Upgrading unRAID from Version 5 to Version 6


Recommended Posts

Over the past few weeks I have been considering converting my media server from ver5.0.6 to version 6.  I have been running the beta versions of version 6 on my test bed server almost since it has been introduced and knew what the differences were between the two versions.  Since most of the plugins that I had installed for version 5.0.6 would not function properly for version 6, I realized that making the jump would not really be a simple task of overwriting a few system files.  To this end, I have been collecting notes of how to do this update with a minimum of hassle.  I had thought originally that I might wait until the first release candidate was released.  But then I realized that version 6b14b seems to be quite stable and usable on my basic 'Plain Jane' server.  As a result I got impatient and decided to do the upgrade of my Media server using version 6b14b.

 

I used the assembled notes that I had collected and everything went quite smoothly.  The server is running without any problems. 

 

I then thought that soon the first release candidate will be posted and there will be a lot more people that will want to move to the next version and that these instructions that I put together for my own use might be of some value to others.  I am posting them below and have attached a PDF file which contains the same instructions.  (I have found when doing some thing like this, I make fewer mistakes if I physically check-off each step as I proceed!)

 

On 4-2-2015, I revised these instructions to make it more clear exactly what I did.  In the original set, I was trying to stick a bit to close to what LimeTech proposed doing and That has confused at least one person. 

 

Upgrading unRAID from Version 5 to Version 6

 

IMPORTANT: Read this entire set of instructions before you start.  Make sure that you understand each step to minimize the possibility of making a mistake.  Most of this content was plagiarized from other sources over a period of several weeks and I can not at this time recall who the original Authors were and I do apologize to each of them!

 

It will take some time to actually do the upgrade so make sure you have enough time to go through each step slowly and not be tempted to take any shortcuts.  If you were running a very basic unRAID  NAS setup, an hour or two should be enough.  If you were running a lot of plugins to provide extended services, you will need a lot more time to complete the conversion including some research time to determine which Docker packages you will require. (If you are wondering what a 'Docker' package is, keep reading.  Remember, I told you to read the whole instruction set first!)

 

First backup the contents of your USB Flash device to a folder on your PC.  You should stop the array before making the backup.  (By clicking on 'Main', Array Operation' tab, and the 'Stop' button.)  This will allow you to roll-back to your old setup with a minimum of hassle if circumstances should require it. 

 

Then install Version 6 according to the instructions (most of this was copied from LimeTech's) below:

 

1. Open 'My Computer' (XP) or 'Computer' (Vista/Win7) and right-click your Flash device. Click 'Format...', set the volume label to UNRAID and then click 'Start'. Important: the volume label must be set exactly to UNRAID (all caps).

 

2. Click on your Flash device (to open it), click on the downloaded unRAID zip file (to open it) and drag then entire contents of the unRAID Server zip file to the Flash. (IMPORTANT NOTE:  You are dragging the contents of the ZIP file, NOT the .ZIP file itself!)

 

3. For Windows XP, click on the file 'make_bootable' on the Flash Drive. A DOS window will open and run the 'syslinux' utility on the Flash. For Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click on the file 'make_bootable' and select 'Run as administrator'. The 'syslinux' utility will write the Master Boot Record and create a small hidden file named 'ldlinux.sys' on the Flash device, making it bootable.  (There is a 'make_bootable_mac' file which does the same thing for Mac users.)

 

4. Now copy the contents of the 'config' directory from your back up of version 5 that you made earlier to the  version 6 Flash Drive. Do NOT copy the 'go' file.  You want a virgin 'go' file when you first start version6! (You will have to grant permission to overwrite some of the files that are on the Flash drive!) Delete the 'plugins' and 'SimpleFeatures' folders if they exist. 

