Few basic questions

[gulo]

Hi

 

I am about to build my first unraid server and I have few questions.

 

When I upgrade to a newer version of unraid is it just matter of shutting it down, updating files on the USB drive and starting back up ? No need to reconfigure my settings again etc ?

 

If I ever build a new server (new MOBO, CPU, sata controllers...) but use existing hard drives from old unraid server will I be able to start it up without the need to recheck parity and/or any other major changes to my hard drives?

 

Should I stick to 4.7 or is it fairly safe to go with version 5 ?

 

If my unraid server is running behind router with no ports forwarded to its local IP am I pretty safe or should I take steps to completely disable internet access ? I do like the idea of using NTP server connection.

 

Allocation method / split levels - I've been reading about it and I wonder if there is a most common setting ? I will primarily use my unraid server as media server. I just wonder what most people use and what makes sense.

 

thanks

[lionelhutz]

HDD and USB can likely transfer and keep working. It might require re-assigning the drives and worst case rebuilding parity.

 

You call, both 4.7 and 5.0b12a work OK at this time. 5.0b12a does have a few issues that you can read about in the release thread.

 

It's fine behind a router. Just as safe as any other PC. I let mine access the internet all the time.

 

I like using high-water but the split level depends on the directory structure you want to use and if you want to keep contents of certain directories stored together on a single disk.

 

Peter

[Kilack]

As for the file allocation method, it really is up to you as in each circumstance you might want something different.

 

eg for my tv shares, I always use most free because I want new shows to go on the disk with the most free space which makes more sense to me because of the way tv shows will grow a lot so you want new shows on a disk with the most space.

 

for movies fill up or high water would be suitable because once you have a movie it doesn't grow like a tv show does.  Some like high water because it distributes more evenly and they think that makes it safer in case two drives fail.... you will lose less data...

 

 

[Johnm]

Hi

HI!

 

I am about to build my first unraid server and I have few questions.

 

When I upgrade to a newer version of unraid is it just matter of shutting it down, updating files on the USB drive and starting back up ? No need to reconfigure my settings again etc ?

It really depends on the upgrade. follow the instructions for each release.

As of right now, you would just copy 2 files to your flashdrive to upgrade from 4.7 to 5Beta12a

for future builds that could change (plug-in folder and such), but it will be easy and safe I'm sure.

 

If I ever build a new server (new MOBO, CPU, sata controllers...) but use existing hard drives from old unraid server will I be able to start it up without the need to recheck parity and/or any other major changes to my hard drives?

 

People migrate to new hardware all the time. My main server has migrated across 4 different motherboards since July.

 

it is optional, but I would recommend a parity check just to make sure your data is good before you migrate and again (in read only mode) after the migration to make sure the hardware is good and works as intended. bad ram could corrupt the data for example.

I guess it depends on how important your data is.

 

 

Should I stick to 4.7 or is it fairly safe to go with version 5 ?

up to you, it depends on your hardware and needs.

4.7 is stable. 5Beta6a is stable, 5B11 - 5B12a if you need AFP.

as mentioned. read the thread for the beta before you migrate to it to check if there are any red flags you need to be aware of.

 

If my unraid server is running behind router with no ports forwarded to its local IP am I pretty safe or should I take steps to completely disable internet access ? I do like the idea of using NTP server connection.

yup, perfectly safe. that's the best way to run it.

 

Allocation method / split levels - I've been reading about it and I wonder if there is a most common setting ? I will primarily use my unraid server as media server. I just wonder what most people use and what makes sense.

 

thanks

This is really up to you and what your server is for.

my media unraid is on "high-water" with the split level set to as low as possible to help sort my media for me.. that way it splits up the movies across more drives and lessens the chance of 2-3 people playing the newer movies off the same drive at once.

 

on my backup unraid, I use "Fill Up" with split level set high. i just want to get the data all onto the server, I'm not looking for pretty or sorted..

Also I prefer to think, "I have 10 full drives and 10 still blank".. it is easier then, "i have 20 drives with some at 75% full and some at 50% full, do i need to buy more drives yet? (the default webGUI does not add up drive space free for you)"

 

some people will say go for "fill up" on a media server so less drives spin while searching folders (Cache_dirs add on can solve this). others will say "most free". the choice is yours..

some people will manually sort the data copying to drive shares and use the multi disk shares just for playback (not many I am sure).

[gulo]

thanks all for your replies.

 

My hard drives start arriving today so I will start the preclearing process over the weekend and go from there.