June 23, 201610 yr Hi, im looking forward to setupp an unraid system here and wanted to ask ahead if my features can be setted up right ... Current Hardware MSI Z170 M5, Intel i5-6600 (int. Graphic), MSI GTX 960, 32 GB RAM DDR4, Samsung M.2 950SSD 512GB, Samsung 840Evo SSD 256GB, 4 regular Storage HDD´s. Monitor LG 27 22:9, Sony UHD TV. The result should be to have 2 Windows 10 Instances running. 1- Windows 10 with basic graphics as Web and workstation (connecter to LG Monitor) 2- Windows 10 as Media (Kodi) and Gaming station (connected to Sony UHD TV) - "Nvidia GPU passthrough" Questions now are. As i read integr. Graphics wich would satisfy my needs for Instance 1 cannot be passthroughed, what about virtualized graphic only by Intel like other VM´s do without dedicated GFX, would that work out ? and performance is ..."horrible" ? or always 2nd GPU recommended ? current data on my regular 4 HDD´s, i see these would be formatted by unRaid, could the drives be also mounted in NTFS (current filesystem) ? just as explenation why this setup, like this the mashines would be splitted ... cause all multi monitor setup i tried where messy ... cause refresh rate switching, mouse keyboard situation if someone is using the server, and so on ... then i saw the videos 2 players 1 cpu and thats actually what i need other applications like tv server, mysql, apache wich all are currently running on windows 10 server i would check if that docker is usable or better handle with windows Instance 1 ... for an Info thanks ahead
June 23, 201610 yr Did you make a typo? E6600 doesn't have integrated GPU nor VT-d and it's socket LGA775. Based on your motherboard choice, I'm guessing you meant Skylake i5-6600? i.e. no "E" <-- the E makes a huge diff.
June 23, 201610 yr Author Did you make a typo? E6600 doesn't have integrated GPU nor VT-d and it's socket LGA775. Based on your motherboard choice, I'm guessing you meant Skylake i5-6600? i.e. no "E" <-- the E makes a huge diff. Sorry, of course the current skylake i5-6600 with all functions ...
June 23, 201610 yr ... MSI Z170 M5, Intel i5-6600 (int. Graphic), MSI GTX 960, 32 GB RAM DDR4, Samsung M.2 950SSD 512GB, Samsung 840Evo SSD 256GB, 4 regular Storage HDD´s. Monitor LG 27 22:9, Sony UHD TV. The result should be to have 2 Windows 10 Instances running. 1- Windows 10 with basic graphics as Web and workstation (connecter to LG Monitor) 2- Windows 10 as Media (Kodi) and Gaming station (connected to Sony UHD TV) - "Nvidia GPU passthrough" Questions now are. As i read integr. Graphics wich would satisfy my needs for Instance 1 cannot be passthroughed, what about virtualized graphic only by Intel like other VM´s do without dedicated GFX, would that work out ? and performance is ..."horrible" ? or always 2nd GPU recommended ? current data on my regular 4 HDD´s, i see these would be formatted by unRaid, could the drives be also mounted in NTFS (current filesystem) ? just as explenation why this setup, like this the mashines would be splitted ... cause all multi monitor setup i tried where messy ... cause refresh rate switching, mouse keyboard situation if someone is using the server, and so on ... then i saw the videos 2 players 1 cpu and thats actually what i need ... First and foremost, double check that your mobo supports VT-d and that it allows you to pick the intergrated GPU as default (i.e. where unRAID will boot to). The ability to pass through devices require VT-d support by both the mobo and the CPU. And I have seen mobo that refuses to let you pick integrated GPU if a dedicated GPU is plugged in. You probably will also need a cheap 2nd dedicated GPU to pass through to VM1. I remember seeing some people succeeding in passing through integrated GPU but it's one of those YMMV types of situations. May make your life easier to just get a cheapo for VM1 instead. Performance wise, as far as I have seen, is 99% for passthrough so no worry there. In term of storage, not too sure what you meant by "mounted in NTFS". If you mean to keep all the existing data (including keeping file format as NTFS) then no. unRAID must format all drives in array - preferably in XFS i.e. you will lose all existing data on those drives. You then set up "shares" to access the data via your VM or other devices. Also note that the recommended configuration for unRAID is to have 1 parity drive so you will "lose" 1 of your 4 HDDs (and it must be the one with the highest capacity too!). It is possible to run array without parity but that's not at all recommended. Regarding the Samsung 950 is NVMe => you will need to use 6.2 beta to get built-in support. If you have already bought it then no choice. If you haven't, get the SM951 AHCI for built-in compatability with 6.1.9 (latest stable release) and reviewers all agree that its performance is comparable to the 950 in most workloads. One caution that Linus video doesn't tell you: unRAID is designed as a NAS first i.e. it's meant to be run 24/7 (in my opinion, at least). It is certainly ok to turn it off and on like a normal PC. However, if you are too used to the incredibly fast boot time with M.2 SSD then be prepared to be shocked at the unRAID boot time. It's not slow but it's slower. Sort of like drag racing a Honda Civic Type R with a Tesla Type S in Ludicrous mode. Last but not least: since you have 2 SSD with different capacity, do a procon with using which one as cache. The answer may not be as obvious as it seems.
