How to integrate current rfs data disk to unraid 6

[642]

I'm currently completely re-designing my unraid server.

So I start from scratch a new server with unraid v6.3.5  and some 8TB disks, and it will be ready in a while.

After that, I want to integrate some data disks already in my old unraid v5.0.5 pro directly onto the v6 server.  The v5.0.5 is running well.

Those hard disks are eventually to be part of the new server.

I want to avoid copy the data back and for if possible. 

Question 1 : what should I do to add a 4TB disk formatted (GPT: 4k-aligned, reiserfs)  and full of data from v5.0.5 to another server running v6.0.35 without erasing those data?

Question 2 : may I add more than one disk at a time, I have 9 disks to integrate so to do this in one go is a big plus. Before the integration, the parity on both server will be checked.

Of course I know I will be without parity for a while when doing the integration.

Thanks

 

I've made some research to see if that question was already posted before, but I didn't find the forum explaining of how to efficiently search something on limetech forum. 

 

[JorgeB]

You can do that by doing a new config (Tools -> New Config), you can add has many disks as you want, parity will need to be re-synced at array start.

 

Note however that reiserfs is a dead filesystem  and can have issues with v6, so it's not recommended, you should convert them all to xfs.

[642]

Quote

 

Thanks and how simple! If I correctly understand, I'll power off the current v6 server, physically install and connect the old disks from v5.0.5, then power on the server.

The server should be stopped, then I'll assign the new disks to the devices, and finally  Tools -> New Config while retaining the parity and data disks (or not ?).

After that the parity will be re-calculated as if the data disks are known as good. And voilà. So so

 

No. I definetely doesn't understand the "retain current configuration"  "to populate the desired disk slots after the array has been reset".

What will that mean "after the array has been reset", what is the so called "reset"

In my case I've already assign (populate?) the slots so the config is the one I see on the main page. Have I to retain something?

 

I know that after the integration I should take a while to empty the old disks one by one, reformat them in xfs, then re-import the datas back.

[JorgeB]

33 minutes ago, 642 said:

I'll assign the new disks to the devices, and finally  Tools -> New Config while retaining the parity and data disks (or not ?).

The other away around, 1st new config, check retain all so you don't need to reassign existing disks, and only then assign additional disks.

[JonathanM]

41 minutes ago, 642 said:

 

I know that after the integration I should take a while to empty the old disks one by one, reformat them in xfs, then re-import the datas back.

You don't have to move the data off the array, you can simply use your new drives as XFS destinations for copying data from the ReiserFS disks, then after you verify the copy, format the source drive in place and use it for the destination of the next ReiserFS source. Parity remains valid the entire time.

 

I wouldn't empty the old drives, simply copy to the new, that way you avoid the slowness of deleting files on ReiserFS. The format operation is MUCH more efficient at emptying the drive.

[642]

23 hours ago, johnnie.black said:

The other away around, 1st new config, check retain all so you don't need to reassign existing disks, and only then assign additional disks.

OK if I'm correct, I will assign the disk from the unraid 5.0.5 after the "New Config" step.

So the steps are : power on - stop array - Tools, New Config with Retain All - apply - reset -  assign the new disks - start the array

Thanks

 

As I'm gluing some parts from an unraid 5.0.5 I'm wondering if I may copy some data more quickly by another tricky astuce.

From an unraid 5.0.5, I want to stop it and remove some hard disks full of data. Then I will put those hard disks into the unraid 6 server and copy the data from those rfs disks to an xfs disk. After the copy I will remove the disks to put them back into the original unraid 5.0.5. Of course in the meanwhile the unraid 5.0.5 should be off. After all the process in which the content of the disks from the 5.0.5 stay as it, should the parity be lost? I'm wondering because at each start the unraid seems to write something on every data disk (what? why? where?) and so I'm thinking that the parity should be incorrect. And as I don't know what was written on the disks at each start, is it a good idea to take a disk from a v5 unraid, put it into another v6 unraid, copy the data from the disk and then putting it back at the previous place into the v5 unraid? No problem to install back the disk into a v5.0.5 unraid after a journey into a v6 one?

Thanks

[642]

On 1/5/2018 at 11:51 PM, jonathanm said:

I wouldn't empty the old drives, simply copy to the new, that way you avoid the slowness of deleting files on ReiserFS. The format operation is MUCH more efficient at emptying the drive.

 

Good advice, I've already been asking myself what the hell  is going on, it's just to delete something. Thanks.

[pwm]

17 minutes ago, 642 said:

 

Good advice, I've already been asking myself what the hell  is going on, it's just to delete something. Thanks.

ReiserFS is using a tree structure for the internal data.

 

And when it adds or removes files, it balances this tree to make it same depth and as much data to the left and right. This optimizes finding data, but the balancing process takes lots of time.

 

Early computer science wanted things mathematically perfect. It has later been found that it's way better to allow semi-balanced trees because they have almost same search speed but the insert/delete is much cheaper.

[JorgeB]

7 hours ago, 642 said:

After all the process in which the content of the disks from the 5.0.5 stay as it, should the parity be lost?

Parity is still mostly valid but you'll need to do a correcting check and some sync errors are expected.