6x10TB XFS disks + 1xBTRFS Cache SSD. Dead Mobo. Is Recovery Straightforward?

[LongNeckv2]

I am assisting someone with their UnRAID server which failed a short while ago.

 

I'm new to UnRAID but have a lot of experience with TrueNAS and was asked to see if I can help repair the device or recover its contents based on the fact that it's a TrueNAS Mini XL+ from ~2017.  I was unaware until getting hold of the device that it's actually running UnRAID (6.12.4) on TrueNAS (FreeNAS at the time) hardware.

 

Long story short(er), the motherboard on the system has now failed, but I was able to pull a diagnostic/config dump from UnRAID before it gave up and the OS is on a USB stick, so the system config is intact. Having now skimmed the config files I've discovered that the storage array isn't configured with ZFS, which I'd naively assumed would be the case; it's running XFS on the spinning discs with what appears to be a BTRFS-based cache disk with a few SMART errors.

 

I can see the disks make up an array from the config files but am unfamiliar with this type of array and am seeking a bit of advice/assurance...

 

All six of the data disks are in good health and I now need to oversee a new system build using UnRAID and the orphaned disks from the previous box. My question is this:

Is the process of importing a foreign array into new hardware a complex and/or risky process with respect to UnRAID and the hardware in question? The customer is extremely eager to press the go button but I want to get the lowdown on the risk involved, and also ask if there are any dos/don'ts, any guides or literature beyond the documentation that would be worth studying, and whether there are any gotchas with this type of setup.

 

The new hardware I've proposed runs on dual Xeon E5-v4s and includes an onboard SATA controller as well as an LSI HBA. My inclination is to use the onboard controller to try and replicate the setup that existed on the previous box. Would best practice be to use the pre-existing UnRAID USB in the new machine or should I strictly be looking at a fresh install? What's the process for safely importing the array as it currently exists? Anything I should be looking out for in the config files before diving in?

 

Thank you in advance.

 

 

[trurl]

Do you mean you have a Diagnostics ZIP? 

 

If so, attach to your NEXT post in this thread 

[LongNeckv2]

Please see attached.

 

Many thanks

tower-diagnostics-20231117-1829.zip

[JorgeB]

5 hours ago, LongNeckv2 said:

includes an onboard SATA controller as well as an LSI HBA.

You should just need to boot the flash drive in the new server with all devices connected, onboard SATA is safe, LSI HBA also as long as it's really an HBA in IT mode, in doubt you can get new diags after booting with the new hardware but before starting the array.

 

 

 

[LongNeckv2]

Thanks, that's the answer I was hoping for.

 

Yeah, I've had a few run-ins with MegaRAID cards being touted as IT-mode HBAs in the past and more than my fill of reflashing adventures/misfortunes. Will be leaving that out of the way until everything looks hunkydory with the pre-existing array.

 

Thanks again.