(solved) what's the simplest way of remotely formatting a drive outside of the array?

[tillkrueger]

I currently have only this one docker installed, and yes, I had to install it many times in the past few months, often with incorrect initial settings.

where do I set the new docker to /mnt/cache/system/docker/docker.img ? do I have to re-create the docker from scratch for that?

so, moving the isos share to the array makes sense, since I only use them doing an install, which is rare.

re-creating the VM yet another time is the only way that I can change the libvirt size and move the docker? the only reason I'm reluctant to do that is that so many things had to be set up again in Windows after I did this earlier today...I even had to activate Windows again...but if that's the only way :-/

as for the rest you said, using Mover to put them on the array, is still stuff that I don't fully understand...I guess I'll have to learn more about Mover and how the Cache settings influence what gets moved when and where...so much I don't know about all this!

 

[NewDisplayName]

As far as i know all dockers are stored inside the docker.img, so all you need to backup and replace is this file.

 

How i added the cache:

 

- stopped server

- added ssd

- startet server

- looked at "MAIN" - there was option to let parity run (or unraid asked me to do so, cant remember) i did - took ~7 h - then i could tick "format?" - clicked start, after some minutes it was finished and all was working...  - the whole time all dockers plugins was running, without problems.

 

But i guess all problems startet becase you didnt understand the file structure of unraid.

 

You should put all things in /mnt/user/<name>/

 

e.g. i have it like this

 

/mnt/user/Archiv (added share with name Archiv)

 

there i have simply created normal directory via SMB

 

/mnt/user/Archiv/Movies

/mnt/user/Archiv/Games

u get the idea...

 

All dirs in  /mnt/user/here

u should create via add share

 

Via "use cache disk" you tell the system how to use the directory... e.g. in Archiv i set it to "Yes" = this means fast transfer speeds to the array, and one time a day it gets moved to the real HDDs. "Always" means it stays always at cache (i do it for all VMs, Images, plugins, and so on - so hdds dont need to spin up). "no" wont use cache atall. (but everything is also explainted if you click it in the UI [as i were new i didnt know that!])

 

For the system

/mnt/cache/Archiv

is the same like /mnt/user/Archiv

Or

/mnt/disk1/Archiv

 

But if u put it in /mnt/cache it will stay there, if you put it in /mnt/user/here you can controll it via settings from share.

If you dont understand mover, you can also manually transfer the files via "mv" in terminal. (thats how i did it after i initially didnt understand the structure, bc its nothing i ever saw before- but its brilliant!)

 

like "mv /mnt/cache/dir /mnt/user/dir" Will move dir from cache to user directory (but before add a share with that name)

But attention, dont write anything in terminal you dont understand and dont write it wrong, one command can delete everything :))

One extra tip: if you put the .imgs on the hdds, then you should delete the .img in the VM (cd drive), else the hdd spins everytime up.

Edited January 12, 2018 by nuhll

[tillkrueger]

ok, so I rebuilt the Krusader Docker with a 10GB docker.img, which I set up inside of system/docker...I moved the remaining isos into an ISOs folder I had already created in disk1/unRAID/_BAK/ ...I did so manually, bc I wanted to determine where they get moved to and where all my ISOs are stored...I hope this isn't a problem.

I now have only appdata, domains and system in my SSD, so far so good.

the only thing left to do now would be to trash the VM and set it up again with a libvert size of only 1GB...I'm nervous about wasting hours tonight trying that, but I know I won't stop thinking about it if I don't...I wanna go to bed tonight knowing that this phase of venturing into VMs ends with me running a VM that performs as well as it can with my puny hardware allocation to it, and as much space available on my new SSD as possible...for future VMs...so here I go, wish me luck!

[JonathanM]

4 minutes ago, tillkrueger said:

the only thing left to do now would be to trash the VM and set it up again with a libvert size of only 1GB

You don't have to trash the VM.

Go to the VM screen, click the VM icon, click edit XML, copy the XML text from your current VM to a safe location, then when you trash the libvirt.img file you can set up a new VM without starting it, paste in the XML that you saved, update it, and you will be back with your current VM.

[JonathanM]

28 minutes ago, nuhll said:

like "mv /mnt/cache/dir /mnt/user/dir" Will move dir from cache to user directory

Don't do that. Only copy and move from user to user, or from disk to disk, don't ever mix disks and user.

 

Search unraid user share copy bug for why.

[NewDisplayName]

Dont know, i did it, without problems, is this still a thing in 6.4?

[JonathanM]

13 minutes ago, tillkrueger said:

I moved the remaining isos into an ISOs folder I had already created in disk1/unRAID/_BAK/ ...I did so manually, bc I wanted to determine where they get moved to and where all my ISOs are stored...I hope this isn't a problem.

Not a problem as long as you tell unraid where you put them. Settings, VM settings, ISO storage path.

[JonathanM]

1 minute ago, nuhll said:

Dont know, i did it, without problems, is this still a thing in 6.4?

Yes. It's not "fixable" without totally rewriting a bunch of stuff, so the general rule is don't do it unless you thoroughly understand what you are doing and how it can bite you.

 

Read the defect report for details, it's already explained there in depth.

 

It's the reason disk shares are disabled by default, so newbies at least have to change settings to get to a place where they can corrupt data without understanding what happened.

[tillkrueger]

ugh...I don't get it...I must be doing things in the wrong order, or rather, I forgot to stop the array before messing with the VM settings...I disabled the VM Manager, deleted the big 100GB libvert from there, then created a new one with 1GB, and then re-enabled VMs...when I checked my VMs I saw that the icon for my Windows 10 VM has disappeared (it is still in the domains folder, of course)...but that's just what happened last time, and adding it back in caused me a few hours of work, probably bc I hadn't copied and pasted the XML then.

