughput_Performance 0x0005 100 100 054 Pre-fail Offline - 0 3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0007 100 100 024 Pre-fail Always - 0 4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0012 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 100 100 005 Pre-fail Always - 0 7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x000b 100 100 067 Pre-fail Always - 0 8 Seek_Time_Performance 0x0005 100 100 020 Pre-fail Offline - 0 9 Power_On_Hours 0x0012 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2 10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0013 095 095 060 Pre-fail Always - 1 12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2 22 Helium_Level 0x0023 100 100 025 Pre-fail Always - 100 192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2 193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0012 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 2 194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0002 214 214 000 Old_age Always - 28 (Min/Max 21/32) 196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0 197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0022 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 24 198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0008 100 100 000 Old_age Offline - 2 199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x000a 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0

I have just received four new WD 8Tb Reds from Scan.co.uk in the UK and run the Quick SMART Test on them while they are unassigned devices. This is their first power up since they were all removed from sealed packaging. While three are totally perfect with zero hours and only one spin up, the fourth drive has an extremely high Spin Retry Count as shown in the SMART report below. Is it even worth me preclearing this drive? Since it is brand new, should I return it immediately or is it possible that the SMART report itself is in error rather than the drive? WDC_WD80EFZX-68UW8N0_VK1DYR5Y-20170905-1235.txt EDIT : The issue is solved. Powering down the array and bringing it up again has cleared and correctly displayed the SMART report, both on-screen and in the text file. See the second SMART report for the same drive a few minutes later... Is this an unRAID GUI defect I need to report or is something else at play here? WDC_WD80EFZX-68UW8N0_VK1DYR5Y-20170905-1305.txt

That is good to know. I just checked the other 840PRO I bought at the same time and which has been used for Win10 gaming and it has the Wear levelling Count at 96% so that is the one which is showing more use. Five times the amount of data written too. I think I will retire the Windows one and keep the drive I showed above as an addition to the cache pool on the backup server so it can digest bigger backups at a time before filling its cache.

I have had a Samsung 840PRO 256Gb since 2013 and while it still passes a SMART check, the Wear Levelling Count has left zero at last. I know these SSDs have an overprovision but how concerned should I be about the health of this SSD? In summary, we have 3240 hours, 14667 power cycles, 34 reallocated sectors, 150 Power Recoveries and 8879245966 LBAs written. Samsung_SSD_840_PRO_Series_S12RNEAD213826E-20170904-1458.txt

Cheers. They should arrive tomorrow along with cables, cache ssds, fans and a new UPS. I've been shopping!

Fantastic, thanks. Just what I wanted to hear. Next question... do you think an Intel i3 3.6GHz and 16Gb of RAM can do all four at once or should I do them in pairs?

I am about to set up my second unRAID box with 4x 8TB WD Reds and would like to know if I can preclear the new drives on the old array then move them to the new array once the preclear is complete? The old array is accessible, only in light use and has spare SATA ports. The new array is being changed from my main dual boot Linux/Win10 PC to unRAID with VMs and storage. While I have the SATA ports free, I don't want to tie up the new machine for the couple of days that the preclear will probably take as it is in frequent use.

@BobPhoenix You were correct - it was the 9211-8i broadcom package that I wanted for both the firmware and bios for my 9201-8i. Provided you use the IT mode firmware it is fine. I now have the correct firmware and bios on my card.

