February 27, 20224 yr Hello friends, I'm about to configure my first UnRAID home server and I'm reading through the manual for UnRAID 6. While reading the manual I'm now facing a few questions regarding my current hardware. I already own the following gear: CPU: Intel Core i7-10700. Motherboard: Asus Rog Strix Z490-I. RAM: Kingston Fury 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4. SSD: 2x WD Red SA500 NAS SATA SSD 2.5”. USB Flash Device: SanDisk Cruzer Fit 16GB. Case: Xtia Xproto Mini. UnRAID's manual indicates the following regarding SSD usage for arrays and parity: SSD support in the array is experimental. Some SSDs may not be ideal for use in the array due to how TRIM/Discard may be implemented. Using SSDs as data/parity devices may have unexpected/undesirable results. How can I know if the WD RED SSD's are compatible for usage as array/parity? is there a test tool or a list of SSD's known to be compatible/un-compatible? If these SSD's are un-compatible for UnRAID's array and parity purposes, can I use them as a multi-cache pool with no array and parity drives? Or does UnRAID require to install at least one array and parity drives in addition to the multi-cache pool? Thank you in advance for your help.
February 27, 20224 yr 54 minutes ago, mjeshurun said: UnRAID require to install at least one array and parity drives in addition to the multi-cache pool? This is correct. Bu you can have a simple usb flash drive as your sole array device and never use it. (configure your pool(s) using the 'Only' setting) 56 minutes ago, mjeshurun said: is there a test tool or a list of SSD's known to be compatible/un-compatible? Not that I know as manufacturers tends not to share much information.
February 27, 20224 yr Community Expert Those SSDs (and 99.9% of them) will work fine, just note that they can't be trimmed if used in the array, they can in a pool.
February 27, 20224 yr Author Thank you both, @ChatNoir @JorgeB 🙏 From your experience, would it be better to setup the two WD Red SSD's as array and parity disks (without TRIM support), or as a multi-cache pool with a simple USB flash drive as array and with no parity drive?
February 27, 20224 yr Community Expert Depends on the use case, a pool would be faster for most cases, array with parity is generally more reliable, in part because each device is a unique filesystem.
February 27, 20224 yr Author 1 minute ago, JorgeB said: Depends on the use case, a pool would be faster for most cases, array with parity is generally more reliable, in part because each device is a unique filesystem. Thanks for the feedback. I guess, I can currently build the server with the SSD's setup as a multi-cache pool to enjoy their added value in speed, and in the future add more array and parity disks, when my server disk space requirements grow. Am I correct in this assumption?
April 2, 20224 yr On 2/27/2022 at 4:46 AM, JorgeB said: Those SSDs (and 99.9% of them) will work fine, just note that they can't be trimmed if used in the array, they can in a pool. Is it necessary to trim HHD’s in the array? I have two 4TB Western Digital Red Plus’s, one as parity. I know you don’t have to trim the SSD’s on BTRFS with v6.9, but what about the spinning disks in the array?
April 2, 20224 yr Community Expert I do not think that Trim applies to HHD devices - it is specific to SSDs
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