Upgrade or not?


opentoe

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I have an Intel Core Duo CPU @ 2.66Ghz. It has 8GB of ram installed. It is 64bit capable and wondering if upgrading or switching to the 64bit model would help or perform any better?

 

I have 13 drives and 1 parity. I do not use a cache drive. I have a total of 30 terabytes with only 6 terabytes free. The only thing I use sometimes is UNmenu. I never liked using my UNraid server for anything than just media and file storage for streaming. It is hard to make these decisions with so much data involved, but who to ask then the experts here. What would anyone recommend or suggest?

 

Thanks!

 

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My experience only!  I have a box running 5.0.4 with 31TB of media (about 8T more free), been running over a year without a glitch, got up, running and never looked back. Running XBMC in house and PMS for outside.

 

I've since started playing with 6b12 on the build in my profile, virtualization, Xen, KVM and to be honest I'm not about to take my 5.0.4 down yet.  So far I've found a LARGE learning curve. Maybe given a little more stabilization and how-to's, I'll upgrade.  Just not ready yet…Just my .02 ~ Dave

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Same here ... v5 running one 20TB microserver and another running v6b12 in an attempt to understand the latest offerrings. But ... there's no way that either I or the product will be ready to go 'live' in the foreseeable future. A steep learning curve for me if i 'choose' (not a choice really, it has to be tried otherwise why has so much time and effort been wasted on pushing this upfront on what should be a NAS product) to make use of docker/virtualisation due to too little 'joined up' support out there at the moment. I was always taught to ensure adequate documentation must run in tandem with product development but UNraid seems unable to provide even the most basic of official help when it comes to its enduser base needs and relying on forum support is not really a good model to rollout no matter how forthcoming those forum'ers are (and yes they DO push out a lot of help but shouldnt it be UNraid's responsibility i keep telling myself?)

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I have an Intel Core Duo CPU @ 2.66Ghz. It has 8GB of ram installed. It is 64bit capable and wondering if upgrading or switching to the 64bit model would help or perform any better?

 

I have 13 drives and 1 parity. I do not use a cache drive. I have a total of 30 terabytes with only 6 terabytes free. The only thing I use sometimes is UNmenu. I never liked using my UNraid server for anything than just media and file storage for streaming. It is hard to make these decisions with so much data involved, but who to ask then the experts here. What would anyone recommend or suggest?

 

Thanks!

 

Given that you're not talking about any hardware changes, I'd just stay with v5 ... at least until v6 gets beyond the Beta stage.

 

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... I assume V6 it will need to take years to become as stable also.

 

Hopefully not ... but I'd at least wait until the "final" release has been out for a few months.    And at the moment it's still in Beta, with the RC phase still to go before the initial "stable" v6 release.

 

 

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Well ... i've been 'following' release 6 since the debate started on the merits or otherwise of including virtualisation functionality. For as long as i can remember UNraid has failed to deliver and i have to say that Grumpybutfun (remember him, he's across on snapraid forums now doing his own thing at a much faster pace than here) ) seems to have been spot on in what were considered to be rants and raves a good number of months ago. He (and significant others) went their own way mainly due to lacklustre promises being made then and which unfortunately still seem to remain. I'll stick with v5 but tbh if i ever need to consider an upgrade soon then v6 is NOT and never will be in a fit state to use. Being constantly in beta as the goalposts are moving ever forward only serves as an excuse to further delay. My opinion only... as a disgruntled end user.

 

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opentoe - Don't bother updating if you have no intention of using Docker or VM's. There is no point in upgrading working software just for the sake of upgrading. Only upgrade if you want to use new features or need newer OS/hardware support.

 

 

SuperLoopy - you've posted in multiple threads that Docker documentation is lacking yet you can't even say what you don't understand or need help with. Same with other things you've complained about. It should be "better" with no definition of what better is. I bet you can't say what unRAID has failed to deliver on either. I also have no idea why you "have no choice" but to use Dockers. Everyone has a choice to not use dockers by simply ignoring the Docker tab. As for Grumpy, they can enjoy dealing with him over there.

