Backup USB Temp License Key

[RaidNoob]

In the process of building my first UnRaid setup... coming from Synology (got tired of spending tons of money for a bare bones processor that maxes CPU with opening anything..lol).  Was on the Official Discord chat and Fuggin recommended me to post a feature request based off another users issues.

 

UnRaid uses the USB UUID to register a license key and uses the USB as a "main boot drive" to constantly write/update (from what I have read).

 

A simple google search into the life expectancy of a USB drive resulted in 
https://www.flashbay.com/blog/usb-life-expectancy

 

The way I see UnRaid is that it sets the USB drive up for "early" failure.. so maybe

 

1) When registering offer a way to register a backup usb drive UUID.

-> when both are plugged in (boot order MAIN/Backup/etc)... if for some reason the main is bad and it has to use the backup, then it will show on the system and prompt for the user to switch out UUID/register a new backup USB.

 

this way the system isn't down for long and gives time (30 days) for LimeTech to get to the customer and resolve the issue, versus, USB dead = no server.

 

 

also i'm sure something like this must exist, but if not, on the main dashboard allow it to back up all current USB settings once a day so the USB stays current.

 

anyway just a suggestion, i'm sure critical feedback will provided.

[itimpi]

13 minutes ago, RaidNoob said:

constantly write/update (from what I have read).

The amount written is trivial in normal use - a few KB per day - configuration changers and a little status information

The main OS is run from RAM so after initial load, so it makes minimal use of the boot drive so they seem to last for many years for many people.  USB3 drives seem to not as work as well, probably because they tend to run hot which is prejudicial  for the lifetime of them.

 

 

[JorgeB]

My first couple of servers are almost 15 years old, both still on the original flash drive, and certainly the only original part remaining on those servers.

 

 

[Fuggin]

Eventually 2.0 USB keys won't exist so what will be the solution for 3.0/3.1 drives?

[itimpi]

4 minutes ago, Fuggin said:

Eventually 2.0 USB keys won't exist so what will be the solution for 3.0/3.1 drives?

One assumes they will improve as manufacturing processes improve!   I have found that avoiding the nano/micro form factor and going for ones with good heat dissipation seems to mean USB3 drives last for years as well.

 

[ConnerVT]

Buy a 4-pack of 8GB USB 2.0 flash drives for about $20, and stick them in a drawer.  If each lasts you (only) 5 years, you're good for a couple of decades.

 

A name brand drive should last you nearly forever, as long as it is only used as an Unraid flash drive.  It is prolonged writes that spike up a drive's temperature, so no huge transfers and continuous logging, appdata, backups, etc should not be going to the drive.

Edited February 11, 2022 by ConnerVT
speeling

[fornol]

I can only find here users giving testimony of good and reliable usb sticks. How come? Already three usb sticks died on me within 12 months. I bought pro license with hope for good and reliable product. Now my server is down and I lost my configuration because usb is totally not readable anymore. I totally agree with first post that there shall be a method for easy key backup/temporary key. Or better, finally, limetech should allow use of ssd drives. They want to limit me to one UID, fine. But at least it would last longer than 3-4 months.

[JonathanM]

10 minutes ago, fornol said:

Already three usb sticks died on me within 12 months.

Which models?

 

In general, if you use a name brand FULL SIZE usb 2.0, and make sure not to allow excess writes to it by misconfiguration, the drives will last for many years.

 

Tiny USB 3.0 stay way too hot even when just reading, and writing makes it even worse.

 

Unraid by default reads the drive to load up, then the USB is only read periodically, and only written when configuration changes are made. The USB stick stays idle 99% of the time, as everything runs in RAM.

[fornol]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:50 AM, JonathanM said:

Which models?

 

In general, if you use a name brand FULL SIZE usb 2.0, and make sure not to allow excess writes to it by misconfiguration, the drives will last for many years.

 

Tiny USB 3.0 stay way too hot even when just reading, and writing makes it even worse.

 

Unraid by default reads the drive to load up, then the USB is only read periodically, and only written when configuration changes are made. The USB stick stays idle 99% of the time, as everything runs in RAM.

I do not remember what was the first one. Then I had some cheap Goodram. And recently I lost two tiny SanDisks Ultra Dual drive.

