First Build (Unraid 6.5.3) - Migrated from Nas4Free

[lrroberts87]

So this is where I rant and rave about how much better this is than FreeNas, XigmaNas correct? Well I ran an early version of XigmaNas (Nas4Free) for 5 years after initial setup. When I went to update it was such a pain that it just killed me. Admittedly, I became interested after all the talk from LTT and looked into it. I backed up my date to my only other drive large enough to accomodate my files and made the jump. Of course i updated my internal USB header from 2.0 to 3.0 and drive as well. Upgraded my CPU cooler to one rated for 125w on my 65w cpu. New rear fan and a heavy dusting. Removed my old "clicky" WD greens and kept my HGSTs.

 

The ease of setup was wonderful and i very easily used docker for my Plex server and my performance on that side has never been better. I did some initial tests and most transfers are around 20%+ faster than previous OS. Will post speed tests on 1Gb and 10Gb connections shortly.

 

OS: unRAID 6.5.3 Basic

CPU: AMD apu a6-5400 (Dual-Core) - swapping to a8-5500 (Quad-core)

Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35

RAM: 8GB DDR3 

Case: Logisys CS305BK - (Looking for Alternative)

Drive Cage: Built-in

Power Supply: Corsair cs500

NICs: 1 Intel EXPI9301CT 1Gb

         1 HP 10GB Single Port Mellanox Connectx-2 10Gbe

Cables: Cable Matters Sata - Internal USB 3.0 MotherBoard Adapter Cable

Other: 

 

Parity Drive: 4TB HGST Deskstar 7200RPM

Data Drive 2x 3TB HGST Deskstar 7200RPM

Cache Drive: Crucial MX500 240GB

Total Capacity: 12 Drives

 

Primary Use: Data Storage, streaming of Video and music across my 10Gigabit Network, and PLEX Server

Likes: Ease of use for Unraid

Dislikes: My case (lol) I'm thinking of adding Drive Cages.

ToDO: Other than adding additional drives I think I'm good to go. 

 

Future thoughts:

Upgrading to a supermicro server board with dual xeon e5-4640 and 64GB ddr3 ecc ram... 

Edited September 6, 2018 by lrroberts87

[ken-ji]

1 hour ago, lrroberts87 said:

Of course i updated my internal USB header from 2.0 to 3.0 and drive as well

Just wondering exactly what you did for these and why?

[lrroberts87]

1 minute ago, ken-ji said:

Just wondering exactly what you did for these and why?

I figured that i had an open usb 3.0 header so i used the following cable + san disk drive
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PODI1W/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

instead of

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815201028

 

I know that most will say it doesnt generally make a difference but i was updating the build so no harm, correct?

[ken-ji]

Hmm, some here would be concerned with the use of a USB3 port to connect the USB drive as this has been known to occasionally drop/disconnect the USB drive thus causing grief.

[lrroberts87]

Is this an ongoing issue with using an internal header for usb3 or is it all usb3 ports in general?

 

I have only had mine up for a week thus far, but no issues

Edited September 6, 2018 by lrroberts87
additional info

[ken-ji]

It affects USB3 ports in general.

It has to do with USB3 handoff from BIOS to OS is not always squeaky clean and proper.

 

With some configurations, the USB3 controller would reinitialize when Linux takes over, resulting in Linux failing to find the flash drive, thus preventing complete startup.

This can also happen while the OS is already up and running which results in even more errors and oddities (like settings never saving, etc).

[lrroberts87]

1 minute ago, ken-ji said:

It affects USB3 ports in general.

It has to do with USB3 handoff from BIOS to OS is not always squeaky clean and proper.

 

With some configurations, the USB3 controller would reinitialize when Linux takes over, resulting in Linux failing to find the flash drive, thus preventing complete startup.

This can also happen while the OS is already up and running which results in even more errors and oddities (like settings never saving, etc).

Well, given the issues, would i be able to shutdown my server and swap my usb back to USB2 with no errors finding the flash drive on there or affecting my install config?

[JonathanM]

14 minutes ago, lrroberts87 said:

Well, given the issues, would i be able to shutdown my server and swap my usb back to USB2 with no errors finding the flash drive on there or affecting my install config?

With the server powered off the transition SHOULD be completely uneventful. However, keep your eye on the boot process for the initial startup, your BIOS may decide to be "helpful" and switch boot devices on you.

[lrroberts87]

2 minutes ago, jonathanm said:

With the server powered off the transition SHOULD be completely uneventful. However, keep your eye on the boot process for the initial startup, your BIOS may decide to be "helpful" and switch boot devices on you.

Thanks for the information. My BIOS is currently set to only use the USB as the boot, but you never know. 😀

[1812]

 

[lrroberts87]

17 hours ago, 1812 said:

 

Thanks, thats about how it feels

 

[lrroberts87]

Update:

Swapped my USB back to 2.0 at the suggestion to do so.
Swapped the cpu for a quad-core a8-5500 (Much better cpu overhead)

 

Currently working to get the Mellanox sfp+ as NIC