GUIDE : How to remove the heat sink and change the thermal interface material (TIM) on an LSI SAS card CARD USED : LSI SAS9201-8i TOOLS NEEDED : Small pliers for push pin removal, small flat screwdriver for heat sink removal, plastic or wooden scraper to remove old TIM, Isopropanol or Arcticlean for grease removal PARTS NEEDED : Replacement TIM (any brand), full height mounting bracket if case requires it, replacement nylon push pins if broken (see below for spec) IDLE TEMPS : Measured in the centre of the heat sink with an IR Thermometer in an open case after allowing 10 minutes for the card to warm up. Original TIM 56C. After TIM change 50C. As you will be aware, many of the LSI SAS boards run fairly hot in use and are even rather warm when idling. Since the main source of older cards such as the SAS9201-8i I used in this guide are server pulls or New Old Stock supplies, I thought it might be possible the old TIM would have dried and might benefit from replacement. I decided to examine how the heat sink was fitted with the intention of removing it, cleaning everything and replacing the TIM. This would allow me the option of fitting a larger heat sink if required or even preparing the card for water cooling. The first think I did was record the card in its initial state as the heat sink is not symmetrical... The technical specification of this particular heat sink is 40mm x 35mm x 9mm which fits in a single PCIe slot width. The mounting holes are on opposite corners of a 33mm square which gives a diagonal spacing of 46.7mm. Looking at the back of the board, you can see the backs of the two nylon push pins. They are pressed through the board and have two backwards pointing barbs (like an arrow head) which grip and hold the pin in place. Remembering the issues that the 2009/2010 Mac Pro towers had with the nylon push pins on their Northbridge heat sinks going brittle, I took care to be gentle with the pins when removing them. Using a small pair of flat nosed pliers I gently squeezed the barbs together until they were pressed to about the same diameter as the hole in the board. Take great care to avoid the small surface mounted components with the pliers which you will see are very close to the push pins. A little gentle finger pressure on the pins popped them through. They will be retained by the heat sink so ignore them now until you have the heat sink off later. Now comes the tricky step. If you look under the edge of the heat sink you will notice that while you could easily push a screwdriver between the heat sink and the circuit board, this would apply upwards pressure on the solder joints of the chip on the board. At the time I thought the old TIM would release readily but this was not the case. Fortunately we do not need to take this risk to get the heat sink off. Look closer at the heat sink where it joins the chip itself. You will see when you look from the side that the chip package has a centre flat portion which is flush with the heat sink and a thinner lip that connects to the circuit board. It is designed as a sort of flat "hat". Taking care to avoid small surface mounted components, place the tip of a small, long screwdriver (or small metal spatula) between the heat sink and the "brim" of the chip package and gently twist to separate the two. You want to apply the tip to the lip between the heat sink and the chip, not the chip and the board. It should give gently rather than suddenly. One gentle twist later and the heat sink is off to reveal (in my case) a large amount of yellow, waxy TIM. It is plastic in texture, somewhat brittle and very hard. It turns out that rather than use normal oil-based thermal compound, LSI used Thermal Epoxy which dries to this hard plastic material. It is completely immune to the solvent effects of Arcticlean which will readily dissolve normal greasy TIM so I had to use a wooden satay stick which I carved to a flat tip to scrape it off. The heat sink had excess epoxy so I confess I used a small screwdriver to scrape the worst of it off. This is where I scratched the surface a little. Even with Arcticlean and Magic Eraser melamine block I still couldn't get it clean. I took the opportunity to remove the push pins from the heat sink while I had it loose. They are retained by the heat sink and springs so carefully push them through the holes in the heat sink and set them aside with their springs. Once you have the two pins out, very gently tease the barbs back open a little with a small flat headed screwdriver. They don't need to be opened out much... just enough to grip the hole again when re-inserted. If you do break one, the length of the main pillar is 11mm and they are made for a 3mm diameter hole. That 11mm length is the amount of the push pin that stays on the "outside" of the circuit board in the springs. It does not include the extra length of the barbs. Now is the point where you clean the top of the chip and the bottom of the heat sink with Isopropanol or Arcticlean2 to remove any remaining traces of old TIM or grease from your hands. I used a small dab of CoolerMaster ICE01 TIM which is what I had around and used a spreader to put a thin, smooth layer over the whole of the flat top of the chip. Use it sparingly but any excess will just sit in the "brim" of the chip cover. Push the two push pins and their springs back through the heat sink if you removed them and line it up on the board. Refer to a picture of its original placement if the heat sink is not symmetrical. Gently push the two pins through while holding the heat sink flat and in place. The two pins should just go back through and grip lightly. If they refuse to grip, check the barbs are flared just enough to grip the back of the board. I took the opportunity to change the mounting bracket from the standard low profile one for server cases to a full height one for desktop cases. These are commonly sold on eBay as suitable for the IBM M1015 cards but they fit this one fine. Once the card is reassembled, put it back in your machine and test it. All drives on all SAS ports should be recognised and the Power LED on the card should be steady. I brought my unRAID server up and ran a parity check and all was well. If you intend to replace the heat sink with a larger one, have a look at Northbridge or Southbridge heat sinks that will be taller than a single PCIe slot. Alternatively you could investigate water blocks which some online PC stores may have in stock. Check the diagonal spacing of the mounting holes and the clearance next to the holes as the Front Panel LED jumper on the SAS9201-8i is quite close to one of the push pins.

I have just examined the Firmware and BIOS in a LSI SAS9201-8i that I picked up off eBay and it is reported as follows in the unRAID syslog.txt... I assume this means it is using FW11 and has BIOS 07.11. I have checked the Legacy HBA section of the Broadcom site and couldn't see a 9201-8i listed. Which is the equivalent entry I am looking for please? Is it the 9201-16i or the 9211-8i?

Apologies for being late uploading pictures and a writeup of the TIM change but I have been busy today. I will resize the pics and do a writeup as quickly as I can.

Do the comments and links further down in this thread here help?