need guidance for making a ready-to-go backup USB

[limawaken]

i would like to copy my unraid usb to a spare and have it ready to go if my current one suddenly dies.

 

i read the guide for replacing a usb, but it seems to involve replacing the current license.

 

basically i want to setup another usb with the exact same config as my current one so that if I swap the usb everything runs like normal, all the VMs and dockers start up, same unraid server name and IP, etc.

can this be done?

i understand i would have to purchase another license.

 

would this be the correct steps to setting this up:

1. use the usb creator tool to set up the new usb

2. use another PC to boot and register license because my pfsense runs on my current unraid.

i should be able to register a new license with my current sign-in, right?
3. copy the config folder from my current usb over to the new usb but don't overwrite the new pro.key

 

a somewhat related question... if i had to use a new usb with the trial license on my server now (like if the usb just suddenly died already), then would i still be able to start up my pfsense vm so that i can get connected to the internet and request for a replacement license?

[JonathanM]

40 minutes ago, limawaken said:

if i had to use a new usb with the trial license on my server now (like if the usb just suddenly died already), then would i still be able to start up my pfsense vm so that i can get connected to the internet and request for a replacement license?

No. Trial keys require internet to start the array, so you are in a catch 22.

 

Your steps to set up a licensed key look correct to me. The only caution I have for you is being diligent about keeping the backup key current. There are some doomsday scenarios where you could lose a bunch of data. One I can think of off the top of my head is if you reuse a drive assigned to parity as a data drive, and accidentally boot from a backup copy that still has that drive assigned to parity.

 

As an aside, I run my network with a pfSense VM on one of my Unraid servers, but I keep an old PC loaded with pfSense ready to fire up when needed. You really should have an alternative routing solution ready to step in at a moments notice, hardware does sometimes fail spectacularly, and it would suck to deal with lack of internet while trying to fix your broke hardware.

[limawaken]

 

yes, that is something to be very concerned about...

and i really do need that alternative routing solution like you mentioned.

with myservers plugin i think i could get the most current flash backup, but that would add a couple of steps to get back up and running. it'd be nice if it could be always ready-to-go, but i guess better to be safe.

[itimpi]

3 hours ago, limawaken said:

it'd be nice if it could be always ready-to-go, but i guess better to be safe.

 

If you are prepared to have 2 licences then it is quite easy to have the second one plugged in (already licenced) that can act as a hot standby that you can switch to by selecting it as the boot device and which will not require internet access.

  

Probably a cost most private users do not want to bear, but could be appropriate in your case?  If this is likely to be of use I could write up the details of the way to achieve this and add it to the online documentation (I may do that anyway in case anyone else wants it  ) .

 

[wgstarks]

1 hour ago, itimpi said:

If this is likely to be of use I could write up the details of the way to achieve this and add it to the online documentation (I may do that anyway in case anyone else wants it  ) .

I’d probably use it. Got an extra license on a 2 for 1 special. Having a ready to go spare was the whole point at the time but I’ve been lax about keeping the spare up-to-date.

[itimpi]

52 minutes ago, wgstarks said:

I’d probably use it. Got an extra license on a 2 for 1 special. Having a ready to go spare was the whole point at the time but I’ve been lax about keeping the spare up-to-date.

Ok, I’ll get on to it then.   Might take a day or two before I complete it and validate I wrote it up correctly.

[JonathanM]

11 minutes ago, itimpi said:

Ok, I’ll get on to it then.   Might take a day or two before I complete it and validate I wrote it up correctly.

Might want to keep in mind the power on hours and writes to the backup make it theoretically more susceptible to failure than if you keep it a cold backup.

 

I'm not saying this isn't worth the risk for most people wanting to keep a hot spare, just something to be aware of and possibly mention in the write up.

 

The big advantage is in the event of a failure, the automated license replacement procedure can be done on the failed drive when it's convenient with no time pressure, and then the new replacement can go back in as the hot spare.

[itimpi]

41 minutes ago, JonathanM said:

I'm not saying this isn't worth the risk for most people wanting to keep a hot spare, just something to be aware of and possibly mention in the write up.

 

Can keep this to a minimum by using rsync to only copy across changes.  Still I take the point and worth mentioning.