June 23, 201610 yr Author Thanks for the explanation. VT-d and IGPU 1st, also disable multimonitor is able to set in Bios, so that should be fine ... well, 2nd GPU wouldnt be to nice due heating up ... my system i very quiet, only the GFX in game mode ist starting ... nvm. the 950 is already here ... so 6.2 would be my choice. now the existing data issue (yes, that was my point), thats may real dealbreaker ... and i understand correctly, that always a raid array is mounted, i cannot use single drives setup ? i may get the data moved for formatting ... but raid ... i once lost alot data due some raid issues and wanted to keep single drives setup .... and about ssd setup, i wanted to use the fast 950 SSD für the VM Containers, the 840 for this cache setup ... what i didnt understand yet what this cache is about.
June 23, 201610 yr now the existing data issue (yes, that was my point), thats may real dealbreaker ... and i understand correctly, that always a raid arrayis mounted, i cannot use single drives setup ?This is where unRAID is different to a traditional RAID system. In unRAID each disk is a discrete file system and in a failure scenario individual disks can be moved to another system and read as a single drive (as long as it has support for the chosen file system type). What you cannot have (at least in current unRAID) is NTFS as one of the formats of disks that are under unRAID control. The array is NOT a RAID array - it is a parity protected array with some RAID-like recovery features against drive failure. i may get the data moved for formatting ... but raid ... i once lost alot data due some raid issues and wanted to keep single drives setup .... I agree - however this is one of the reasons I like unRAID. You CAN have NTFS format disks present in the machine but not controlled by unRAID. You might want to look at the Unassigned Devices plugin that provides a GUI interface to disks being managed outside unRAID control. Many people will use NTFS disks in this manner for transferring files to/from an unRAID server. However be warned that such drives still count against the 'attached devices' limits of the various unRAID license levels.
June 23, 201610 yr ... well, 2nd GPU wouldnt be to nice due heating up ... my system i very quiet, only the GFX in game mode ist starting ... nvm. ... ... now the existing data issue (yes, that was my point), thats may real dealbreaker ... and i understand correctly, that always a raid array is mounted, i cannot use single drives setup ? i may get the data moved for formatting ... but raid ... i once lost alot data due some raid issues and wanted to keep single drives setup .... ... ... and about ssd setup, i wanted to use the fast 950 SSD für the VM Containers, the 840 for this cache setup ... what i didnt understand yet what this cache is about. You can get one of those fanless GPU so no noise. I suggest you might want to read up a bit on unRAID as there's a reason it has "un" in front. It is not a RAID set up. It is more appropriately called a parity-protected array. There is no striping so each drive is effectively a single drive - unRAID just help with (1) adding parity protection, (2) pooling data together into easy-to-use shares and (3) distribute data over the drives as per your configuration. I had a RAID a long time ago and almost lost all my data. It was such a close call that it still scares me to this day. Hence I totally understand you concern. It is the exact same concern which made me use unRAID instead of e.g. FreeNAS. The drawback on unRAID is that write speed is slow due to Parity calculation - a good estimate is about half the read speed. That's where the cache comes in. It allows you to write things at faster speed and then unRAID moves the data from cache to array during a less busy time (e.g. 2am). (Note: 6.2 beta has Turbo Write configurable via GUI so it does improve the write speed quite a bit, at the cost of electricity. 6.1.9 can also turn on Turbo Write but only by command line.). Of course during the migration phase, you will have to copy a very large amount of data, likely more than the cache can contain. In which case, you can just leave Parity blank temporarily (NOTE: at the risk of NOT having parity protection). I understood the risk (i.e. no parity protection) but I preclear all drives + have extended SMART test before using any drive in array so the risk is relatively lower. The benefit is it speeds up the migration process tremendously.
December 25, 20169 yr Author Hi again, as i saw 6.3 is on the way for IGPU passthrough, so i consider to give it a shot now. when i now read correctly, IGPU (Intel 530) passthrough for VM1 and Nvidia (GTX1070) passthrough for VM2 should be possiible. what i saw a couple of times is the nvidia code 43 error, nvidia checks for vm and denies work ? is that still an issue here ? or are there any other issues to expect ? as i dont want to use the NAS features at start (as my HDD setup is currectly 2, 2, 4, 8 tb setup and parity would cost me alot of space) another question would be do i need a cache drive ? i have a M2 SSD Samsung 950 512 GB and a Samsung 840 evo 256 GB free to use for unraid OS (usb only), 2 VM´s, some Dockers like PLEX, Apache Server, TV Server (2 TV Cards), ... are there any suggestions wich disk to use and what for ? i usually would use the M2 now for all these purposes and when i add raid and parity drive use the regular ssd as cache. i know the amount of drives counts anyway, doesnt matter. for any tipps thanks ahead.