 

>>> This above instruction is what LimeTech proposed doing.  After examining the folders and files in the 'config' folder, I decided to copy over only the files in the root of the 'config' folder with the exception of the 'go' file and the 'shares' folder because inspection of that folder showed that it contained the setup for my shares.  I would surmise that this 'shares' folder would be the only folder that most people would want to retain from their old 'config' folder.  (If I am wrong in this assumption, I would appreciate being told of any other files which should be copied over.) <<<

 

Make sure that current unRAID .key file is in the config folder on the flash device. (Version 6 requires that the .key file be in the config folder!  If you have more than one key file in that folder, it is a good ideal to change the extension of unused ones.  I changed my Plus Key file name to Plus.key.old since I now have a Pro License for my Flash drive.)

 

5. Once again, right-click your Flash device in 'My Computer' or 'Computer' and then click 'Eject'.

 

6. Your USB Flash device is now ready to boot into unRAID Server OS. Install the Flash drive and boot your server.

 

7. In the GUI, setup the following:

 

    UPS Settings

    Notification Settings

    Scheduler

 

Be sure that to click on the 'Apply' button on each page to start these services even if you did not change any settings! (NOTE: if the 'Apply' button isn't active, change one of the entries and change it back to make the button active)

 

8. There are several additional Plugins for the GUI which are not provided as a part of the unRAID package.  Many people will find some of them very essential.  The URL for Dynamix GUI plugins for Version 6:

 

          http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=36543.0

 

Install each plugin that you want to use using the 'Install Plugin' tab on the 'Plugins' page of the GUI.

 

9. The Powerdown plugin is not installed as part of the apcupsd plugin on V6.  If you want Powerdown, it needs to be installed as a separate plugin. (One feature that this powerdown plugin provides is generation of a syslog file as a part of the powerdown procedure.  You might be surprised to find how useful this feature aline can be!)

 

Paste this line into the 'Install Plugin' line in the 'Plugins' webgui and click on install.  This will install the plugin.  Don't install the plugin manually.  Let the plugin manager handle it.

 

          https://github.com/dlandon/unraid-snap/raw/master/powerdown-x86_64.plg

 

>>>>>>  Be sure to setup any Plugins after installation! <<<<<<

 

 

 

If you were using plugins under version 5.X to provide such services as Plex, Couchpotato and many others too numerous to name, these types of plugins are now to be installed as Docker Packages.  You can find out more information on how to install Docker packages here:

 

        http://lime-technology.com/docker-guide/

 

This posting from LimeTech provides links to other posts which contain the unRAID Docker Template Repositories for many different services.  As each Docker container has its own memory space and runs in a separate environment, there can be no software or coexistence conflicts with other applications-- including unRAID!

 

EDIT:  RobJ has put together an excellent WIKI on upgrading from ver 5 to ver 6 for those folks who did not find everything that they needed or wanted to know in this short guide.  You can that WIKI here:

 

    http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php/Upgrading_to_UnRAID_v6

 

 

Upgrading_from_Version_5_to_Version_6_of_unRAID-rev2.pdf

Edited by Frank1940
Strike out step 9 as the Powerdown functionality in now built-in.
Link to comment

Nice work Frank!

 

I've actually been trying to do the same, on the wiki, Upgrading to UnRAID v6, woefully incomplete.  With your permission, I may pull a few things from your work?  I'll try to give credit, as I'm also planning to draw from the comments of a number of other users too.  I'm hoping to make it a comprehensive resource, but yours is already fine for many users, all they need.

Link to comment

Nice work Frank!

 

I've actually been trying to do the same, on the wiki, Upgrading to UnRAID v6, woefully incomplete.  With your permission, I may pull a few things from your work?  I'll try to give credit, as I'm also planning to draw from the comments of a number of other users too.  I'm hoping to make it a comprehensive resource, but yours is already fine for many users, all they need.

 

Not a problem.  You are most welcome to use what helped me in doing my upgrade.  As I said, I got most of what is in there from a lot of other folks.  If you can use some of what I compilied, have at it!  By the way, this was the first time, I realized that there even was a (unofficial) unRAID Manual for version6! 

