Add ability to install unRAID OS to redundant drives

[jonp 289]

Probably goes hand in hand with the cache / user data co-mingling capability feature and linux disk quota capabilities, but definitely something we want to have planned for sometime in the future, even if it's a new product offering.

[NAStyBox 26]

Would it be possible to have a second USB drive, with some sort of code on it that knows what the primary is?

So you would have your primary USB/boot drive, with your licensed UUID. The backup would be a UUID you register somewhere in the primary. If someone tries to use the backup to boot a system have it check for the existence of the primary. If the primary isn't present, have it throw a message... "You are trying to boot from a backup boot drive. If this is not your intention please press 'S' and your system will shut down. If you would like to replace your primary boot drive with this drive, press 'C' to continue and we will update our license database." Then have the backup reach out to your server and make the change. You may want to include some sort of authentication requirement via emailed link to ensure a stolen USB drive can't render a licensed system inoperable. 

...or something to that effect. I'm not a coder but it sounds feasible, no?

[HellDiverUK 52]

Just boot off the cache drive and be done with it...keep the USB for licencing, nothing more.

[pwm 210]

You want to boot from the USB - that doesn't give any wear and allows all system state to be backed up etc by duplicating the flash content. But the system could make a mirror copy to a cache drive and only verify that the USB stays connected with the license key. And then have the system accumulate a grace timer so if the USB breaks after x days uptime, then you may get a failure mail and a number of days to react and arrange a replacement.

 

Even nicer would be if the replacement drive can be completely empty - just connect an empty drive and click on a menu choice to have the unRAID machine report to lime with the new serial number. Then copy back the full information from the SSD and write down the new key file. So the only user interaction would be to unplug the broken drive, insert an empty drive and click "register USB replacement drive".

[MadMage999 4]

However it ends up being implemented, I second the request to have redundancy on the system files.