ATLAS My Virtualized unRAID server

[Johnm]

Yo,

 

I have a Norco 4224 and tried Unraid about a year ago but was unhappy about its speed in terms of copying with the parity overhead.

I have been running Open Indiana with Napp-it this past year and I must say it is fast,very fast!

But I liked the addons that unraid supplies and I was wandering if it would be possible to virtualize and use ZFS as cache for an Unraid server? It would be easy to mirror several SSDs and that would make the write cache very fast!

I already own all of the needed hardware....SM X9SCMF, Xeon E1230, 16gb ram and 3 Flashed IBM M1015.

 

Gr33tz

Yes. That is how I have mine set up right now.

 

Esxi with 2 SSDs  as data stores. Besides using unraid as storage server on this box. I also have a zfs array on my server.

I also use an NSF share on my zfs for additional datastores and for iso storage. I also have a vmdk on my NSF that is my unraid cache drive.

 

The zfs array is the the first guest to boot. After that other guests that use the ssd then those that use the zfs

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HiSoC8Y]

 

 

These steps assume you already booted unRAID in ESXi using plop.

 

In a windows box (any NT flavor).

• Take your working (plop bootable) unRAID flash drive and plug it into your windows box.
  
• rename your unRAID flash to a new name (I named mine "unraidboot5b13", "root" would work also)
  
• using winimage, make a vdmk drive image of the flash drive. (I named my image "unraidboot5b13.vdmk")
  this should give you a bootable drive image the size of your flash
  
• rename your unRAID flash BACK to "UNRAID" (so that it mounts the the USB for the config files and license)
  
• plug your unRAID flash back into your ESXi box
  
• add the "unraidboot5b13.vdmk" hard drive to your unRAID guest
  
• If you had a Plop virtual drive mounted, replace it with this new drive image.
  

 

Assuming this is your only "virtual drive", unraid will now boot from this drive.

 

 

Hi Johnm,

 

If following this method, then it will boot from the vmdk (what if we want to install addons such as unmenu, we install it on the USB or the vmdk?).  But we need the USB, cuz the registration key is tied to it.

 

maybe i'm not understanding this part very well.  kindly explain. thanks

[siamsquare]

Yo,

 

I have a Norco 4224 and tried Unraid about a year ago but was unhappy about its speed in terms of copying with the parity overhead.

I have been running Open Indiana with Napp-it this past year and I must say it is fast,very fast!

But I liked the addons that unraid supplies and I was wandering if it would be possible to virtualize and use ZFS as cache for an Unraid server? It would be easy to mirror several SSDs and that would make the write cache very fast!

I already own all of the needed hardware....SM X9SCMF, Xeon E1230, 16gb ram and 3 Flashed IBM M1015.

 

Gr33tz

Yes. That is how I have mine set up right now.

 

Esxi with 2 SSDs  as data stores. Besides using unraid as storage server on this box. I also have a zfs array on my server.

I also use an NSF share on my zfs for additional datastores and for iso storage. I also have a vmdk on my NSF that is my unraid cache drive.

 

The zfs array is the the first guest to boot. After that other guests that use the ssd then those that use the zfs.

 

So how does one setup zfs in such a way that it writes the data stored on the cache to unraid?

[cpshoemake]

...

• rename your unRAID flash BACK to "UNRAID" (so that it mounts the the USB for the config files and license)

...

 

Hi Johnm,

 

If following this method, then it will boot from the vmdk.  But we need the USB, cuz the registration key is tied to it.

 

maybe i'm not understanding this part very well.  kindly explain. thanks

 

It does boot from the vmdk, which is much faster. USB boot under plop was taking me several minutes.

 

unRAID will still find the license file and all of your config files on the USB drive because of the volume name.

[derekos]

Not sure if this was mentioned in the thread or not - a lot of pages - but for PLOP it seems much easier to use plpcfgbt or plpcfgbtGUI (windows) and then download plpbt-createiso from plop - create an auto-boot-to-usb iso, mount that and boom.  At least for me, that was easier.

 

[HiSoC8Y]

...

• rename your unRAID flash BACK to "UNRAID" (so that it mounts the the USB for the config files and license)

...

 

Hi Johnm,

 

If following this method, then it will boot from the vmdk.  But we need the USB, cuz the registration key is tied to it.

 

maybe i'm not understanding this part very well.  kindly explain. thanks

 

It does boot from the vmdk, which is much faster. USB boot under plop was taking me several minutes.

 

unRAID will still find the license file and all of your config files on the USB drive because of the volume name.

 

Thanks

 

Got another question.

 

I have an SSD which I want to use for my cache.  It's not connected to the HDD controller, but instead, it's directly connected to the onboard SATA3.

 

 

How to I pass it to the VM? should i do it via the VM machine setting, or I do i need to do some sort of RDM?

 

Appreciate it, thanks

[cpshoemake]

Thanks

 

Got another question.

 

I have an SSD which I want to use for my cache.  It's not connected to the HDD controller, but instead, it's directly connected to the onboard SATA3.