 

EDIT:  In my opinion, a reformat of the Flash drive should be THE recommended way to do the upgrade.  Over-writing some files, while deleting other files and folders may be a possible upgrade path for expert unRAID users.  For the rest of us, it simply causes problems which will result in a lot of posts on the forum for help.  Having to copy back some of the contents of the config folder (to preserve the basic configuration settings that are common to both ver 5 and 6) will probably cause enough confusion...

Link to comment

By the way, this was the first time, I realized that there even was a (unofficial) unRAID Manual for version6!

 

I don't think they are ready to announce it yet, but they have been working hard on it for awhile.  By the way, I've now copied a little of yours, will copy more later.  Thanks, you are now listed in the credits.  You (and anyone else) are welcome to work on it too!

 

The go file should also be reverted back to stock, and the packages folder if it exists should be deleted.  (Mainly if unMenu was installed)

Very true, I've mentioned both of those in the wiki page.

Link to comment

EDIT:  In my opinion, a reformat of the Flash drive should be THE recommended way to do the upgrade.  Over-writing some files, while deleting other files and folders may be a possible upgrade path for expert unRAID users.  For the rest of us, it simply causes problems which will result in a lot of posts on the forum for help.  Having to copy back some of the contents of the config folder (to preserve the basic configuration settings that are common to both ver 5 and 6) will probably cause enough confusion...

 

You may be right, I'm going to have to think about that.  It was my feeling that many veteran unRAID users would balk at reformatting.  I'd like to hear more views, from both fresh users and veterans.

Link to comment

EDIT:  In my opinion, a reformat of the Flash drive should be THE recommended way to do the upgrade.  Over-writing some files, while deleting other files and folders may be a possible upgrade path for expert unRAID users.  For the rest of us, it simply causes problems which will result in a lot of posts on the forum for help.  Having to copy back some of the contents of the config folder (to preserve the basic configuration settings that are common to both ver 5 and 6) will probably cause enough confusion...

 

You may be right, I'm going to have to think about that.  It was my feeling that many veteran unRAID users would balk at reformatting.  I'd like to hear more views, from both fresh users and veterans.

 

From what I can determine, almost nothing (plugin wise) from version 5 works in version6.  You are basically starting over.  The things that do carry across are the basic settings such as the server name, IP address, network configuration, shares and their settings, password and a few others.  If the guide can get all of those copied over so that the server when it comes up is running as a simple server that behaves the same way as the ver 5 server, that will be an excellent starting pointing for installing the balance of the desired Docker containers.  Then the guide can be a straight forward guide sections  to explain the ins-and-outs of Docker containers, vm machines, etc.

 

With all of the bastardization that was required with ver 5 for (and by) some users to get ver 5 to do what they wanted it to do, writing an comprehensive update guide starting with the ver 5 software setup will be a thankless task.  And then it will be almost incomprehensible for those who are not unRAID experts. 

 

Making a backup of the version 5 Flash drive will allow anyone who is not happy with what they get with version 6 to simply revert back to ver 5 with a minimum of hassle.  (Of course, you had better put a note in explaining that if you ever think you might want to do this don't change the disk format from reiserfs!)

Link to comment

EDIT:  In my opinion, a reformat of the Flash drive should be THE recommended way to do the upgrade.  Over-writing some files, while deleting other files and folders may be a possible upgrade path for expert unRAID users.  For the rest of us, it simply causes problems which will result in a lot of posts on the forum for help.  Having to copy back some of the contents of the config folder (to preserve the basic configuration settings that are common to both ver 5 and 6) will probably cause enough confusion...

 

You may be right, I'm going to have to think about that.  It was my feeling that many veteran unRAID users would balk at reformatting.  I'd like to hear more views, from both fresh users and veterans.

