unRAID Licensing Questions Answered


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Well, for the last week or so I've been messing around with the free version of unRAID.  I figured I had maybe a terabyte in old drives and my 1T WD NAS which is running striped (not mirrored) started to scare me a little bit.  I've drooled over the idea of a drobo but every time I think of only having four drives and then being bottle-necked with USB and being tied to a PC to share it on my network I get cold chills.

 

So, here I go.  I find a solution that makes more and more sense given drive pricing and hardware availability and it seems to JPW (Just Plain Work).  BUT...

 

Not only is there a current version posted 4.4, but a couple of betas 4.5 and the forums threaten 5.0.  Whoa.  What about licensing?  I couldn't find any solid references on the Lime Technology site or the forums.  So I asked the man himself:  (I've bolded the important bits)

 

My message:

 

I have a couple of licensing questions that might best be answered by a sales-type like person - since the tech part seems to work pretty well.

Licensing a Plus Version:

This seems like where I should go for what I want to do and given that you make upgrades so reasonably easy there's no good reason not to do it - except.

[b]4.5 is on the way, or is it 5.0?[/b]

[b]Is a 4.4 key upgradable to 4.5?[/b]

[b]Is a 4.4/4.5 key reasonably upgradable to 5.0?[/b]

I'm coming in at the cusp and after having converted a few of my friends [b]it would be nice to have a reasonable concept of version upgrade path.[/b]  I didn't see a topic in the forums and I didn't want to look like I was complaining.

Can you straighten me out?

Rob

 

Tom of Lime Technology responded:

 

Hi Rob,

Here are the straight answers...

4.5 is on the way.  As you know we're up to -beta7.  I have -beta8 sitting here all but ready to post.  This version includes some fixes for handling file permissions mostly necessary for Active Directory support, but a big part of this fix was a change in the 'mover' script to use 'rsync' to copy files from the cache drive to the array.  This has required extensive testing on my part so that it works correctly with customer data.

[b]Another big change in -beta8 is a nearly 2x improvement in write performance to the array[/b].  Again, this change required extensive testing, but I think it's worth it for the gain involved.

The plan is to finish the 4.x series with 4.5 (final).  Since we only ship servers with 'final' versions of unRAID OS (currently 4.4.2), I very much need to get 4.5 finished asap.

Release 5.0-beta1 will follow very soon after 4.5 (final).  [b]The goal of the 5.x series is to make unRAID OS much more 'plug-in friendly'.[/b]  In the past I have not fully embraced the idea of user-generated plug-ins.  That is, generally only people
with good linux experience could really write them & I have not provided 'hooks' that could be used to make the process easier.  This is mainly because of the extra support this will inevitably cause, as well as a requirement to not 'break' user
plugins with new unRAID releases.

With 5.x series I hope to overcome some of these limitations and provide a framework and methodology for people to follow to add plug-ins.

As for license keys and upgrades: [b]all upgrades will always work with all versions of the license keys.  There will NEVER be any requirement to purchase any additional license key just to upgrade to a newer version.[/b]  There are a handful of features
that are currently different between the Basic, Plus, and Pro license types, and in the future there may be certain features that are only in Plus & Pro for example, or only Pro, but at this time there are no features that will be categorized like that.  In fact, probably we will soon make the cache drive feature available in Plus.

 

Based on what appeared to be generous upgrade offers and very reasonable multiple discounts, I had hoped he would say something like this.  I was VERY pleased to see that he was at least as concerned about my data as I am.

 

Thanks, Tom, for the very detailed answer - much more than I could have asked for about future plans and assurance that I wouldn't get left behind in the race to "add more" features when all I wanted was to add more storage.

 

Rob

 

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I agree with your sentiment and do not re-post without approval.

 

This was included in his message:

 

I hope this answers your questions and concerns & if you feel so inclined, go ahead

and post your email & my response on the forum.

 

Cheers,

Tom

 

Please don't let this distract from the usefulness of this information to new users trying to get a handle on unraid and working with Lime Tech.

