Help with ideas on consolidating systems

[chip]

Ok I also saw this recommended http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=104&cp_id=10407&cs_id=1040702&p_id=2530&seq=1&format=2

 

To build off of this if I can convert my current "Main PC" into my unraid server to consolidate it would be great.

 

This would mean the 2950 could be gone, I could attempt to sell of the HP Microserver as well.

 

So right now the unraid server(HP Micro) has 3tb parity and 4-3tb drives. I would need to get those into my main PC.

 

With running KVMs and Dockers do I need a separate drive to host these files? If so does it matter drive type/size. Asking as if I go this route it opens up some drives for me.

 

 

[JimPhreak]

Ok I also saw this recommended http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=104&cp_id=10407&cs_id=1040702&p_id=2530&seq=1&format=2

 

To build off of this if I can convert my current "Main PC" into my unraid server to consolidate it would be great.

 

This would mean the 2950 could be gone, I could attempt to sell of the HP Microserver as well.

 

So right now the unraid server(HP Micro) has 3tb parity and 4-3tb drives. I would need to get those into my main PC.

 

With running KVMs and Dockers do I need a separate drive to host these files? If so does it matter drive type/size. Asking as if I go this route it opens up some drives for me.

 

That should work if you just need 2 additional SATA ports.

 

As for the VM's and Dockers, you'll want to run those off a cache drive, preferably an SSD.  You can even create an SSD pool so that your cache drive is protected.  I run my dockers off a dual drive pool of Intel 730 480GB SSD's.  But you can also just use any single HDD as cache if you want.

[chip]

That is the part I am confused on> I thought I read that you need define the true Cache drive and the cache VM/Docker as if you run them on both you could lose a vm/docker.

 

 

[JimPhreak]

That is the part I am confused on> I thought I read that you need define the true Cache drive and the cache VM/Docker as if you run them on both you could lose a vm/docker.

 

I'ts my understanding that regardless of how many cache drives you use in a pool, it will still be presented as a single cache drive.  That is where you would install your docker appdata directory (where each of your docker's store their config files) as well as a separate directory for your VM's.  I don't use VM's on unRAID so I just have an appdata directory for my docker's as well as a Downloads directory that is what's considered a cache-only share in that all the data resides on the cache pool and never gets moved to the protected array of disks.

 

BTW, I just came across this video from LimeTech that outlines how to convert a VMware based VM to a KVM based VM for use in unRAID.

 

www. youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4kqeD0RLk

[chip]

LInk to video?

[JimPhreak]

LInk to video?

 

Weird for some reason the embedded video isn't showing anymore but it was earlier.  I broke the link so you can post it into your browser yourself, just check my previous post.

[chip]

Yep thanks -

 

So my current Unraid is on a Microserver running Unraid 5.0.6.

1 -  3tb parity drive

4 -  3tb drives

 

Is there an easy way to migrate this over to Unraid 6.1.3 in the following system -

 

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX

G.SKILL 4GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 6-Core 3.2GHz Socket AM3

XIGMATEK Dark Knight II SD1283 Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler

CORSAIR CXM series CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI CrossFire 8

 

[JimPhreak]

Yep thanks -

 

So my current Unraid is on a Microserver running Unraid 5.0.6.

1 -  3tb parity drive

4 -  3tb drives

 

Is there an easy way to migrate this over to Unraid 6.1.3 in the following system -

 

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX

G.SKILL 4GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 6-Core 3.2GHz Socket AM3

XIGMATEK Dark Knight II SD1283 Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler

CORSAIR CXM series CX600M 600W ATX12V v2.3 SLI CrossFire 8

 

Upgrading from version 5 to version 6 was very easy when I did it in the spring.  But just review this thread which should answer any of your questions.  The hardware you're using will have no affect on the upgrade process.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=40952.0

[chip]

Not sure if I was clear on that -

 

Can I take the current drives out of the current unraid server and set them up in the Other PC without losing data?

 

 

[JimPhreak]

Not sure if I was clear on that -

 

Can I take the current drives out of the current unraid server and set them up in the Other PC without losing data?

 

Did you read the guide here?  As long as you're doing an upgrade and not a clean install your data will remain.  If your moving your drives to a different system/motherboard you'll just want to take a screen shot of the devices page before doing the move so that you can determine which drives (by serial #) are assigned to which roles (parity, disk 1, disk 2, etc.) as you'll have to re-assign them accordingly once you upgrade your unRAID USB drive to version 6.

 

Also, since it appears you are running a version new enough to do an upgrade, you can just follow these shortened instructions here.

[chip]

Awesome - Thanks again for all the info! 

 

Now I need to decide what to do....decisions....yikes.

