July 1, 201313 yr Hi Guys, I have had my unRAID Pro server running for a couple years now. Everything is running smoothly, but I want to upgrade, so I can up-size my parity drive from 2TB to a larger drive, so I can then add larger storage drives. I am extremely nervous about this, I have about 10TB worth of data that I do not want to jeopardize. I saw that there is a guide how to upgrade here: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=UnRAID_Server_Version_5.0-beta_Release_Notes I ordered an additional license so I can try the upgrade. In case of failure, I can always plug the older one. So my questions are: 1) Is the guide I attached above still the proper way to upgrade? 2) Which version should I install, a quick look at the forum I noticed there is a data loss issue with latest version. 3) Any other tips? I do plan to screencap all my unRAID screens, so I know my drive assignments. I also plan to make sure my "Cache" drive is synched/backed up. Many thanks.... H. PS... I also saw this wonderful guide... http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/Migrating_from_unRAID_4.7_to_unRAID_5.0
July 1, 201313 yr => The guide in the Wiki is fine ... just follow it to do the upgrade. => Upgrade to RC15a ... it's the latest version, and although there IS an issue with potential data loss if you have an improper shutdown, the risk is small => and easily avoided by ensuring you do a sync after any significant writes to the array (just Stop the array to force that). ... AND it's almost certain there will either be an RC17 or v5.0 release within the next few days that will eliminate that risk. => Doing this on an entirely different USB flash device with a new key is certainly a "safe" way to try it ... but wasn't necessary. You could have simply copied the entire contents of your flash drive to a safe location (folder on your PC); then upgraded the flash to v5.0 ... and reverted by just copying everything back if necessary.
July 1, 201313 yr Author Thank you Gary. Normally when I Stop the array, it gets stuck at unmounting the Cache drive. I then have to go to Unmenu and hit the "Stop Array" in there. I hope this is enough to stop the data loss issue. I still feel better having a backup drive... a spare backup cannot hurt. Thanks again, H.
July 1, 201313 yr Thank you Gary. Normally when I Stop the array, it gets stuck at unmounting the Cache drive. I then have to go to Unmenu and hit the "Stop Array" in there. I hope this is enough to stop the data loss issue. If the array will not stop this is normally because there is a plugin misbehaving by keeping a file(s) open on the array. This stops the array drives from unmounting. Well behaved plugins will recognise that you are trying to stop the array and close themselves down thus allowing the array to stop cleanly.
July 1, 201313 yr Given that you're having some issues, I would use a "clean" v5 distribution on the new USB flash drive -- don't worry about "updating". Just do this: (1) Run a parity check on your v4.7 array -- and if you corrects ANY sync errors, then run it again to ensure it's now zero. If any drives have errors, STOP. Do NOT do the upgrade until you get that resolved. (2) Print a copy of your Web GUI page in v4.7 that shows all of your drive assignments with the serial numbers. Then shut down. (3) Boot to the new USB flash drive with a "virgin" copy of v5RC15a on it. Go to the Web GUI for this, and assign ONLY your data drives. Start the array and confirm everything is okay. If ANY drive shows as "Unformatted" do NOT let UnRAID format it !! If that happens, post back here with a copy of the new Web GUI. (4) Now you can Stop the v5 array and assign your parity drive => then start it back up and let it do the initial parity sync. When that finishes, do a parity check to ensure all went well. (5) Now you can Stop the array again and assign your Cache drive. (6) Finally ... one-at-a-time add the plug-ins you like to use and confirm all is well. I'd add UnMenu first, and install the APC UPS and CleanPowerDown packages if you have a UPS (you should). Then do your other plugins one-at-a-time and a short test with each ... use it a bit; shut down the array (to ensure you don't get the "hang" you referred to); etc.
July 1, 201313 yr ... obviously that process will take a long time (step #4 is likely 10-20 hours, depending on the size of your drives) ... but it's a VERY safe way to proceed ==> just be CERTAIN you don't assign the wrong drive to the parity or cache function. That's why I suggested assigning ONLY the data drives first ... if you make a mistake, you'll be able to catch it before anything BAD happens I still feel better having a backup drive... a spare backup cannot hurt. Agree => but even more than a spare USB flash drive, be sure you also have BACKUPS of your data !! UnRAID is a fault-tolerant server ... but that's NOT a backup. You should also have a backup copy of the "... 10TB worth of data that I do not want to jeopardize." With modern hard drive sizes, that's only 3 backup drives => you could use external units, or (as I do) you could just use bare drives and an eSATA (or USB) docking station, and store the full backup drives in a WiebeTech "DriveBox": http://www.amazon.com/WiebeTech-DriveBox-Anti-Static-Hard-Disk/dp/B004UALLPE
July 3, 201313 yr Author Gary thank you so much....! SO I have done the update... and everything seems OK... I can open the Web Interface, all my packages that ran in my /mnt/cache/.custom are firing up and working properly... But.... In my Windows 7, I can see Tower on my network, and it lists all the disks along with my Shares... But I cannot go into any of the share... In 4.7 I only used SMB... and there was no security or users.... I have not added either users or NFS. Each of my SMB shares is set to Export: Yes Security: Public Under Settings>SMB I am set to Enable SMB: Yes (Workgroup) Local Master: No Any clue how I can access my shares from Windows.... I feel like a complete newbee... Thanks again, H. Edit: Sorry I do have one user and that is "root"... Which is how I was logging in in 4.7.
July 3, 201313 yr Author Try running New Permissions on the Util tab... Perfect Mike.... thank you guys for your help.... I am up and running...
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