 

Rob

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@wholly

 

I hope this answers your questions and concerns & if you feel so inclined, go ahead

and post your email & my response on the forum.

 

That's good, but you should have indicated, as whenever material is being republished with permission, that Tom had given his permission to repost the information.

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In fact, probably we will soon make the cache drive feature available in Plus.

I'd rather we get a 6th data drive with the plus version.

 

And I would prefer to see the cache drive. I'm on Basic now. Three data drives should meet my needs for some time, if not forever - as drive sizes increase. But I would consider buying a plus license so I could have a cache drive to improve write speeds. Or better yet, for a little less $, maybe a Basic+  :) license with a cache and maybe one more data drive.

 

Preferences will will vary when it comes to what best meets individual needs.

 

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Considering that may motherboards come with 6 sata slots, it seems fair to allow 6 drives in any arrangement.

And considering that  mine came with 8 sata slots, it seems fair to allow 6 data + 1 parity + 1 cache!  :)

 

Seriously, it is currently a meager 5 data disk setup for a $70 license. The Pro just got bumped up to 21 disks for no extra charge. He could show some mercy and give an extra data disk or so to the Plus version.

 

 

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Another big change in -beta8 is a nearly 2x improvement in write performance to the array.  Again, this change required extensive testing, but I think it's worth it for the gain involved.

 

This one single line is the standout for me. If I can go from ~18MB/s to ~36MB/s writing directly to the protected array then thats plenty of speed for me and I wouldnt even bother with a cache drive. Gives me ability to add an extra data drive instead.

 

Bring on 4.5-beta 8 or final i say!

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  • 10 months later...

I have  read all of the licensing info that I could find, but I still have questions:

 

1. If I buy a single Pro license, is the license bound to the flash drive, the server, or both?

 

Related to that question:

 

2. What happens if I accidentally smash my flash drive? What if the flash drive fails on its own? Am I SOL or can I get another key?

3. What happens if my motherboard fails? How about any other hardware in my server?

4. Can the flash drive with license be used to boot a totally different server?

 

I get the eerie feeling that the reason the licenses are sold with an option to buy a backup is that that will be the only way to get my server up and running again in cases of catastrophe. I hope I am wrong and that the real reason the licenses are sold in "2 packs" is so that I can boot 2 servers at some time in the future without having to pay full price for a second license when that day arrives.

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I hope I am wrong and that the real reason the licenses are sold in "2 packs" is so that I can boot 2 servers at some time in the future without having to pay full price for a second license when that day arrives.

The two-packs are so you will not have an interruption of service if one fails. (and flash drives do eventually wear out)

or, if you have a lot of media, you can use the second for a second server.  Some of us have two servers and use one to try out beta-versions.

 

As you said, there are other ways to have a flash drive fail, everything from being eaten by the family dog, to being lost by a 2 year old, to having a bookshelf collapse and crush the drive.  All of these have been reported over the years.  Many mount the drive internally to keep it away from physical hazards.

 

See the FAQ here: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=FAQ#If_my_flash_drive_dies_or_is_lost.2C_will_I_lose_my_license.3F

 

Joe L.

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The license is tied to the flash... not server, mobo, or anything else.  The flash can be moved to completely different hardware with no problem.

 

If a flash is damaged, there are procedures for having its license transferred to a new flash.

Great! That is what I was concerned about. I made up a boot flash drive with unRAID Basic on it just to test things out and in less than a day I accidentally smashed the drive...:(

The two-packs are so you will not have an interruption of service if one fails. (and flash drives do eventually wear out)

or, if you have a lot of media, you can use the second for a second server.  Some of us have two servers and use one to try out beta-versions.

Great reasoning...I agree. I will make up 2 flash drives now (I specifically bought 4 flash drives that were on the list - 2 for Pro licenses and 2 spares) and then buy the 2 pack Pro license. Hopefully I will get the keys before the weekend...:)

Many mount the drive internally to keep it away from physical hazards.

Good idea, especially in light of my recent ineptitude.

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