 

 

How to I pass it to the VM? should i do it via the VM machine setting, or I do i need to do some sort of RDM?

 

Appreciate it, thanks

 

RDM would probably be your best bet, unless you can put the whole controller in passthrough.

[joeshmoe1]

Can someone please tell me the difference in these two cards? One is part number 46M0861 and the other is 46M0831. Obviously I'd prefer to buy the cheaper one if they're comparable.

 

http://www.compuvest.com/Desc.jsp?iid=1637642

http://www.compuvest.com/Desc.jsp?iid=1559372

 

Thanks

[cpshoemake]

Can someone please tell me the difference in these two cards? One is part number 46M0861 and the other is 46M0831. Obviously I'd prefer to buy the cheaper one if they're comparable.

 

http://www.compuvest.com/Desc.jsp?iid=1637642

http://www.compuvest.com/Desc.jsp?iid=1559372

 

Thanks

 

You want the cheaper one (46M0861). The other (46M0831) has the RAID key, which you will not use with unRAID.

[HiSoC8Y]

Can someone please tell me the difference in these two cards? One is part number 46M0861 and the other is 46M0831. Obviously I'd prefer to buy the cheaper one if they're comparable.

 

http://www.compuvest.com/Desc.jsp?iid=1637642

http://www.compuvest.com/Desc.jsp?iid=1559372

 

Thanks

 

Both are the same, the 61 is a replacement part number. 31 comes with IBM servers.

 

[joeshmoe1]

Thanks

 

[HiSoC8Y]

Lets create the RDM. In order to create the RDM, we use the command vmkfstools.

 

Type> vmkfstools -r /vmfs/devices/disks/vml.0100000000202020202020202020202020355944344e355956535432303030 WHS2011RDM.vmdk -a lsilogic

[replace the vml.xxxxxxx with your own drive identifier]

[the -r = create RDM (there is also -z createRDM-passthrough). the "WHS2011RDM.vmdk" is the name of the RDM we create. the -a lsilogic creates the RDM on an LSIlogic controller instead of the defaul Buslogic controller]

 

[Note: at least one forum member ran into a motherboard that required the -z command SEE HERE and HERE for details. I used the -r for my board and Windows compatibility]

 

If it worked, you will be back at a # prompt. Take a look

Type> ls -l

 

You should see 2 .vmdk files for the RDM we just mapped. 1 should be tiny and one the size of the drive we just mapped.

Don't worry, the file is not 2TB. it is only a few megs.

 

 

 

Now that the RDM is created, we can now use that RDM as a drive inside a VM.

 

In theory, I could take that drive out and put it into any PC that can read that file format and get the data off.

 

I decided to test this. I installed win7 on an SSD with RDM.

After Win7 was up and running, I ran sysprep to reset the hardware.

I then installed the SSD into another PC and booted from the SSD.

It worked perfectly.

 

Hi guys,

 

Im trying to RDM my Corsair 256 GB SSD to use it as cache drive in unRAID VM.

 

i did the mentioned command above (both -r and -z), when i attach either drive, and start the VM, all works, no errors.

 

But when unRAID is powered up, I don't see anything, the drive doesn't even appear in the drive list drop down.

 

Am i doing something wrong?

 

 

[BetaQuasi]

Have you actually added the RDM disk to your VM?  What you've quoted there is just the creation of the RDM vmdk...  WHS2011RDM.vmdk (using the above example)  needs to be added via your VM settings using the instructions for that part.  I don't have those instructions handy, but they are in this thread.

 

 

[HiSoC8Y]

Have you actually added the RDM disk to your VM?  What you've quoted there is just the creation of the RDM vmdk...  WHS2011RDM.vmdk (using the above example)  needs to be added via your VM settings using the instructions for that part.  I don't have those instructions handy, but they are in this thread.

 

Yes i did add the drive to the VM, tried both, the physical and the logical. still can't see the drive in the drive list.

[Johnm]

Have you actually added the RDM disk to your VM?  What you've quoted there is just the creation of the RDM vmdk...  WHS2011RDM.vmdk (using the above example)  needs to be added via your VM settings using the instructions for that part.  I don't have those instructions handy, but they are in this thread.

 

Yes i did add the drive to the VM, tried both, the physical and the logical. still can't see the drive in the drive list.

 

Hey.. you need to use the -Z to make a physical disk.

 

then you need to add it to the unraid VM

 

I'll just steal this from another thread..

after you create the -z rdm... follow this.

 

[...]

----

SUCCESS!!! Followed the following in combination to johnm's RDM instructions!

 

Taken from bryanr's thread "UnRAID on VMWare ESXi with Raw Device Mapping"

    For each of your physical disks:

    Add... Hard Disk

    Select the type of disk to use: Use an existing virtual disk

    Browse... datastore1 -> UnRAID -> diskname

    Virtual Device Node: scsi(1:0)

    Mode: Independent / Persistent

    (it should now appear as a Mapped Raw LUN in VM hardware list)

 

 

    Re-configure the SCSI controller that was added for you

    Change Type... LSI Logic SAS

    SCSI Bus Sharing: none

 

as i recall, it will say "Harddisk Mapped LUN" in the VM properties tab once you get this far.

