Hey all,

 

I've got a server I recently built filled with a bunch of WD Reds. I'm running unRAID v6.0 (beta 12). The discs are currently set to spin down every hour. My question: do I need to spin them down, or can I let them run 24/7? If I go with 24/7, what does that do to life expectancy (vs. spinning them down every hour, probably spinning them up ~10 times per day at max)?

 

Looking for lots of input and experiences. Thanks!

Two thoughts ...

 

#1)  WHY are you running a Beta instead of the v6.1.3 stable release ??

 

#2)  It doesn't matter whether you spin the drives down or not.  At 10-20 spinups a day you won't come even close to the rated 600,000 cycles for YEARS    [At one spinup/hour it would be over 68 years before you hit the spec  ... and with a 1 hour spindown timer, you'd have to have an access immediately after they spun down EVERY time for 68 years to even do that !!]

 

Spinning them down saves a bit of power (and generates less heat) ... but as long as they're adequately cooled there's no harm in letting them spin 24/7 either.

1) My #1 computer rule: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm 100% satisfied with how unRAID is running on beta 12, so I have no reason to upgrade. I probably will, though. But that's not my primary concern.

 

2) Duly noted. Thanks for the advice!

... if it ain't broke, don't fix it ...

 

A very good rule.  I've followed it for many years (decades actually) 

 

Nevertheless, there's a reason the ongoing development versions are called "Betas".  Within a given version, I do recommend running the latest stable.    I still have one server running v4.7 and another running v5.0.6 ... and neither of those will be upgraded until something "breaks" and I need to make a change.    But my v6 server definitely is on the latest release, and is VERY stable.

 

Duly noted, again.

 

What do I need to do to upgrade? I understand it's a simple process. Do I just download the latest stable release and copy the files to my existing USB drive (on another computer, with the server shut down, obviously)?

Correct except for the obvious part, no need to fo that on another system.

 

Copy bzimage/bzroot to flash

Turn of plugins

Reboot

Actually, the server doesn't need to be shutdown at all.

 

I don't recall exactly when the automated built-in Update feature was added.    Look on the Plugins tab of the Web GUI and see if there's a "Check for Updates" button.  If so, you can just click on it to do the update.

 

If not, just copy bzroot and bzimage from the v6.1.3 download to the flash drive across your network; then reboot the server and you'll be running the latest version.

 

Once you're running the current version, you can easily check for updates by just clicking on the button in the Plugins tab.

 

 

That is ridiculously easy. I'll be upgrading at my earliest convenience.

 

Thanks for all the help everyone!