December 25, 20169 yr Hi again, as i saw 6.3 is on the way for IGPU passthrough, so i consider to give it a shot now. when i now read correctly, IGPU (Intel 530) passthrough for VM1 and Nvidia (GTX1070) passthrough for VM2 should be possiible. I dont have iGPU myself but yep should be what i saw a couple of times is the nvidia code 43 error, nvidia checks for vm and denies work ? is that still an issue here ? or are there any other issues to expect ? No we dont have to disble hyper-v anymore or get an error 43 anymore. I have 2 nvidia cards in my system and have had 3 at one time, without issue. But you can never say you wont have an issue but if there is theres normally a way around it! as i dont want to use the NAS features at start (as my HDD setup is currectly 2, 2, 4, 8 tb setup and parity would cost me alot of space) another question would be do i need a cache drive ? You could use all those drives in your array without a parity drive (not recommended as no redundancy) then you wouldnt loose any space. A cache is great but not essential. An ssd is better for cache imo i have a M2 SSD Samsung 950 512 GB and a Samsung 840 evo 256 GB free to use for unraid OS (usb only), 2 VM´s, some Dockers like PLEX, Apache Server, TV Server (2 TV Cards), ... are there any suggestions wich disk to use and what for ? i usually would use the M2 now for all these purposes and when i add raid and parity drive use the regular ssd as cache. i know the amount of drives counts anyway, doesnt matter. for any tipps thanks ahead I would use the 512gb for cache and have the dockers and vms on it. The 256 i would use as an unassigned device and pass the whole disk through to my primary vm . Or you could make a cahe pool .
December 25, 20169 yr Author ok, thank you very much for the infos, so i ll start tomorrow morning here. i couldnt find anything howto passthrough the disks not assigned to raid in the manuals, but lets see if i will figure it out. so i start up then with the 512 m2 ssd and put everything on there to startup, thought cache drives shouldnt be used therefore ... so i assign this disk as cache and also put the VM´s there. thanks again
December 25, 20169 yr ok, thank you very much for the infos, so i ll start tomorrow morning here. i couldnt find anything howto passthrough the disks not assigned to raid in the manuals, but lets see if i will figure it out. so i start up then with the 512 m2 ssd and put everything on there to startup, thought cache drives shouldnt be used therefore ... so i assign this disk as cache and also put the VM´s there. thanks again to pass through the whole of the disk you simply put in the full Linux path to the device in question (rather than passing the path to a file to be used as a vdisk).
December 25, 20169 yr Author hmm, ok, lets see howto do this, vdisk is buildin unraid (mount ntfs disk to VM) ? and if i should start moving data already, is there an easy way to transfer files step by step inside unraid and add them one by one or needed to be done through an VM with mounted vdisk to unraid arrays user shares ? thanks ahead
December 27, 20169 yr Author Hi again, after a long day yesterday i started up and ended up quite ok with some smaller issues to solve i may leave them here if anyone could may give some hints to solve them or if i shell post in support i post there again. INTEL 530 video passthrough, finally got it up running after changing bios to seabios, but only after system is booted and drivers installed, while booting i have a scrambled boot screen (3 x windows logo, 3 circles, ...), may theres still some bios setting wich could solve this ? regular template gave me only black screen, and it took me long to figure out the audio passthrough is the 1st error ... INTEL Audio passthrough, i dont get this to work, when i readed up correctly it needs to be moved to another group or something ? something about IOMMU group ? Audio on the intel mashine would also be nice IOMMU group 14 00:1f.0 ISA bridge [0601]: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H LPC Controller [8086:a145] (rev 31) 00:1f.2 Memory controller [0580]: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H PMC [8086:a121] (rev 31) 00:1f.3 Audio device [0403]: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H HD Audio [8086:a170] (rev 31) 00:1f.4 SMBus [0c05]: Intel Corporation Sunrise Point-H SMBus [8086:a123] (rev 31) --- Then, after finding a plugin so i can mount my unassigned old windows drives to get the stuff moving to the unraid drives i sometimes have to use my windows network credentials to access my public shares ... i think it started when adding the Unassigned Devices Plugin ... where all network security features are disabled, and its about the unraid public shares ... not the ones mounted by this plugin not a big deal, just was surprised cause the unraid root credntials didnt work and until i tested my windows credentials it took me some time ... on my 2nd VM with nvidia GTX 1070 passthrough im just wondered that only stereo sound is available, HDMI 2.0 connected, HDCP up and ready, so im used to get full surround, known issue ? then generally, i added plex docker, tvheadend plugin, jdownloader app, apache to come, ... and my 2 VM´s, on those 2 VM´s i assigned both my 4 cores, here just generally, what is the suggestion for setting up cause all data movements seems to be quite slow, while general usage like browsing seems really good. rather split cores for each VM ? for any tips (specially the intel audio one) thanks ahead. and already really nice to see how good these VM´s are running on Top
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