[trurl]

On 2/28/2022 at 6:34 PM, fornol said:

lost my configuration

You must always have a current backup of flash. Main - Boot Device - Flash - Flash Backup will let you download a zipped copy of flash at any time. My Servers plugin will save a copy of flash to limetech (Unraid) cloud.

[beckp]

I too have 14 years plus. It's a ScanDisk Cruzer Fit. 

 

Lately there have been a lot of counterfeits of name brands out there. Especially ScanDisk and Samsung. One Samsung lasted less than a week. The packaging  is a give away, full of typos. Buyer beware of some of the vendors selling on Amazon.

 

If your flash drive has an activity LED you can see how often it is accessed. I know it indicates both reads and write, mine flashes at startup and shutdown and occasionally some where in between. Please note, my system is used as a NAS only.

[fornol]

20 hours ago, trurl said:

You must always have a current backup of flash. Main - Boot Device - Flash - Flash Backup will let you download a zipped copy of flash at any time. My Servers plugin will save a copy of flash to limetech (Unraid) cloud.

You know, it is hard ot wake up every day in the morning and remember - "I need a backup today". It shall be automatic and as far as I know there is no automatic way to do it every day.

 

There is "Backup/Restore appdata" but officialy does not support flash backup (deprecated). While is still allows to backup /boot destination it stop all dockers in the process. Not entirely preferable sollution.

 

OK It is a fact that I use unraid server as all-in-one server. Will a lot of dockers and VMs running on it. Maybe it was not main purpose of unraid when it was created but some time ago it was my only choice (I wish I knew at that time how vounerable it is). It may be ok to lose sever for day or two when you use it only as file server but I have some crucial to me services running on it right now. And it seems that my only choice right now is to develop some clever backup solution and buy second license to limit down time to hours (not days). Or switch to some other storage solution. At the time I was picking Unraid the only competitive solution was TrueNAS. To my dissapointment it did not offer docker images. But now it does.

 

But it is also a fact that Limetech does not state anything about wear of flash disk when unraid is used as docker/VM host. Maybe they should. As again, possibility of running docker was a buying factor for me. If this is a reason for additional writes on flash drive it shall be clearly stated.

[itimpi]

58 minutes ago, fornol said:

You know, it is hard ot wake up every day in the morning and remember - "I need a backup today". It shall be automatic and as far as I know there is no automatic way to do it every day

The My Servers will backup the current flash drive any time you make a change.   What it does not give you is a set of dated backups so you can select a particular restore point.

59 minutes ago, fornol said:

But it is also a fact that Limetech does not state anything about wear of flash disk when unraid is used as docker/VM host

There should not be any measurable change in flash drive usage when running docker/VMs unless you explicitly configure it to be used.

[fornol]

6 minutes ago, itimpi said:

The My Servers will backup the current flash drive any time you make a change.   What it does not give you is a set of dated backups so you can select a particular restore point.

There should not be any measurable change in flash drive usage when running docker/VMs unless you explicitly configure it to be used.

I must be doing something wrong. I am connected to My Servers all the time (logged in) and it was not backing up my current configuration. Could you please further elaborate what I need to set up in order to have configuration safely stored afer every update?

 

To the second point. It must have been something what made my 4 flash drives destroyed in last, more or less, 12 months. Unfortunatelly I do not now what. Any tool to give me a clue for the future?

[itimpi]

11 hours ago, fornol said:

Unfortunatelly I do not now what. Any tool to give me a clue for the future?

The biggest enemy to USB drives is heat, so you want drives that run as cool as possible.

 

this tends to mean USB2 is preferred over USB3, small form factor drives should be avoided, and ones with good heat dissipation (e.g. metal cases) are a good idea.

[trurl]

7 hours ago, fornol said:

"I need a backup today"

There are no changes to flash except when you make a configuration change in the webUI. Whether you choose to make a backup after each change is up to you. Or use My Servers as mentioned.

 

6 hours ago, fornol said:

My Servers all the time (logged in) and it was not backing up my current configuration

Post a screenshot of Settings - Management Access - My Servers (mark out IP/port)

[fornol]

16 hours ago, trurl said:

There are no changes to flash except when you make a configuration change in the webUI. Whether you choose to make a backup after each change is up to you. Or use My Servers as mentioned.

 

Post a screenshot of Settings - Management Access - My Servers (mark out IP/port)

 

I checked again and indeed it seems to be working now. Strange.