Hi,

I'm an unRaid user/customer for quite a number of years and love the system.  I have a 6 drive (including parity) unRaid array all formatted with ReiserFS (I believe is was the only available FS when I started with unRaid) - I read in unRaid 7 release notes that ReiserFS is being phased out from the Linux Kernel which raised a number of concerns and a few questions:

1. will I be able to continue using the array as is?

2. Will I be able to add drives?

3. Adding a new drive will necessitate formatting to a new file system, will unraid continue functioning as before with the new added drive?

4. If, most probably, I will opt to upgrade to unRaid v7,0 and above - how to safely migrate the existing drives to a new FS - are there more than one FS? Which FS you recommend? 

 

I will probably have more questions as I go along but the above will do for now.

 

Appreciate you help and support.

 

Best, tzotz

11 minutes ago, tzotz said:

1. will I be able to continue using the array as is?

You can use it for now, and probably still with v7.1, may not after that, kernel 6.13 removes reiserfs support, so when Unraid uses that or a newer kernel, it also won't support it.

 

You can add a new drive at any time, format it XFS for example, and you can then use the new v7.0 mover feature to empty one of your old disks, when empty reformat xfs and repeat for the remaining ones to convert them all.

 

 

Thank you JorgeB for your response.

 

There's a problem in what you suggest - the PC I have unRaid on does not have space or controller for another drive - I will have to get a new machine which I will but maybe not tomorrow.

 

Can you elaborate a bit (or point me to a detailed text) how, when a new PC with more drive slots is available, go about adding a new drive formatting it and use the mover feature - I understand from what you wrote that I'll have to upgrade to v7.0 to be able to do that.  I'm sorry, unRaid got a lot more sophisticated and complex since I started using it and i do need more help.

 

Thanks, I do appreciate your support, tzotz

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/manual/storage-management/#adding-disks

 

then for the mover option:

 

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/release-notes/7.0.0/#using-mover-to-empty-an-array-disk

Instead of replacing computer, another possibility would be to empty one of your existing drive by moving its contents to other drives, then reformat it to XFS, move files to it to empty other drives, repeat. You could also upsize drives to make room for emptying other drives, etc

trurl, thank you, thank you,

 

I've spent the better half of the day hitting the net looking for parts to build a new box - I may still do that soon but before that I'll try your suggestion and look for a disk that I can empty.

 

I'm still in the dark about formatting to XPS but one step at a time.

 

Thanks again, made my day, tzotz

When you are satisfied a drive is empty

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/manual/storage-management/#setting-a-file-system-type

OK, I will follow trurl suggestion, I am however still concerned that I will make a bad move that will make my uuRaid partly or completely unusable.

I will outline below the scenario I'm about to take and will thank for any comment that will help me get on the right track. 

So, here goes:

 

Most important - all of this reformat and Mover are carried out in Linux territory with the array dormant or under Windows with a live unRaid array.

I will complete the outline when I now in which world I have to continue.

 

Anxiously waiting for your guidance here.

 

Thanks, tzotz

No good reason to get Windows or the network involved in moving files within the server.

 

Attach Diagnostics to your NEXT post in this thread.

Thanks trurl, I am waiting for the completion of the copying disk5 to disk3 - it's 41% complete so it'll be tomorrow when it completes. Then I'll run the diagnostics and post.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Best, tzotz

tower-diagnostics-20250123-0740.zip

Some plugins might be useful for this task. I see you don't have them.

 

And the few plugins you do have are way out of date and, in fact, incompatible with the Unraid version you are running. You should fix that.

 

Uninstall all plugins, then install Community Applications plugin. That will let you install other plugins and dockers.

 

I also recommend Fix Common Problems.

 

Other plugins you might consider for your immediate task.:

 

Unassigned Devices will let you work with disks outside the array, so you could copy files off the array if you don't have room, and then copy them back when you do.

 

Dynamix File Manager (this functionality is built-in for Unraid V7). This will let you work with files and folders directly on the server from the webUI.

