I recently added another drive to my array and for the first time, my physical location of the disks in my case is not sequential with how they are listed in the array.  In other words, my parity drive is at the bottom of my case, and the disks go in reverse order sequentially to the top of the case.  If I ever have a problem with a disk I know exactly where to go get it. Now, I do keep a drive map with serial numbers, but I guess I like keeping this organized in some logical manner.    I have a 32GB SSD in my case at the very top and eventually want to find a different mounting location.

 

So two questions here.

1. Can I make what is now disk 10, become disk 9, and 9 become 10, or is this just a bad idea?  I think I read a process for this somewhere but have been unable to find it.

2. Would it be possible to skip a space.  Ideally I would make what is currently disk 9 into Disk 12 and leave 10/11 blank.  As eventually those slots in my case will have other 3TB drives.

 

This is not a necessity, just a preference.  Thanks for any input.

I am the same way with my drives, I have to have them in the same order as the ports on my MB and in unraid so I know exactly witch drive is which if something were to go wrong.  I have swapped drives around to different SATA ports without any issue, just make sure you see valid data and all green lights before you start the array.

 

1.  Shut down

2.  Swap around any drives (I would suggest not adding or removing any drives till swapping is complete)

3.  start back up and make sure array is working

4.  If you need to swap drives in the drive list, stop the array.

5.  Make your changes (make sure you don't change your parity and cache drives)

6.  Start array.

the only way to do this (as far as I know) is to put the drives where you want them and do a INITCONFIG. this will IMMEDIATELY delete your parity data and you will have to re-construct parity.

the only way to do this (as far as I know) is to put the drives where you want them and do a INITCONFIG. this will IMMEDIATELY delete your parity data and you will have to re-construct parity.

If you are running the current 5.0 release, since disks are tracked by their model/serial number, you should be able to simply stop the array, power down, move the disks around, power up, then start the array once more.

 

In older beta releases, and in 4.7 and prior you need to re-assign the disks on the disk assignment page once you power up before re-starting the array.

 

There should be no need to use the "initconfig" unless on an older release of unRAID and you are plugging the parity disk into a port you've never used before.  (You'll know if you need it, as the array will not start due to an invalid configuration)

 

Just be absolutely certain you know which disk is your parity disk and make sure it is assigned to the parity slot in the array.  (A screen print of the disk config BEFORE you start, showing the model number and serial numbers is a good thing to have)  Alternatively, a syslog showing the disk inventory is as good. 

 

One more thing...Saving a copy of the "config" directory when you stop the array, before making re-assignments, will let you get back to your original config if you really  mess up.

 

Joe L.

the only way to do this (as far as I know) is to put the drives where you want them and do a INITCONFIG. this will IMMEDIATELY delete your parity data and you will have to re-construct parity.

Although this does describe what happens if you set a new disk configuration, it is not necessary to set a new disk configuration and re-calculate parity in most cases, so the advice is not entirely true.    In older releases, as long as you are not adding or deleting disks you can use the disk assignment page to re-assign disks to their respective slots, on newer releases, it should figure it out on its own, as it uses the disk serial numbers.

 

Joe L.

I think the way I wrote my original question may have been confusing.  What I am actually trying to do at the moment, is change the disk assignments, not just physically move the disks in the case or change ports. 

 

I have changed the ports used for different disks on 5.0 in the past and this does work fine.  The array came back up with no user intervention. 

 

If I do swap disk assignments does 5.0 track this OK too, or is that when I have to do an INITCONFIG command and then rebuild parity?  I think that is what I saw previously.

 

Also can I leave a blank space in the assignment list.  IE can I have a disk 12 assigned, but leaving 10 and 11 unassigned.

 

Thanks.

 

Note: Configuration listed in my signature is current

Also can I leave a blank space in the assignment list.  IE can I have a disk 12 assigned, but leaving 10 and 11 unassigned.

Yes this is possible.  I had mine that way for a while with no ill affects.  The rest I'll leave for the experts.

You can swap the assignment of 2 data disks when the array is stopped. You can't swap the assignment of more than 2 data drives at one time. So, you could eventually move the assignments of all the drives by doing a bunch of array starting and stopping.

 

You can not unassign a data disk and re-assign it to a blank spot. You would have to initialize the array and rebuild parity for that (or use the trust my array procedure).