Use drive for VM, keeping data on it

[WhiteBoi1211]

(noobie here  )
Is it possible to use a drive (maybe a cache drive) for VM's etc. while keeping the data on it, not moving it?
Currently i have one cache drive where my VM writes to, and that data gets moved by mover. 
Could i have the not move but rather get backup-ed so i can keep the SSD speeds?

[trurl]

Each user share has settings that control whether it gets moved 

[itimpi]

3 minutes ago, WhiteBoi1211 said:

(noobie here  )
Is it possible to use a drive (maybe a cache drive) for VM's etc. while keeping the data on it, not moving it?
Currently i have one cache drive where my VM writes to, and that data gets moved by mover. 
Could i have the not move but rather get backup-ed so i can keep the SSD speeds?

Yes - this is quite normal as it gives best performance.

 

If you are using an Unraid 6.11.x release or earlier then you set any share that should be on it as Use Cache=Only.

If you are using an Unraid 6.12.x release or later then you set the pool as Primary storage and nothing as secondary storage.    You can then take advantage of the Exclusive Share feature to improve performance by bypassing the Fuse layer in Unraid.

 

In both cases if it is a single drive (no redundancy) then you need to make sure regular backups are made (probably to the array) and the VM Backup plugin can help with this.   You could also use a multi-drive pool to have built-in redundancy for the pool.

[WhiteBoi1211]

Right, that makes sense.
How could i go about a user share for data sharing across my network, which i want to backup to the array? Is there a plugin for that?

[itimpi]

40 minutes ago, WhiteBoi1211 said:

How could i go about a user share for data sharing across my network, which i want to backup to the array? Is there a plugin for that?

Not that I know of that is generic for any User Share.    It would be easy to write a script to do this that is run at your defined schedule via the User Scripts plugin.   However this raises the question of why you would want to do that in the first place?   You could always create a multi-drive pool that has built-in redundancy.

 

there IS a plugin for backing up the ‘appdata’ share as that is a share that is frequently kept on a pool for performance reasons.

 

[WhiteBoi1211]

Was more a question of curiosity. 
We often transfer loads of GB's and i have quite slow, old HDDS. So grabbing that data after Mover is quite cumbersome.

Anyways, thanks for your input!
Ill get that plugin and change my share! 

[WhiteBoi1211]

Actually my question remains, can i install stuff on my SSD pool and backup that to the array nightly?
Ex: install docker, plugins, vms on the SSD and backup them instead of moving the data to the Array. That way I can utilize the SSD speeds.

[trurl]

Appdata Backup already mentioned will backup your docker appdata. Your docker templates are on the flash drive. Nothing else about dockers needs to be backed up.

 

VM Backup plugin already mentioned.

 

Plugins are on the flash drive.

 

You must always have a current backup of flash for these and other even more important reasons (your Unraid configuration is the config folder on flash). MyServers plugin will backup flash to the Unraid cloud. You can also download a zipped flash backup in Main - Boot Device - Flash - Flash Backup.