I stopped and started the array to activate the new VM settings, but when I go to the VM tab, it is blank...the VM Manager shows as "Stopped" again...déjà vue...why do I keep making the same mistakes?

I'd like to add back the VM now, but with a blank VM tab and the VM Manager not starting, where do I go from here? 

[NewDisplayName]

yeah, again you need to specify the .img

[tillkrueger]

as for disk vs user shares, I do understand the underlying system and associated risks...I spend so much time in my disk shares, moving data from disk share to disk share to try to keep files that belong together on the same physical disk, if drive size permits, that I am painfully aware of what is where at any one time...I know it partially defeats the purpose of using a system like unRAID, but I love unRAID for its reliability, flexibility, and extendability, not for how easy it makes it for data storage newbies to just throw data into it without worrying where it goes.

[JonathanM]

2 minutes ago, nuhll said:

yeah, again you need to specify the .img

Yep. /mnt/cache/system/libvirt/libvirt.img

[tillkrueger]

snap!

but the file hasn't been generated yet, so how do I point at it...at which point does it get generated...when I start the array? when I enable VMs? I forgot in which order I did it last time when I generated that 100GB file.

[JonathanM]

2 minutes ago, tillkrueger said:

snap!

but the file hasn't been generated yet, so how do I point at it...at which point does it get generated...when I start the array? when I enable VMs? I forgot in which order I did it last time when I generated that 100GB file.

Try enabling VM's and see if it auto creates. I think it will, but don't remember for sure.

[JonathanM]

Also, change your default network bridge. What's in there now won't let you see the unraid shares, which I think you may have been complaining about at some point.

[JonathanM]

You will probably also need to change the network bridge for your VM after you get that entered back in. Paste and update the XML first, then go back to the regular VM edit page and change the bridge there.

[tillkrueger]

it appeared after I stopped and then started the array again...while it is stopped I can't see whether it's there already or not without ssh'ing into my server, which I didn't...anywhere, it's there now and the VM Manager is running.

how do you change the default network bridge? (yes, I did wonder about that before...good memory, jb!) there is only that one available in the dropdown...do I need to stop the VM Manager first and then how do I add another bridge and what does it need to be called?

[tillkrueger]

I stopped the VM Manager and there is still only that one bridge in the drop-down with no apparent way to add another one.

[JonathanM]

Stop array, settings, network settings, enable bridging:yes

[tillkrueger]

yep, sure enough, there it is.

so I did what I think I had to do, recreating the VM, and I am at the same point where I was 3 days ago, when my Windows 7 VM's would show as started in the unRAID VM's tab, but when I try to go to it with my VNC viewer (I now use Screens), it won't authenticate.

let me force stop it and look over all the settings again...I just hope I can get it going again without having to start from scratch.

[tillkrueger]

if only I knew what causes this disconnect after having to recreate the VMs (or rather the links to them) in the unRAID UI...just like with the Windows 7 VMs a few days ago.

for all it's worth, here is my template. (and I do change the bridge every time before I update this template, but somehow it keeps changing back...probably from the XML I pasted in again):
 

Edited January 12, 2018 by tillkrueger
addendum

[JonathanM]

Try changing the vnc video driver to cirrus and see what happens.

 

BTW, which tutorial did you follow to create this? I don't think I've seen anyone recommend using IDE for the primary vdisk, I would think that would be slow. The normal method is to use virtio and install the drivers from the virtio CD during install.

 

Yes, all the GUI settings are in the XML, if you want to make a change in the GUI, you need to make a new copy of the XML. Even better (NOT) the current unraid implementation will overwrite any manual changes to the XML if you update anything in the GUI, so saving your XML's when you get it working is a good idea.

[tillkrueger]

there was another instruction video from a guy that suggested a bunch of XML changes and a second vdisk...the first instruction video was the one that I think you are referring to and pretty much everybody uses.

 

cirrus didn't change anything.

having used IDE would explain the excruciatingly slow startup time, last time I got this to run, earlier today, but at this point I lost track of what I did when and exactly why...my brain is a bit fried from all of this (as is yours, I am sure)...I just wanna avoid starting a new VM install and being up until the wee hours of the morning trying to get back to the point I was at earlier today...but I know I will if I can't get this VM to start up and be reachable via VNC again...it's gotta be something small, as this thing was running great before my twiddling around dropped it from my VM's screen...it's always when re-creating the link to it that this happens, so it must have something to do with those template settings.

frustrating, but thanks so much for having given me so much of your brain share and time these past few days!

I am leaving to Los Angles on Tuesday, maybe for 2+ months, so I really should be preparing for that, rather than picking around with my unRAID system...but I must get this working before I leave!

[NewDisplayName]

The simplest and easiest and fastest way probably is to start new

 

i would follow the guides this guy makes

 

 

[tillkrueger]

I changed/tried so many settings that I'm not entirely sure, but I got the VM to start and be accessible again after changing the bridge back to virbr0...not 100% sure that that is all it was...one thing I noticed is that every time I boot into this VM, it seems to set up the network interface anew...last time the Network changed to Network 2 and now it is Network 3, each time losing all the IP numbers I input the first time I set up Windows 10...something is screwy, and I don't know what, and I am too tired to look into further.

guess I'll revisit this when I get back from Los Angeles in a month or two.

thanks so much, guys!