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That last sentence sums it all up for me .... it sounds like a club for the privileged few and that the mantra 'knowledge is power' is still alive and kicking. Any dissentors being quickly put in their place.  Before he 'left' the forum I felt that Grumpy had a lot of constructive comment, which some chose to see as criticism and effectively dismissed, that i agreed with as a then new user to UNraid.  I chose to stick with it and try and understand the virtualisation and docker aspects of what were on offer in v6. So, since then i've messed with a couple of docker images but there is no one stop approach to documentation when it comes to understanding what each one is capable of and how to configure. I cant be the first person to wonder what the heck is going on here. Where's the LT suppirt for ALL aspects if its latest product version. There's little in the way of v6 documentation around or am i just not looking in the right places? Why's there no centralised library of docker images available from LT if it's selling 'docker' functionality as one of its raison'd'etre? Each individual image has to be researched across a number of forum threads and there are so many similar images from a number of contributors which seem to deliver the same end result? Which one to choose?? Why cant LT task docker production and centralise a 'repository' of images for end users? Not too much to ask, maybe one day eh ... suitably documented of course!

 

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That last sentence sums it all up for me .... it's a club for the privileged few and the mantra 'knowledge is power' is still alive and kicking. I've messed with a couple of docker images recently but there is no one stop approach to documentation when it comes to understanding what each one is capable of and how to configure. I cant be the first person to wonder what the heck is going on. Why's there no centralised library of docker images available from LT if it's selling 'docker' functionality as one of its raison'd'etre? Each one has to be researched across a number of forum threads and there are so many different images which seem to deliver the same end result? Why cant LT task docker production and centralise a 'repository' of images for end users? Not too much to ask, maybe one day eh ...

 

You have every right to make suggestions but request you leave the whining at the door.

 

Remember this is a beta feature, and until release the documentation and organization will not be at production levels.

 

As far as LT having responsibility for setting up Dockers, I think that is not realistic. VMware does not create virtual machines, they supply you the capability to create your own. There are community Dockers, and I think it would be an excellent suggestion that LT provide a structure that allows contributors to register their Dockers in a consistent way to enable users to find and utilize them.

 

Getting back to the point of whether to upgrade, it is clear that 32 bit unRAID (version 5) is not going to be further enhanced, although you may see some security patches. If you are using it and happy, there is no need to upgrade. But version 6 has some engaging new features, including ...

- true 64 bit operation, freeing unRAID to fully utilize your memory

- ability to use XFS and BTRFS file systems rather than RFS (reiserfs). There is some evidence that XFS supports larger drives better and reduces or eliminates timeouts some users experience with large / almost full disks

- Dynamix GUI built in, with SMART monitoring features and other capabilties far in excess to the stock GUI. With v5 you need addons to have this type of information.

- Dockers provide an option to expand the use of the server beyond pure NAS. Using is a personal preference.

- Virtual Machine (via Xen and KVM) provides an ability to create Windows or other Linux environments. Using passthrough, these can achieve high performance.

 

So there are a lot of good things in 6.0 besides just Dockers. It is still in beta and a decision to move to it should include weighing the associated risks. But there are betas and there are betas. The first beta in a series tends to be rough and many issues are found. A few quickly released betas usually occur where issues are resolved. Then a new beta will come out with new functionality, which can also be rough. Followed again by a few quickly released betas fixing the issues. Etc etc. If you follow the progress, you will develop a knack for determining the "stable betas" vs the rougher ones.

 

Given that LT development cycles are long, ignoring the betas is simply not practical for many users.

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One man's 'observations' are another man's 'whining' ... am i not entitled to as much input as the next man on the good and bad aspects that i find? As for betas and even longer betas ... if the cycle of development was a less drawn out affair and accompanied by the r8ght level of release documentation then maybe there would be less to comment on ... maybe.

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Grumpy had a lot of constructive comment

While I don't want to fan any flames here,  Grumpy had ulterior motives with his comments.  And they were all for his own personal benefit.  I had a quick look over on snapraid, and didn't see any of his comments over there, but if/when Andrea sees through what he is actually about, he will then move on to FreeNas.

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So, since then i've messed with a couple of docker images but there is no one stop approach to documentation when it comes to understanding what each one is capable of and how to configure....Why's there no centralised library of docker images available from LT if it's selling 'docker' functionality as one of its raison'd'etre?

 

Honestly, you might as well leave if this is your expectation. LimeTech makes the server and everyone else makes the Dockers. Beyond possibly making a Docker or 2 for a specific function that benefits unRAID, Limetech could care less about creating or documenting Dockers for unRAID. The only part that will get documented is the Docker tab on the web interface once the beta is complete and the tab quits changing.

