Hello All,

 

    I currently have a Drobo for backing up my systems.  Once a week, I shut down the Drobo, take out disks A1,A2,A3, and A4, and leave them at my offsite storage location.  I then bring home B1, B2, B3, and B4, install them into the Drobo, and turn on the Drobo.

 

    With UnRaid, can I do this, or would I need two USB keys?

 

    Thanks,

 

    -TM

leave them at my offsite storage location

 

If you are just taking drives out and leaving them somewhere else without being used, then you do not need another key.

If you plan to actually use them at the offsite location at any time while the first key is being used, then you need a second key.

 

Tom has an option whereby you get two keys, 1 full price, 1 half price.

 

Part of this thread makes me ask...

 

When you take out these 4 drives. Is the data intact somehow with the drobo?

 

With unRAID you can take out one drive and have it rebuilt onto another replacement, yet still have access to the data until the drive is rebuilt.

However, If you take it out 4 drives at one time, then you cannot access any of the data on those 4 drives until they are replaced.

 

 

 

leave them at my offsite storage location

 

If you are just taking drives out and leaving them somewhere else without being used, then you do not need another key.

If you plan to actually use them at the offsite location at any time while the first key is being used, then you need a second key.

 

Tom has an option whereby you get two keys, 1 full price, 1 half price.

 

The offsite location is for storage only.

 

Part of this thread makes me ask...

 

When you take out these 4 drives. Is the data intact somehow with the drobo?

 

With unRAID you can take out one drive and have it rebuilt onto another replacement, yet still have access to the data until the drive is rebuilt.

However, If you take it out 4 drives at one time, then you cannot access any of the data on those 4 drives until they are replaced.

 

No, the data on Drobo drives is not accessable without the Drobo.

 

Won't the unRAID notice that, when it's turned back on, that all the disks are now different?  Just to be clear about the scenario, I setup the UnRaid with disk set A, then after a while pull out that set, store it offsite, and insert set B.  Then, after a while, I store set B offsite and turn on the unRaid with set A.

 

    -TM

You should be able to copy the files from the USB such that the active files on the USB always match the set of drives.  That way unraid doesn't see a problem.

 

Even if you don't do that, the worst that would happen is a parity recalc.

 

 

Bill

Won't the unRAID notice that, when it's turned back on, that all the disks are now different?  Just to be clear about the scenario, I setup the UnRaid with disk set A, then after a while pull out that set, store it offsite, and insert set B.  Then, after a while, I store set B offsite and turn on the unRaid with set A.

 

Yes, Unraid will notice the drives are changed, If it is one drive, it will complain and you will have to

1. reassing devices

2. recalculate or rebuild the missing drive onto the newly installed drive.

 

if it is more then one drive, you will have to re-assign everything, RE-STORE and re-calculate parity.

 

If it were me, I would do a drive at a time. (or just build another server and rsync them over a network).

 

So if you take drive 1 out, and replace it with a new drive one.

unraid will see  a missing drive, when you update the devices, it will rebuild drive 1 on the replaced device selected.

Now you have 2 copies of drive 1.

 

If you take out 4 drives and replace them with 4 different drives.

you will have to RE-STORE the unRAID superblock and recreate the parity drive..

 

Another option, You could use one of those USB array devices.

rsync the files to USB over the course of the week, then move it offsite.

 

 

 

Won't the unRAID notice that, when it's turned back on, that all the disks are now different?  Just to be clear about the scenario, I setup the UnRaid with disk set A, then after a while pull out that set, store it offsite, and insert set B.  Then, after a while, I store set B offsite and turn on the unRaid with set A.

If those 4 drives are all you have in the array, in other words, then include the parity drive, then you can also save a copy of the /boot/config folder and the super.dat file.  As long as those are moved with the drives, then it will not know the drives have changed.

 

If however, you have ANY other drives you do not move, or do not include the parity drive, then it will be completely out of date as soon as you move one drive, or alter any file on any drive.

 

So, you can move ALL you drives AND the /boot/config folder and have parity stay correct, and it won't notice when you re-start, since it will compare the existing disks with the super.dat superblock file.

 

I personally like the "rsync" solution, as the more often I plug/uplug stuff, the more likely to have a static discharge that destroys your precious hardware.

 

Joe L.

Also, if you go with removable trays (or trayless removables) you can do the following.

 

1. install 4 disks into the parity protected array.

 

When backup is needed.

Shutdown

2. Install the 4 backup disks into the machine but not in the array.

Power Up.

3. Mount the 4 backup disks manually.

4. rsync the data from the protected drives to the unprotected drives at your liesure (or via cron job).

Shutdown.

Remove Drives.

Power Up.

 

If you go with an eSata or USB array chassis for the backup drives you can plug and unplug externally.

I believe you can hot plug the USB drive, I'm not sure about an esata drive.