 

Unbalanced will let you setup tasks to move files between disks, including emptying a disk to other disks in the array.
 

Unrelated, I see you don't have any pools (such as cache). Even if you don't want to cache, having a pool outside the array will let you reconfigure your Docker/VM setup (move appdata, domain, system shares off the array) so Dockers/VMs will perform better, and so array disks can spin down since these files are always open. We can come back to that later if you want.

Some other very important things:

 

Do you have a current backup of flash?

 

Do you have another copy of anything important and irreplaceable, somewhere off your server?

 

23 hours ago, tzotz said:

copying disk5 to disk3

Copy is safer and faster than move. Then when you are satisfied with the result, you can reformat the source drive as XFS.

 

How are you doing the copy? You can also do copy from Dynamix File Manager and Unbalanced, but maybe not as fast as the older methods you may already be familiar with.

 

 

Some recent posts on another thread you might find relevant. You can start reading from here:

 

Thanks again,

 

Our posts are a bit out of synch, but we'll resynch eventually.

 

You asked:

 

Do you have a current backup of flash?

 

The array is online now so I guess I can make a copy.

 

Do you have another copy of anything important and irreplaceable, somewhere off your server?

 

I have the important files from my desktop periodically backed up to unRaid but there are quite a large number of files mainly photos and videos that are only on unRaid.

 

 

Copy is safer and faster than move. Then when you are satisfied with the result, you can reformat the source drive as XFS.

 

That was my plan

 

How are you doing the copy? You can also do copy from Dynamix File Manager and Unbalanced, but maybe not as fast as the older methods you may already be familiar with.

 

What older methods? I can try to use Linux command line operations to copy files around but as my Linux experience is limited (sorry guys) I'd rather be treading on a more familiar Windows ground and it'll take ages - however maybe I'll bite the bullet and head to the Linux path.

 

About not using cache - for one, I don't have an extra slot in the array.  After this job - moving stuff around to arrive at an array functionally identical to the one I started with all the disks formatted to XPS, starting the array and ensuring that everything is there  - I will embark on building a new box with more room for disks and add another parity, cache and possibly more disks 

 

I will follow your advice and uninstall all plugins, install the ones you mentioned and see if I can move files around.

 

Then I plan to proceed as follows:

 

1) format disk 5 (sdc)
2) MoveR disk 4 (sdb) onto disk 5 (sdc) (both are 2TB so no space problem herre)
3) format disk 4 (sdb)
4) MoveR disk 2 (sdg) onto disk 4 (sdb)
5) Replace disk 2 (sdg) with a new 3 or 4 TB disk and format it
6) MoveR disk 3 (sde) onto disk 2 (sdg)
7) format disk 3 (sde)
Mover disk 1 (sdf) onto disk 3 (sde)
9) Format disk 1 (sdf)
10) Copy files that started this process (when disk 5 (sdc) was empties onto disk 3 (sde) ) from disk 2 (sdg) onto disk 1 (sdf)

 

Now I'll have an array of 5 disks that have the same contents (hopefully) as before but not in the same disk topology.   My question is  if I arrange the disks so that the topology is exactly the and start it -  will the parity be rebuilt and all the shares and files they contain will remain the same albeit not on the same disks ids?

 

If not, then it's back to the drawing board to come up with a similar scenario that will end up exactly as the original array in the attached screenshot (unRaid 1.jpg)  - I didn't figure out exactly how to this but I think it's feasible (maybe with a few more copy operations.)

 

I never did something like this before and I'm not familiar with the inner working of the array so I could be going in a completely wrong and dangerous direction here.

 

I'll totally appreciate any advise or critique even a harsh one :-).

 

Thanks again and best regards, tzotz

 

16 minutes ago, tzotz said:

Do you have a current backup of flash?

 

The array is online now so I guess I can make a copy.

MAIN - Boot Device - flash - FLASH BACKUP button will download a zipped flash backup. Unraid Connect plugin will also keep a current backup of flash on Unraid Cloud.

 

All of your configuration (everything set in the webUI) is on flash including your disk assignments (and your license), so extremely important to have an up-to-date backup.