 

The whole point of Docker is that you can run a Docker created by anyone on the unRAID server. Go to the Docker site and browse the repository of millions of dockers. The repository at docker.com is the centralized repository of Docker images. It already exists. It would be stupidity for LimeTech to create their own repository because every one of those millions of Dockers can be run on the newest beta of unRAID. I presently run 2 Dockers that were not created by users on this forum. I'm sure there are others that run more Dockers not even mentioned on this site.

 

You should complain to the Docker site if you want to complain about the documentation of Dockers.

 

https://www.docker.com/

 

Grumpy definitely had ulterior motives. Part of it was wanting unRAID to be a full Linux distribution. If you're having difficulty understanding 5 tabs on a web interface image how lost you'd be managing a full Linux distribution...

 

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That last sentence sums it all up for me .... it sounds like a club for the privileged few and that the mantra 'knowledge is power' is still alive and kicking. Any dissentors being quickly put in their place.  Before he 'left' the forum I felt that Grumpy had a lot of constructive comment, which some chose to see as criticism and effectively dismissed, that i agreed with as a then new user to UNraid.  I chose to stick with it and try and understand the virtualisation and docker aspects of what were on offer in v6. So, since then i've messed with a couple of docker images but there is no one stop approach to documentation when it comes to understanding what each one is capable of and how to configure. I cant be the first person to wonder what the heck is going on here. Where's the LT suppirt for ALL aspects if its latest product version. There's little in the way of v6 documentation around or am i just not looking in the right places? Why's there no centralised library of docker images available from LT if it's selling 'docker' functionality as one of its raison'd'etre? Each individual image has to be researched across a number of forum threads and there are so many similar images from a number of contributors which seem to deliver the same end result? Which one to choose?? Why cant LT task docker production and centralise a 'repository' of images for end users? Not too much to ask, maybe one day eh ... suitably documented of course!

 

Here's a good example for you:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=37796.0

 

I ask for help, what should be sending alerts and get told that no one knows at this point and then my thread gets ignored. Suggest that a simple way to backup the docker folder in the GUI, and get bombarded with "use rsync and chron"

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Yeah ... quick to close ranks when anyone has any criticism of the product. LT should come down on these spoilers and allow comment on their product without the antagonism. You WILL get your answer, it will take time. There's an awful lot of clever people out there. But ... they dont like sharing their knowledge. Thats the problem as i see it.

 

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Yeah ... quick to close ranks when anyone has any criticism of the product. LT should come down on these spoilers and allow comment on their product without the antagonism. You WILL get your answer, it will take time. There's an awful lot of clever people out there. But ... they dont like sharing their knowledge. Thats the problem as i see it.

 

I'm not "spoiling" anything. I told you the facts about Docker. The Dockers you run will always be 3rd party supported.

 

Claiming no-one shares also offends many forum users who do share a huge amount of knowledge, which makes it even less likely they can be bothered answering your questions.

 

Have you ever contacted a LimeTech employee and ask for help with an issue you were having?

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Here's a good example for you:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=37796.0

 

I ask for help, what should be sending alerts and get told that no one knows at this point and then my thread gets ignored. Suggest that a simple way to backup the docker folder in the GUI, and get bombarded with "use rsync and chron"

Mostly -

 

I can see how this would be frustrating. You are on the very tip of development - the very newest feature. Only a handful of people in the forum would be able to answer this question. Often an unanswered question like yours means people just don't know the answer.

 

If you are beta testing, and have a question whether you have encountered a bug, you should ask. And if the question isn't answered, and believe you have found a defect, create a thread in the defect forum.

 

If you are asking because you want and expect that this feature will work on your production server, and be treated like an issue with a production release, then you need to adjust expectation. Betas have been pretty stable, but not always. And the first release of a new feature is particularly sensitive time. b12 was the first beta where this feature was introduced and no one should be depending on that feature.

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Yeah ... quick to close ranks when anyone has any criticism of the product. LT should come down on these spoilers and allow comment on their product without the antagonism. You WILL get your answer, it will take time. There's an awful lot of clever people out there. But ... they dont like sharing their knowledge. Thats the problem as i see it.

 

Be constructive. Last warning.

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Yeah ... quick to close ranks when anyone has any criticism of the product. LT should come down on these spoilers and allow comment on their product without the antagonism. You WILL get your answer, it will take time. There's an awful lot of clever people out there. But ... they dont like sharing their knowledge. Thats the problem as i see it.

