So I’m resetting my unraid now that I have a grasp of it. 
 

I already have a backup of the data I absolutely need

 

now, originally I used xfs for my pool array thing (the series of disks that are protected by parity). 
 

from what I gather, btrfs doesn’t require parity through some black magic (maybe I misunderstand). Anyway, what is the best practice for setting up unraid with btrfs (or xfs) to guard against bitrot and data loss? Is there a guide on how to actually use it and the proper plugins for best results? I’d hate to think of going good, a drive fail and all my data is actually corrupt indicating bitrot and my parity writing errors or whatever 

 

thank you 

 

 

edit: even if btrfs isn’t a good choice or whatever (I’m trying to maximize disk space and security) if the guide for xfs exists I’d appreciate that too! I need everything from the right plugins to install and how to configure them properly etc too. Thank you 

Edited April 21, 20233 yr by wwe9112

10 minutes ago, wwe9112 said:

from what I gather, btrfs doesn’t require parity through some black magic (maybe I misunderstand).

It still requires parity, there's no magic , what btrfs (and zfs) have is that they can detect data corruption because they create checksums for all blocks written, when used in the array then can detect data corrutpion, but not self heal, that is only available for a redundant pool, this post might also help:

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/131857-soon™️-612-series/?do=findComment&comment=1243850

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

It still requires parity, there's no magic , what btrfs (and zfs) have is that they can detect data corruption because they create checksums for all blocks written, when used in the array then can detect data corrutpion, but not self heal, that is only available for a redundant pool, this post might also help:

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/131857-soon™️-612-series/?do=findComment&comment=1243850

 

 

 

I’m garbage at understanding how this all worked (odly I has a masters degree in computer science and math, but that’s just paper lol I guess that’s a discussion for another day). 
 

so your btrfs array will spot errors but not self heal? Right? What’s the point at that point? 
 

there is an integrity plugin, doesn’t it do the same? 

1 minute ago, wwe9112 said:

What’s the point at that point?

You can see which files are corrupt and with that know which ones need to be restored from a backup, the plugin accomplishes the same.

7 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

You can see which files are corrupt and with that know which ones need to be restored from a backup, the plugin accomplishes the same.

Gotchhhhhaaaaaa! 
 

is there a guide I can follow step by step for either file system on proper configuration of unraid? I found one but it was old and referenced screenshots that weren’t there (not sure if I’m blocking the host or if where they are stored removed them or whatever). Like beginning to end from configuration of plugins to setting up proper shares, etc. I want to be super sure I’m doing everything correctly. I’m not real bright (returning to the master’s degree statement— I was actually in a bad car wreck, coma for several weeks, brain damage etc — I’m not real good at remembering things and also between the lines anymore. Step by steps and whys are always best for me otherwise something common sense wise I likely will miss it setup wrong and yeah. I went from a senior full stack software engineer to a tier 1 help desk. 
 

not trying to invite you to pity city, but just to give you background on me. It’s not a matter of me reading the docs, it’s more about I don’t know which docs to read and cross reference and I don’t understand implicitly why or how to know if that makes sense. 
 

edit: typo

Edited April 21, 20233 yr by wwe9112

This is a good place to start mostly for the user shares:

 

https://wiki.unraid.net/Manual/Overview

 

For the fs just select which one you want and re-format the disks.