(SOLVED) Newbie question... why is my share only showing the Cache Pool size?

[NightOps]

I apologize in advance if this has been answered ad naseaum and I'm just not finding the answer... here's my setup:

4x 4TB drives with 1 Parity

2 Cache pools with a 500GB NVMe in each (cache_primary and cache_secondary)

 

I have a Media share set to

Use cache pool: Prefer

Select cache pool: Cache_secondary

 

When I mount the share \\tower\Media to a drive letter in my Windows PC it shows up as only 500GB...??  Shouldn't it show the ~11.9GB from the array?  If I fill up the cache pool it's using, will Mover push the older files to the array and free up the space on the cache pool so that I can keep copying files?  Thanks in advance.

Edited December 14, 2021 by NightOps

[NightOps]

I think I figured it out... by switching to the "Yes" setting for Use cache pool, it now sees the full array.  However, if anyone has thoughts on a better way to do this, I'm all ears.

Edited December 8, 2021 by NightOps

[trurl]

7 minutes ago, NightOps said:

I think I figured it out... by switching to the "Yes" setting for Use cache pool, it now sees the full array.  However, if anyone has thoughts on a better way to do this, I'm all ears.

Now it is going to move them to the array even if there is still room on cache.

[trurl]

1 hour ago, NightOps said:

just not finding the answer

Seems like you need some more information.

 

You can toggle Help on/off for the whole webUI by clicking Help (?) on the main menu bar. You can also toggle help on/off for a specific setting by clicking on its label. And, you can access the manual (wiki) by clicking the "manual" link in the lower right corner of your webUI or the Documentation link at the bottom of the forum.

 

"Prefer" means write new files to cache if there is room, and keep them on cache. If there isn't room, write them to the array (overflow) instead, and move from array to cache according to the mover settings if room has become available. This setting is for files you intend to stay on cache.

 

Yes mean write new files to cache if there is room then move to the array according to the mover settings. If there isn't room on cache write to the array (overflow) instead.

1 hour ago, NightOps said:

If I fill up the cache pool it's using, will Mover push the older files to the array and free up the space on the cache pool so that I can keep copying files? 

That isn't how mover works.

 

Mover runs on schedule, default is in the middle of the night. The Mover Tuning plugin allows you to make more detailed settings for when it runs.

 

But...

 

Mover is intended for idle time. It is impossible to move from cache to array as quickly as you can write to cache. If you intend to write more than cache can hold at one time, don't cache.

 

How does Unraid decide if there is room on a disk?

 

Each user share has a Minimum Free setting. Unraid has no way to know how large a file will become when it chooses a disk for it. If a disk has more than Minimum Free, the disk can be chosen and if the file won't fit, the write fails. Each pool (cache) also has a Minimum Free setting. You should set Minimum Free to larger than the largest file you expect to write to the share or pool.

 

Typically, you want appdata, domains, and system shares set as cache-prefer so they will stay on cache. These shares are used by your dockers/VMs, and if they are on the array, performance will be impacted due to slower parity, and array disks will stay spunup since these files are always open.

 

If you want more detailed recommendations based on your current configuration, attach diagnostics to your NEXT post in this thread.

 

[trurl]

2 minutes ago, trurl said:

Typically, you want appdata, domains, and system shares set as cache-prefer so they will stay on cache. These shares are used by your dockers/VMs, and if they are on the array, performance will be impacted due to slower parity, and array disks will stay spunup since these files are always open.

Also, nothing can move open files, so if these shares have files on the array, mover won't be able to move them unless you disable Docker and VM Manager in Settings.

[NightOps]

2 hours ago, trurl said:

Also, nothing can move open files, so if these shares have files on the array, mover won't be able to move them unless you disable Docker and VM Manager in Settings.

Gotcha, thanks for the pointers!  I'm just a bit confused on why mounting the share with cache set to prefer would only allow me to see the 500gb cache pool, rather than the 12TB array...??  I definitely want to have the cache set to prefer in the end, but for now I'm just dumping a ton of data across from my old server, so I know I'll be constantly overflowing the cache...

[trurl]

On 12/8/2021 at 2:26 PM, NightOps said:

I definitely want to have the cache set to prefer in the end

 

I'm not sure you understand everything I said above.

On 12/8/2021 at 11:46 AM, trurl said:

"Prefer" means write new files to cache if there is room, and keep them on cache. If there isn't room, write them to the array (overflow) instead, and move from array to cache according to the mover settings if room has become available. This setting is for files you intend to stay on cache.

Prefer means you really wish all the files could stay on cache. Typically you will want shares to be cache-yes or cache-no, except for appdata, domains, system for reasons already given.

 

On 12/8/2021 at 2:26 PM, NightOps said:

dumping a ton of data across from my old server, so I know I'll be constantly overflowing the cache...

 

Completely filling any disk is a bad idea, maybe worse in the case of cache. And mover isn't going to help keep you from filling cache.

On 12/8/2021 at 11:46 AM, trurl said:

Mover is intended for idle time. It is impossible to move from cache to array as quickly as you can write to cache. If you intend to write more than cache can hold at one time, don't cache.

 

 

On 12/8/2021 at 11:46 AM, trurl said:

If you want more detailed recommendations based on your current configuration, attach diagnostics to your NEXT post in this thread.

 

[NightOps]

Got it sorted, free to mark as solved   Thanks for the help, learning slowly but surely...

[JonathanM]

15 hours ago, NightOps said:

free to mark as solved

Edit your first post in this thread and change the title.😀

[NightOps]

On 12/12/2021 at 10:13 PM, JonathanM said:

Edit your first post in this thread and change the title.😀

Thanks   Like I said... Newbie, lol.  Have a good one!