This forum is mostly people sharing their knowledge. And some learn from it.
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Here's a good example for you:

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=37796.0

 

I ask for help, what should be sending alerts and get told that no one knows at this point and then my thread gets ignored. Suggest that a simple way to backup the docker folder in the GUI, and get bombarded with "use rsync and chron"

Mostly -

 

I can see how this would be frustrating. You are on the very tip of development - the very newest feature. Only a handful of people in the forum would be able to answer this question. Often an unanswered question like yours means people just don't know the answer.

 

If you are beta testing, and have a question whether you have encountered a bug, you should ask. And if the question isn't answered, and believe you have found a defect, create a thread in the defect forum.

 

If you are asking because you want and expect that this feature will work on your production server, and be treated like an issue with a production release, then you need to adjust expectation. Betas have been pretty stable, but not always. And the first release of a new feature is particularly sensitive time. b12 was the first beta where this feature was introduced and no one should be depending on that feature.

 

I did encounter a bug, and did post a question, I understand it's a beta, but how does no one know what the new notification system should be doing, I had no idea if it was working or not because no could tell me what it's supposed to be doing!

 

If the notification system was introduced in beta 12 but didn't do anything, then LT should not have been updating the roadmap thread with the feature.

 

The first thing you hear from anyone is "it's a beta", but has anyone visited LT's homepage recently? The first thing I see is a big announcement  with logs for openvpn owncloud etc... all features that are only in the beta

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The first thing you hear from anyone is "it's a beta", but has anyone visited LT's homepage recently? The first thing I see is a big announcement  with logs for openvpn owncloud etc... all features that are only in the beta

 

I agree there's perhaps too strong an emphasis on v6 features on the Home Page, given that it's still a Beta product.  The move from v5 to v6 is much more significant than simply a port to 64-bit ... and it's easy to see why there's been so much excitement ... both within the forum and within Limetech ... about the new features.    It would have perhaps been a better path to have moved to a 64-bit release first for the basic NAS functionality; THEN add the additional features in a more incremental update cycle ... but that's not what happened (for a variety of reasons).

 

Nevertheless, these features are clearly identified as Beta, and v6 is clearly identified as such on the Download page, where the "Stable" release is still shown as v5.    Although the latest Beta is indeed pretty stable, it's still a Beta.    I don't think it's going to be too long until the RC phase, and hopefully the stable release will follow fairly soon.  But until that happens, if you want to run the Beta software, your expectations should be consistent with that designation.

 

 

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I did encounter a bug, and did post a question, I understand it's a beta, but how does no one know what the new notification system should be doing, I had no idea if it was working or not because no could tell me what it's supposed to be doing!

 

If the notification system was introduced in beta 12 but didn't do anything, then LT should not have been updating the roadmap thread with the feature.

 

The first thing you hear from anyone is "it's a beta", but has anyone visited LT's homepage recently? The first thing I see is a big announcement  with logs for openvpn owncloud etc... all features that are only in the beta

That's a fair point.  LT doesn't outright state that those features are in Beta.  In order to find that out you do have to read through some other pages to see that they are in the upcoming v6 release.  But, when you do go to download the software it is obvious that v6 is beta and that v5 is the official version.

 

The notification system is something that should have been better documented as to what / when the alerts are sent out.  But, as soon as I did piece together at least some of the alerts that are sent out (and the updates necessary for it to work correctly), I did post into one of your threads.  (http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=37796.msg350070#msg350070)  (Right now, notifications appear to be redballed drive, parity check / rebuild start and stop, smart attribute changes, plugin updates available)

 

Documentation for a beta product is unfortunately something that is always going to lag behind.  As things are changing, it is impractical / impossible for LT to continually update the exact processes involved beyond the basic usage.  And, I think that they have posted onto the forums the basic usage of the extra features of v6.

 

I think that if you read through most of the loyal forum members here (myself included), you will see that we all have some similar beefs with LT's communication model.  But things are night and day compared to how they were in the past.  JonP replies to virtually all PM's right away, and if he feels that its important enough he gets Tom's input on it right away.

 

Things definitely are not perfect, but it does seem to work.

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...  things are night and day compared to how they were in the past. ...

 

Absolutely.  Communication has been very significantly improved in the past year ... and shows every sign of remaining that way.    Clearly Limetech is working on both improving the communications; and also on moving towards a shorter release cycle with far less time between releases.    The near-term issue is that they bit off a BIG (VERY Big in fact) bite of changes between v5 and v6 ... and as a result this is taking a long time for everything to get to the point where the release can be reliably designated "stable."

 

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