 

From what I can determine, almost nothing (plugin wise) from version 5 works in version6.  You are basically starting over.  The things that do carry across are the basic settings such as the server name, IP address, network configuration, shares and their settings, password and a few others.  If the guide can get all of those copied over so that the server when it comes up is running as a simple server that behaves the same way as the ver 5 server, that will be an excellent starting pointing for installing the balance of the desired Docker containers.  Then the guide can be a straight forward guide sections  to explain the ins-and-outs of Docker containers, vm machines, etc.

 

With all of the bastardization that was required with ver 5 for (and by) some users to get ver 5 to do what they wanted it to do, writing an comprehensive update guide starting with the ver 5 software setup will be a thankless task.  And then it will be almost incomprehensible for those who are not unRAID experts. 

 

Making a backup of the version 5 Flash drive will allow anyone who is not happy with what they get with version 6 to simply revert back to ver 5 with a minimum of hassle.  (Of course, you had better put a note in explaining that if you ever think you might want to do this don't change the disk format from reiserfs!)

A simple dos script could accomplish just about everything. 

 

- Backup your v5 stick

- Format & set the stick to v6

- Copy relevant config information back on (network, disk, shares, go, etc)

 

No matter how easy you make the directions, someone is always going to miss a step somewhere along the line.

Link to comment

Agree that "THE" way to do the upgrade is to start with a fresh format of the flash drive -- AFTER, of course, completely backing it up  :)  [if for no other reason than ensuring the key file isn't lost !!]

 

Most plug-ins aren't going to be used in v6, since Dockers are available for most things.  And even if they are, it's a good idea to do them one-at-a-time and ensure all is working well, since a lot has changed in v6.

 

The most important thing, of course, is that no data is lost.  If you're starting with a clean format, the one very important thing to ensure is that you've noted the correct drives for all non-array functions (parity and cache) and get those assigned correctly.

 

This is NOT a difficult upgrade ... and Frank's done a very nice job of "hand holding" for those that need a bit of encouragement.

 

Link to comment

Actually, I think PhAzE has said that his plugins will detect the version and load the right v5/v6 code.

 

Also, unMenu will only load the 64bit compatible packages when running on 64bit unRAID so not strictly necessary to clean that up either.

 

Probably a good time to get a fresh start anyway, though, and move to docker for everything. It can also be a good learning exercise / memory refresher to do some things over again, and reconsider what you really want/need.

Link to comment

Also, unMenu will only load the 64bit compatible packages when running on 64bit unRAID so not strictly necessary to clean that up either.

I believe thats any new packages.  Pre-existing ones in the packages folder will still attempt to run

From original unMenu 1.5 thread:

...then any script in the /boot/packages folder ending with ".auto_install" will be invoked upon reboot....

So only those scripts with .auto_install will automatically installed.  If you delete all files with .auto_install before upgrading then unMenu would only show and execute those packages that are 64 bit compatible.
Link to comment

Regardless of how well a simple upgrade may run, I still think it's best to just do a reformat and start from scratch with the new x64 version (v6).    As trurl so succinctly noted, it's "... a good learning exercise / memory refresher to do some things over again, and reconsider what you really want/need."  :)

Link to comment

Regardless of how well a simple upgrade may run, I still think it's best to just do a reformat and start from scratch with the new x64 version (v6).    As trurl so succinctly noted, it's "... a good learning exercise / memory refresher to do some things over again, and reconsider what you really want/need."  :)

That's how I've done all of my upgrades from 5 to 6.
Link to comment

I've installed the latest unraid v6 on a spare laptop. I formatted the ssd disk, and it defaults to XFS.

My V5 unraid server which i plan to update at some moment in time, is formatted as ReiserFS if i'm correct?

 

What is the upgrade plan for XFS when coming from v5? Is there some conversion tool? Or do i have to empty every drive and reformat and put the data back?

Link to comment

I've installed the latest unraid v6 on a spare laptop. I formatted the ssd disk, and it defaults to XFS.

My V5 unraid server which i plan to update at some moment in time, is formatted as ReiserFS if i'm correct?