 

20 minutes ago, tzotz said:

quite a large number of files mainly photos and videos that are only on unRaid.

You don't have to have a complete backup of everything on your server. But you absolutely must have another copy of anything important and irreplaceable somewhere off your server. You get to decide what qualifies.

 

Parity is not a substitute for backup and never has been on any system whether Unraid or some other.

 

This might be where Unassigned Devices can help. You can copy stuff to USB drives using that plugin.

 

24 minutes ago, tzotz said:

About not using cache - for one, I don't have an extra slot in the array.  After this job - moving stuff around to arrive at an array functionally identical to the one I started with all the disks formatted to XPS

That's fine. Way down on the list of priorities. Since this is the 2nd time you said XPS, and P and F are nowhere near each other on the keyboard, this must be a mistake and not a typo. The correct acronym is XFS.

 

to be continued...

 

 

30 minutes ago, tzotz said:

What older methods?

I thought you might have used at least Midnight Commander. It is a text-GUI (sort of like some of the file managers we used to have on DOS maybe before you were born?). Midnight Commander has always been around on Unraid at least since V4.7 which is when I started. Just enter mc from the command line. You can find tutorials for it on the web. It is possible to get yourself in trouble with that though.

 

Dynamix File Manager or Unbalanced may be a little slower but safer.

 

Dynamix File Manager is pretty easy to figure out. Unbalanced may be a little harder to figure out but takes some of the work out of it after you get it set to do what you want.

 

to be continued...

38 minutes ago, tzotz said:

Then I plan to proceed as follows:

Your plan says MoveR (Probably a typo. Mover is a process in Unraid that moves files from cache to array -- and even more on modern versions of Unraid.)

 

But as mentioned,

3 hours ago, trurl said:

Copy is safer and faster than move. Then when you are satisfied with the result, you can reformat the source drive as XFS.

Your plan also talks about the disks sometimes by using their sdX designations. Best to not think of them that way at all most of the time, especially assigned disks. Unraid keeps track of disk assignments using the disk serial numbers. Those sdX designations can change, and often will when you add, remove, or replace disks.

 

46 minutes ago, tzotz said:

5) Replace disk 2 (sdg) with a new 3 or 4 TB disk and format it

You will have to rebuild the replacement whether or not you want to keep its data, and even if you format it before replacing. Parity would not be valid otherwise.

51 minutes ago, tzotz said:

 if I arrange the disks so that the topology is exactly the and start it -  will the parity be rebuilt and all the shares and files they contain will remain the same albeit not on the same disks ids?

Parity will be valid throughout as long as you don't add or remove disks, or replace any disks that you don't rebuild.

 

User Shares are simply the combined top level folders on all disks, so as long as you copy top level folders from one disk to the top level of another disk, user shares will be the same.

 

 

I probably should have given you this link first.

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/manual/storage-management/#converting-to-a-new-file-system-type

If you want to upsize any disks, might be worthwhile to do it first so you will have more free space.

1 hour ago, tzotz said:

Our posts are a bit out of synch, but we'll resynch eventually.

I'll let you talk now. I will go off and help others for a bit.

I loved the "maybe before you were born" I was born on April 1944 which makes me 80 plus years old 🙂

 

I will look for the commander, I'm in computers since 1962 and I did work with similar software.

 

I meant XFS when I mentioned formatting.

 

Again I can't thank you enough for your help.  

 

With respect to backing up some files I have no copy of - I will find a large usb drive and see what I can do.

 

If I understood correctly the idea is to copy stuff that was on any one disk back to that same disk after it was formatted -- am I right? if so I'll try to work something out in that direction.

 

I will replace one or two disks with larger ones to make this process easier - I just want to make sure that after replacing a drive I'll format it as XFS and then let the system rebuild it in the standard unRaid function -

 

Am I correct in assuming that the Midnight Commander runs on linux  - how will I refer to the files in my disks then?

 

i will be back soon afterr digesting all the new information.