 

the problem is a straight RDM passthrough is not presenting a serial number for unraid to mount it. it was that or the bus type is just invisible to it.. I forgot..

 

It might also work if you reconfigure the controller to IDE.. I did this to pass a VMDK that was on an NFS/ZFS raid once.

[BobPhoenix]

It might also work if you reconfigure the controller to IDE.. I did this to pass a VMDK that was on an NFS/ZFS raid once.

This is how I have my unRAID boot VMDK now on both of my ESXi servers.  It is also how I did my WHSv1 VM boot drive.

[HiSoC8Y]

I tried all that you guys suggested, no luck.

 

Btw, I tested adding this vmdk to a windows 7 machine, and started the VM, and when going to disk management, I can see the disk and need to initialize it. but didnt, I just wanted to test if the vmdk will work.

 

here are some screenshots of my settings

 

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

By clicking "Manage Paths", this is what I see:

 

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

And when I start the unraid machine, and then go to http://tower, this is what i get

 

 

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

 

[Johnm]

You missed the step in bold.

Change your SCSI controller from LSI Logic Parallel to LSI Logic SAS.

[HiSoC8Y]

You missed the step in bold.

Change your SCSI controller from LSI Logic Parallel to LSI Logic SAS.

 

How???

 

 

Edit

 

I understood now, changed it, and it worked

 

so what's next for me now.  I'm set.  I guess, install unMenu and then preclear all my drives?

[Johnm]

You missed the step in bold.

Change your SCSI controller from LSI Logic Parallel to LSI Logic SAS.

 

How???

stop the Guest.

Go > "Edit Virtual Machine Settings"

Select > "SCSI controller"

Select > "Change Type"

Select > LSI Logic SAS

OK.. OK..

Start Host..

 

 

[HiSoC8Y]

You missed the step in bold.

Change your SCSI controller from LSI Logic Parallel to LSI Logic SAS.

 

How???

stop the Guest.

Go > "Edit Virtual Machine Settings"

Select > "SCSI controller"

Select > "Change Type"

Select > LSI Logic SAS

OK.. OK..

Start Host..

 

Did that, it worked Johnm, I edited my previous post. thanks

 

so what's next for me now.  I'm set.  I guess, install unMenu and then preclear all my drives?

[savestheday]

Anyone try passing the HP NC360T (Intel 82571EB) through to unRAID and does it work?

[joelones]

I would like to attempt to upgrade to esxi5.1 from my current unraid v5 setup.

 

I am currently using 13 disks spread across three controllers:

 

1) Motherboard's sata controller (on a Supermicro X8SIL-F ) / 6 of 6 ports used all in the array

2) AOC-SASLP-MV8  / 6 of 8 ports used all in the array

3) SATA2 Serial ATA II PCI-Express RAID Controller Card (Silicon Image SIL3132) / 1 of the two ports used as a disk outside the array

 

My biggest worry is not being able to passthrough all of the above and/or being able to boot unraid vm (from an ssd as datastore on the SIL3132) and damaging the existing parity / array. Is this feasible?

 

Also, do I need a dedicated NIC (the X8SIL has two, I believe one is dedicate to ipmi) or will performance suffer across my lan if the NIC is shared?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Johnm]

I would like to attempt to upgrade to esxi5.1 from my current unraid v5 setup.

 

I am currently using 13 disks spread across three controllers:

 

1) Motherboard's sata controller (on a Supermicro X8SIL-F ) / 6 ports used all in the array

2) AOC-SASLP-MV8  / 6 ports used all in the array

3) SATA2 Serial ATA II PCI-Express RAID Controller Card (Silicon Image SIL3132) / 1 of the two ports used as a disk outside the array

 

My biggest worry is not being able to passthrough all of the above and being able to boot an unraid vm (from an ssd as datastore on the SIL3132) and damaging the exist parity / array. Is this feasible?

 

Also, do I need a dedicated NIC (the X8SIL has two, I believe one is dedicate to ipmi) or will performance suffer across my lan if the NIC is shared?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Easiest way to test is to get another thumb drive and install esxi5.1 on it. (remember to unplug your hard drives first)

test the passthrough.

If that looks good, then import your VM's.

[joelones]

Is it common practice to passthrough the onboard sata controller (ICH8R in my case) or better to buy a separate sata raid card to passthrough? I'd rather not buy another card right now. I noticed in your guide you do not passthrough the onboard sata ports, correct?

 

Are the onboard SATA-ports used for anything else then datastores for the most of you? I was thinking of using the 2 port sil3132 sata card as the datastore.

 

I'd rather use my 6 ports onboard sata in an unraid VM for baremetal unraid.  Lastly, I'm assuming in passthrough, there is no performance hit whatsoever?

 

EDIT: just realize i have a i3-530 cpu which does not support vt-d, guess I'm SOL....