Im sorry if this has been hashed out before but I have a question about upgrading. I run 4.7 and have for a few years with no incident. I am upgrading my server to a 4224 norco case and with that the entire server except storage. Presently I run 8 2tb drives with one as the parity. I want to bring this entire array over to my new server and add 3 4tb drives. I know one of these will need to become the new parity drive and the existing parity drive will then become an extra storage drive so I gain a total of 10tb more plus room for tons of space.

 

1) I see 6.0 is in beta is it worth upgrading directly to that? I dont see a forum on 6.0 other than some random talk ... is it hidden or whats the advantage pf 6.0 over the latest release of 5.x.

2) 5.x how do I actually upgrade to 5.x, is there anything else to purchase (I did purchase 4.7 full version)

3) How do I bring my entire array over to the new server without losing anything? I will use the SUPERMICRO AOC-SAS2LP-MV8 cards in the new system.

 

Right now I run unraid from a usb drive. Can I bring this internal or is a USB drive still good?

 

Thanks

 

Ted

1) unRAID 6 is very early beta. I wouldn't recommend it for your use at this time. It is 64bit and most of the interest is due to virtualization capability. 5.0.5 is latest stable and you should definitely go there first and then after some more study you can decide if unRAID 6 is for you. You can't upgrade directly from 4.7 to 6 in any case.

 

2) Your key file will still work on 5. No need to purchase anything, but there is a good offer on a spare key running right now. See Announcements. The release notes in the download explain how to upgrade.

 

3) It would be easier to move to the new server if you go ahead and upgrade unRAID to 5 first. That way it will already know and remember your drive assignments. unRAID 5 remembers drive assignments by serial number and so it is better at keeping this straight than 4.7 was.

 

unRAID still boots from the flash drive. Your key is tied to the GUID of that specific flash drive so you must continue to use that flash drive for your key.

 

Perfect so is the upgrade to 5.05 anything scary? Haha my server has been running so long and I get terrified to upgrade a working system.

 

Ted

Also I assume when I upgrade the parity drive I pop the 4tb in .. and let it spend a few days building? Then I can add the old parity drive as a storage drive along with the new 4tbs?

 

I'd recommend preclearing any new drives you plan to add.  I generally do 3-5 preclear cycles on new drives. 

I havent actually added hard drives for a really long time. I bought all 8 2tbs I have at once a few years back. I do remember doing a preclear on them but forgot how to do so, is it directly through the terminal or someplace else. Also can I preclear a 4tb drive even without a parity drive to support? Finally do I preclear the new cache drive?

 

Ted

Preclear script

 

Preclear in addition to testing allows data drives to be added without the need for unRAID to clear them first. If you add a data drive and unRAID has to clear it, the array will be unavailable for several hours until clearing completes.

 

unRAID does not need to clear parity or cache before adding it, but it is good to test them anyway. Preclear should not be used on an SSD so if you were considering using one for cache then don't preclear it.

Woot stunning I now am running 5.05 haha. Ok so now since it saves the drives by serial number rather than via location I an place all my hard drives in a new computer and not care about the place I plug it in?

 

Ted

Woot stunning I now am running 5.05 haha. Ok so now since it saves the drives by serial number rather than via location I an place all my hard drives in a new computer and not care about the place I plug it in?

 

Ted

That's right. I just replaced my motherboard last week and didn't worry about it.

 

Woot ok going for it.

 

THANKS

 

Ted

I did something wrong. I got the new server up and booted but I can not access it via the web browser and the raid is not online. I can ping the server and it does boot I can see the login for hte server but nothing when I try to access via web browser.

 

Where can I start to find out whats wrong.

 

Ted

See SYSTEM LOG in my sig.

Some possible reasons for problems...none are fatal!

1.  Not all plugins are compatible with 5.0.5...there is a list at http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/UnRAID5_Plugins ,

BUT, you're better off checking the forums for the latest version of any that you have installed.

2.  Despite the Wiki, HEADPHONES is *not* compatible with 5.0.5.

2.  Despite the Wiki,  SIMPLE-FEATURES is not supported in 5.0.x...if you had that installed, you need to remove it.

3.  If you installed the LIme-Tech extended 'webgui', there's a problem with version 5.0.5 and you should uninstall it.

4.  If you liked SimpleFeatures, you might try 'Dynamix' here in the forums.

 

If none of the above applies, OR the problem doesn't go away, post a syslog.

Syslog: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=9880.0

SimpleFeatures:http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=28927.msg279478#msg279478

Lime-Tech GUI is automatically removed if you install Dynamix.

No some how a hard drive 1/2 plugged in (was showing up a post, went to get kids the web service came up and showed it offline) I plugged it in ...rebooted and working great. I have no addons right now I have always used this 100% as a NAS server.

 

OTOH where can I look at what pluggins are available and whats cool?

 

Ted

Your better off using version 6 with plugins running in a VM. This way you can keep the NAS stable but still run anything else in a VM.

BTW its amazing how annoying a 8 year old girl who gets home from school to find the movies doesn't work can be ... haha incentive to fix it

 

 

BTW its amazing how annoying a 8 year old girl who gets home from school to find the movies doesn't work can be ... haha incentive to fix it

 

If you use your unRAID mostly as a media center, you might take a look at PLEX. That's my favorite movie/tv player.

It puts up a nice simple interface...well organized. Pulls in detail from the web automatically, etc.

https://plex.tv/ and click on 'Features' up at the top.