 

Thanks and best, tzotz

1 hour ago, tzotz said:

I loved the "maybe before you were born" I was born on April 1944 which makes me 80 plus years old 🙂

 

I will look for the commander, I'm in computers since 1962 and I did work with similar software.

I turned 70 day after Christmas. In computers since the beginning of the microprocessor and still keeping at it in various ways after retirement.

 

1 hour ago, tzotz said:

If I understood correctly the idea is to copy stuff that was on any one disk back to that same disk after it was formatted -- am I right?

Not necessary to copy anything back to the disk it was on. User shares is just about the top level folders and what files and folders are under the top level folders on any assigned disk. User shares allow folders to span disks. As long as the folder structure is the same on the disks, it will be the same in User Shares.

 

When you create a User Share in the webUI, Unraid creates top level folder(s) named for the share on array disks (or pool such as cache) as needed in conformance with the settings made for that share.

 

Conversely, any top level folder on array disk(s) (or pool such as cache) is automatically a user share named for the folder. Any top level folder (user share) will have default settings if they aren't set for that share.

 

If you decide to work with mc or command line, be sure you only work with the disks or work with the user shares. Never mix disks and user shares when moving or copying files. Linux does not know that files on the disks and files in the user shares may be references to the same file, and so may try to overwrite the file with itself, resulting in an empty file. For your purposes, you will be working with the disks and not the user shares.

 

1 hour ago, tzotz said:

I will replace one or two disks with larger ones to make this process easier - I just want to make sure that after replacing a drive I'll format it as XFS and then let the system rebuild it in the standard unRaid function -

When you replace a disk, it has to be rebuilt from the parity calculation. This makes it in sync with the array. The only other possible way to get the array back in sync is by rebuilding parity through New Config. Both require the entire disk to be written so will take a while.

 

https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/overview/nas/#parity-protected-array

 

You can format before replacing or after rebuilding. All write operations - write, copy, delete, move (copy to destination then delete from source) in the array update parity at the same time. Format is also a write operation. It writes an empty filesystem to the disk. Note that if you want to keep the data on the disk, you must not format before rebuilding, since that would rebuild an empty filesystem (a common mistake).

 

1 hour ago, tzotz said:

Midnight Commander runs on linux  - how will I refer to the files in my disks then?

The user shares are in /mnt/user. You will not be working with them as mentioned. The disks are also in /mnt as /mnt/disk1, /mnt/disk2, etc. Copy top level folders from one disk to another and the user shares will take care of themselves.

 

Unless you are going to work with mc or command line from a keyboard and monitor attached to the server, I recommend installing this plugin:

 

Hi trurl, at the risk of repeating myself: many thanks for all your help.

 

So, over the weekend I spent some time (actually quite a lot) to learn more about the array, its file system, the Midnight Commander, using Rsync to move files, unassigned disk, remote shares, using the Terminal  and more - I realized how little (actually next to nothing) I knew about unRaid and that what I wrote (the scenario) was, well, not good, so, it's back to the drawing board for me hoping that this time around I'll complete the project successfully.

 

In order to start with a clean slate I undid the copy of disk5 to disk3 and started parity check; when this finishes (with no errors I hope) I will embark on moving the array to a new file system.

A few questions:

The recommended file system is XFS right?

Now, do this for every disk:

Using Rsync or MC move the disk content onto an external (not part of the array box) share drive (I already set up a 2 TB drive for that - all disks has less then 2TB on them)

Change the disk's file system type to XFS and reformat the disk - I hope the File System Management section in the Storage Management Chapter in unRaid Docs is clear enough.

Restore the disk content from the shared drive using Rsync (or MC) - Is this correct? .

After the completion of the above for all the disks run the parity test - what type? - Create parity or check parity with/without array disk correction.

 

Does the parity drive need special treatment? Like what?

 

I ordered a new 4TB disk to replace one of the 2TB that's there now.

 

Running the parity test (with no disk correction) starting now (before reformatting the array) will take about 15 hours, so I'll be back tomorrow - any comment on the above are highly appreciated.

 

Best,

 

tzotz