Request for Upgrade path from 2TB to 3TB drives on production server.

[One2go]

I am standing in front of doors 1, 2 & 3 scratching my head how to proceed with the disc upgrades on my production server and have a few questions, even after spending hours researching and reading forum posts of the experience others had with 3TB drives.

 

Server Hardware:

Mother Board ASUS M4A78-E motherboard

Adaptec 1430SA Controller

Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8 Controller

AMD 790GX / SB750 Chipset for 5 SATA ports

 

9 Samsung 2TB drives used in the array

4 Hitachi 3TB drives on the bench waiting to be used.

 

The 3TB drives will be  connected to the Supermicro controller with the exception of the parity drive which I would like to connect to the Mobo. Is there an advantage to this?

Door #1

Should I upgrade from UnRaid version 4.7 to version 5 Beta 12a on my server so as to be able to make use of the full 3TB size? If so is there a modified PreClear script and does it work with 3TB drives? This would be the preferred option but it depends on how stable the release is.

 

Door #2

Use the HDParm procedure to reduce the drives to 2TB and then integrate them into the array and use version 4.7. I can see where this maybe the saver method but also in the end more time consuming. Are there  any hiccups or precautions to be considered when expending from 2TB to 3TB using the HDParm command?

 

Door #3 

Be patient wait until a stable version 5 release and use 2TB drives one at a time to cover the needed storage space? This requires the least amount of changes but is also the most expensive as the 2TB drives will be spare parts eventually. Possible usage in a test server. Not my favorite Door.

 

Any experience that you would like to share is much appreciated. It might be a good idea to start a sticky with a collection of steps to upgrade from a box with 2TB drives to a box with 3TB drives.

 

Thanks

O2G

[WeeboTech]

production server... I would choose door #2 unless I got the 2TB drives at an extremely attractive price.

[One2go]

I have followed bjp999, ProStuff1 & your comments closely on the 2TB to 3TB move and are still tossing around the criteria of available time versus risk of running a beta release on the server that is in use daily. The beta version that supports 3TB drives has been around for a while now, besides the spin-up glitch are there any other show stoppers you are aware off, as I have read that some feel the latest beta release is quite stable?

[p1lot]

In your case I would just upgrade to 5 beta, this would be way simpler. And chances of messing something up with hdparm etc. are smaller.

[One2go]

Your reasoning about HDParm has crossed my mind and it is one of the reasons that I am leaning towards the updating to the 5 beta version. Still would like to know if there are any other abnormalities with the beta version. This is a job that you just don't jump head over heal into 16TB of collected data are begging to be handled gingerly.

[Johnm]

Things to be aware of...

 

you are using a saslp-mv8. there is a bug with those on 12a. it looks like it effects people with more then 1 mv8. you will probably not be effected. You might be OK with 5B8-5B11 instead?

you have an Atheros NIC. those seem to be hit or miss. it might not work as expected in 5 beta. i would read the thread for each release very thoroughly.

 

I would make sure you run a parity test before upgrading to 5Bx, and then again before swapping the parity drive.

I would also make sure you have a backup of your flash drive in case you need to roll back.

[One2go]

Thank you your comments are MOST helpful. I will only have ONE of the SASLP-MV8 Controllers & I disabled the Atheros on-board LAN replaced it with an Intel NIC which runs smoothly.

 

I just ran a parity test and all looks excellent with no errors or other abnormalities. Excellent suggestion regarding the additional parity check before swapping the parity drive. Also did not consider a backup of the flash drive. Is this a simple matter of copying the entire drive OR is there a backup utility or procedure for this? Keep in mind my Linux skills and knowledge are very limited as I often have to search for examples of Commands from the prompt.

 

I seem to recall that there is a problem with the PreClear script for 3TB drives or has this been solved or is there a working custom PreClear script for 3 TB drives?

 

Thanks for your help and I'll surely read the Beta threads diligently.

[dgaschk]

Always use the newest pre-clear script. It supports 3TB drives. Copy the entire flash drive to a PC. However, you only really need the config directory.

[One2go]

Thanks for the advice. After carefully reading all 18 pages of the 5.Beta 12a Announcement I am taking my time updating the server. I only noticed the frustration with the BLK errors of the 8 port Supermicro controller. I can live with the spin up of the discs and I only turn my server on when needed I don't run it 24/7.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[heffneil]

Jumping to this thread I am considering beta now

 

What is the BLK problem?  I have 8 port Supermicro cards..

 

Thanks,

 

Neil

 

[prostuff1]

Jumping to this thread I am considering beta now

 

What is the BLK problem?  I have 8 port Supermicro cards..

 

Thanks,

 

Neil

 

 

Read the 5.0b12a thread in the announcements forum

[mbryanr]

A nasty time-out error generated from the kernel used in the latest unRAID build and the mvsas driver used by the MV8 Supermicro cards.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15049.msg143025;topicseen#msg143025

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=15049.msg142329#msg142329

Search the 5Beta threads for more...but the user ends up losing web access and an endless loop to prevent web access, most likely to occur during heavy I/O.

 

Sluggish web response could be a result of the memory leak

https://lists.open-fcoe.org/pipermail/devel/2010-November/010794.html