Yes v5 only supports Reiserfs.

 

What is the upgrade plan for XFS when coming from v5? Is there some conversion tool? Or do i have to empty every drive and reformat and put the data back?

Note that v6 still supports Reiserfs - it is just that the default is now XFS (with an option for BTRFS as well).  It is perfectly possible in v6 for different disks to be on any mix of the supported file system types.

 

Switching the file system type for existing disks already containing data DOES need to go through the empty/switch route if you want to convert a disk from Reiserfs to XFS.

Link to comment

There's no conversion tool => but the simple fact is there's also no compelling need to switch existing disks to XFS.

 

If you WANT to do that, then there are several approaches ...

 

=>  Add a new disk in XFS format; copy all the data from an RFS disk; then reformat the RFS disk ... and repeat this basic process until all are converted

 

=>  Ensure all your backups are up-to-date; then reformat all of your array disks to XFS; and then copy all your data back to the server from your backups

 

=>  Build an entirely new server with XFS disks; then copy everything from your old server to the new one

 

etc.

 

Link to comment

I didn't say "no reason" ... I said "no compelling reason"

 

A couple of reasons to move away from Reiser ...

 

=>  Reiser is no longer an evolving file system, since the primary developer is in prison for life (he killed his wife in 2006 and was convicted in 2008)

 

=>  It has a maximum partition size of 16TB ... so it won't work with disks > 16TB    Not a problem NOW, but clearly disk sizes are likely to move beyond that limit in a few years (they're already at 8TB, with 10TB and 12TB disks already announced)

 

=>  Writes on Reiser disks that are very full (> 95%) can be very slow  (actually the writes are still quick; but the file system can "stall" for a good while until it "decides" where to put the data).  XFS doesn't have this problem.

 

But Reiser is a very stable and reliable file system ... clearly it's working quite nicely with v5 (and has in fact been used since UnRAID's inception).    There's really no reason to convert existing disks ... especially if they're already full and you're not writing new data to them.

 

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Hey guys, great guide.  I am currently doing a completely new build, reformatting all drives in XFS, new usb key etc...  One thing I have noticed - and maybe this is the wrong place - but I am performing an rsync to backup all data to external USB drive... and it is dog slow.  ~15/16MB/sec according to rsync output.  I would have expected much faster read performance, and I know the external drive can support fast writes.  This caught my attention:

 

A couple of reasons to move away from Reiser ...

 

=>  Writes on Reiser disks that are very full (> 95%) can be very slow  (actually the writes are still quick; but the file system can "stall" for a good while until it "decides" where to put the data).  XFS doesn't have this problem.

 

 

Is it possible reads from a very full ResiserFS drive are also slow?  Could that explain the problem?  The drive is a 2TB WD Ears, I think it has ~75GB free.

Link to comment

No - reads from full reiserfs disks should not be affected by the performance degradation that affects writes on full disks.

 

Is the USB drive that you are trying to write to connected via USB2 or USB3?  It may well be that end that is actually turning out to be the limiting factor.  Also, what format is that drive?

Link to comment

Drive supports USB3, but my (old) server only supports USB2.  So USB 2 then :-)

It's completely new and NTFS formatted... I have heard that the linux NTFS drivers aren't that great, I guess I just expect something closer to what I get on my Windows laptop, using USB 2 40MB/s shouldn't be a problem.

 

Link to comment

Drive supports USB3, but my (old) server only supports USB2.  So USB 2 then :-)

It's completely new and NTFS formatted... I have heard that the linux NTFS drivers aren't that great, I guess I just expect something closer to what I get on my Windows laptop, using USB 2 40MB/s shouldn't be a problem.

It may also be the linux NTFS driver which has a history of being slow.  You want to make sure that you have the latest ntfs-3g driver loaded which I do not think is part of base unRAID.  I do this via the Unassigned Devices plugin - but there are other ways of doing this.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.