[chip]

So would it be better to upgrade my current server to v6 or wait until all drives etc are moved to the new setup and than do it

 

[JimPhreak]

So would it be better to upgrade my current server to v6 or wait until all drives etc are moved to the new setup and than do it

 

It really doesn't matter either way.  The only thing you'd have to do twice with regard to upgrading to v6 and then doing the move is to make sure you assign the drives to their corresponding roles (parity, disk1, etc.) because you have to do that after you do a fresh install and you'll have to do it again once you switch motherboards.  Other than that it makes no difference.

[trurl]

So would it be better to upgrade my current server to v6 or wait until all drives etc are moved to the new setup and than do it

 

It really doesn't matter either way.  The only thing you'd have to do twice with regard to upgrading to v6 and then doing the move is to make sure you assign the drives to their corresponding roles (parity, disk1, etc.) because you have to do that after you do a fresh install and you'll have to do it again once you switch motherboards.  Other than that it makes no difference.

Actually, unRAID should recognize your drives just fine after a motherboard change. As long as you keep the same flash with the same config/super.dat you shouldn't need to assign anything.

 

I've changed everything, motherboard, cpu, psu, case, no problems.

[JimPhreak]

So would it be better to upgrade my current server to v6 or wait until all drives etc are moved to the new setup and than do it

 

It really doesn't matter either way.  The only thing you'd have to do twice with regard to upgrading to v6 and then doing the move is to make sure you assign the drives to their corresponding roles (parity, disk1, etc.) because you have to do that after you do a fresh install and you'll have to do it again once you switch motherboards.  Other than that it makes no difference.

Actually, unRAID should recognize your drives just fine after a motherboard change. As long as you keep the same flash with the same config/super.dat you shouldn't need to assign anything.

 

I've changed everything, motherboard, cpu, psu, case, no problems.

 

So disk assignments are saved to the config and are not based on what ports on the motherboard/HBA they are plugged into?  That's great to know.  Thanks for the clarification.  That will make it easy for me to move my server into a new chassis without having to worry about identifying which drive is which (ie. parity) after the move.

[trurl]

So would it be better to upgrade my current server to v6 or wait until all drives etc are moved to the new setup and than do it

 

It really doesn't matter either way.  The only thing you'd have to do twice with regard to upgrading to v6 and then doing the move is to make sure you assign the drives to their corresponding roles (parity, disk1, etc.) because you have to do that after you do a fresh install and you'll have to do it again once you switch motherboards.  Other than that it makes no difference.

Actually, unRAID should recognize your drives just fine after a motherboard change. As long as you keep the same flash with the same config/super.dat you shouldn't need to assign anything.

 

I've changed everything, motherboard, cpu, psu, case, no problems.

 

So disk assignments are saved to the config and are not based on what ports on the motherboard/HBA they are plugged into?  That's great to know.  Thanks for the clarification.  That will make it easy for me to move my server into a new chassis without having to worry about identifying which drive is which (ie. parity) after the move.

Since v5 unRAID has kept track of drives by their serial number. You can even change them to different ports and it will still find them and assign them to their correct drive#

[chip]

That is the part I am confused on> I thought I read that you need define the true Cache drive and the cache VM/Docker as if you run them on both you could lose a vm/docker.

 

I'ts my understanding that regardless of how many cache drives you use in a pool, it will still be presented as a single cache drive.  That is where you would install your docker appdata directory (where each of your docker's store their config files) as well as a separate directory for your VM's.  I don't use VM's on unRAID so I just have an appdata directory for my docker's as well as a Downloads directory that is what's considered a cache-only share in that all the data resides on the cache pool and never gets moved to the protected array of disks.

 

BTW, I just came across this video from LimeTech that outlines how to convert a VMware based VM to a KVM based VM for use in unRAID.

 

www. youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4kqeD0RLk

 

Followed that video and it worked great on my test box. The more I see that I can do the more I wonder if I should upgrade my MB/CPU. May just add more memory after I migrate over to the gigabyte board/amd cpu.

 

My CPU AMD Phenom II X6 1090T has a benchmark of 5690. I wouldn't mind looking at something with a benchmark of like 8000(roughly 4 plex streams) though I don't see more than 3 since we only have 3 tv/device setups for that right now but always room for growth. Right now I am building a spreadsheet with i5s, i7s, amds and xeons to price things out.

Ideas -

CPU benchmark 8000 or higher

Onboard Sata 6+

Bonus would be onboard usb for unraid boot device like the HP microserver has.

32 gigs of ram minimum for growth

 

[chip]

I have now moved my setup from my HP microserver to my Gigabyte setup. Easier than I thought it would be. Also have my Dockers setup and one VM for now. The moving of the VM wasn't to hard either which was great. Just need to clean up the wiring before I put it back together.

[00b5]

I have now moved my setup from my HP microserver to my Gigabyte setup. Easier than I thought it would be. Also have my Dockers setup and one VM for now. The moving of the VM wasn't to hard either which was great. Just need to clean up the wiring before I put it back together.

 

Great!

 

Feel free to update your original post with updates/steps/thoughts/etc and pictures. We all LOVE pictures

This way its documented for the next person that comes along and wants to do something similar!