October 13, 201015 yr I am new to unRAID, so I thought I would post my impressions that I have had of late concerned the product. This may help others, such as I was, in making up your mind about unRAID. For your amusement, I give you: ==================== The Seven Stages of an unRAID User: The Unbeliever This can't work, it's not RAID5. Everybody uses RAID5, or 10 or whatever. You don't have to have the same size disks? From the same manufacture? I have seen this in fancy SAN systems, but for home use, no, no, no, this can't be. It's too cheap, other systems cost a fortune. What are they (Lime-Tech) doing to make this work? How can you have only one parity disk? How can you get full yield from the rest of the disks? This can't be for real! The Doubter OK, I have read the explanation of how the parity works, kind of cool, but still, I mean come on! Everyone else uses some form of RAID5 or RAID10. I have never seen a RAID4 (modified) in action. I mean how well can this work? Why can't I just hang some (more) USB disks off my router? Oh, yea, not protected. Well still, I can build a PC from parts laying around and load Linux on it myself! But I have done it before... just because they have all failed... Oh, yea, that's right. That is why I am still looking for some sort of storage for my home network. I mean I have files scattered all over my network. Some on workstations, some on USB drives hanging everywhere. That's working well... right. The Lurker Good Lord! Look at all these pages of conversations! I can't say I have seen this much action in a forum before. If I were to do this thing, how would I... there's a thread for that! And that, and that, but what about... oh, there is a thread for that too. Wow, these questions are good, many of them question that I had, and the answers! Wow, all the things that I can think of that I wanted the know, ALL the questions answered. And look at some of these solutions! This stuff is gold! (read, read, read...). I can't even think of a question that has not been addressed anymore... Look at all the tools and scripts that have been built! This stuff would make it easy to do! (I am a Unix/Linux Administrator, but I still like easy) The Convert OK, OK, I get it. This is the ultimate in flexibility. I can build this out of an old PC, and do it for free! (limited to 1 parity, two data drives) or, if your data needs are bigger (mine are) you can build a somewhat serious home server with this stuff, at a very small cost. I don't NEED RAID5, I don't need a SAN. What I DO need is a lot of storage. I don't need it to be lightning fast (like at work). I need it to be fast enough to serve video to my TV, and a little home file storage as a central repository. This is it! I can add drives as I go, I don't need to purchase 15 drives all at once (ouch! just the thought!). I can even use some older, smaller drives I have lying around. And look, they have even mapped out the needed parts to build a fancy server on the website. OK, so not all of the specific parts are available anymore, but I can figure out the appropriate substitutes. If I get those pretty little 5 x 3's I don't even have to tear the server apart to add/replace drives. Nice. By building this out of commodity parts, I can avoid the proprietary gotchas I have faced in the past. I can fix this thing myself... perpetually (well, not really, but I can service this myself for a lonnnggg time..). More and more ranting on into the night.... Ok, I get it. The True Believer Hey, this is easy! Built my box, plugged in my flash drive, turned it on and start configuring. Nice. Use the preclear_disk.sh script (wow, what a nice utility!). Add my drives, setup my users, do my shares. Let's see how this works... adjust this, change that... Perfect. Start moving the files over... (this is gonna take a while...) fiddle, fiddle, fiddle... only because I like to fiddle with things The Satisfied User It's working. (not much more to say is there?) The Apostle Yes, there are other file server solutions, but most of the turnkey products are expensive, and often proprietary. Yes, you can just download Linux and BYO, but softRAIDS fail, all to often in my experience. I have not had much better longevity for RAID cards either. Yes, you can share out your workstations, and hang USB drives everywhere on your network, but this has parity!Parity is not complete protection, but it is pretty good for what is most likely to fail, a hard drive. True, in the somewhat unlikely event that two drives fail at the same time, you are hurting, but that is true with most solutions. With this product, you would only loose those two drives, not like if you lost two drives on your RAID5, that's everything. What I am seeing here is simplicity. It is simple to make (with the appropriate PC skills). It is simple to operate. It is simple to expand. It is simple to fix. I like simple. ==================== The thoughts in the above submission are based on personal experiences. Your mileage may vary. Do you see yourself in any of the above? Bruce
October 13, 201015 yr Love it! I definitely went through all of these stages, and I definitely see myself in the Apostle stage now. Obviously I'm very active in these forums, and I preach unRAID everywhere else I go. Well done, and welcome aboard!
October 13, 201015 yr I like it! Only thing I would change is the last stage. I would call it "the evangelist." Ever since I starting using Unraid I have battled ZFS fans in every forum I am on....
October 13, 201015 yr Author Love it! I definitely went through all of these stages, and I definitely see myself in the Apostle stage now. Obviously I'm very active in these forums, and I preach unRAID everywhere else I go. Well done, and welcome aboard! Thank you, thank you very much. I feel welcome. I have been reading (and reading and reading) on the boards, and although I have never posted, before this, I have found the place so congenial, that well, I feel welcome. I have not had any technical issues, at least not any that have not been answered by reading previous posts, but I wanted to join the discussion. I am very impressed with this product. I have tried other solutions, but none have satisfied my needs as well as this one. I look forward to a long service time. Since I have had no technical issues to ask help on, I thought I would write something to the other newbies. Something for those who have yet to pull the trigger, so to speak. I know that I have been lurking on this board for some time now, vacillating back and forth on whether to do this thing or not. When reading about unRAID, you see lots of post from other newbies, like myself, and the issues they are having. It is reassuring that their issues are addressed so fast, and accurately, but I wanted to try the other end as it were. People like me that purchased unRAID and didn't have any trouble. I built it, and it just works. There must be others, like I was, having trouble making up their minds. Well I did finally make up my mind, and I must say, I am impressed. That and maybe provide some humor for the long time users.
October 13, 201015 yr Another perspective, from the satisfied user on down ... The Satisfied User The satisified user has built their array, run a few parity checks, installed an addon or two, and is feeling great about their investment in unRAID. Like a 16 year old in a perfectly tuned Mustang convertable. Life is good! The Apostle a.k.a. The Evangelist The satisfied user quickly becomes the #1 cheerleader for unRAID. And for great reasons. Yes, there are other file server solutions, but most of the turnkey products are expensive, and often proprietary. unRAID is much more expandable, allows mix and match drive sizes, and is more resilient in recovering from drive failures. The Apostle sees unRAID as simplicity. It is simple to make (with the appropriate PC skills). It is simple to operate. It is simple to expand. It is simple to fix. The Apostle likes simple, and tells everyone how great unRAID is. Boy this Mustang rides great! Let me post some pictures!!! The Paniced User Until a loud noise comes from under the hood, the "check engine" light comes on, and oil leaks all over the highway. Every user will eventually have some type of failure. Be it a sync error, drive errors, an unformatted disk, disk stuck mounting, a red ball, a blue ball, a crashed server, super slow performance, can't access Web GUI, machine won't boot, reallocated sectors, ... the list goes on and on. The satisfied user feels very safe until something goes wrong and then sheer panic. The paniced user frequently makes one or two attempts to recover - sometimes it works but sometimes they just make things worse. The Grateful User The paniced user finds helpful advice in the forums with the expert assistance to get their array back on its feet. And learns alot along the way to help so that the next time the user knows what to do, and to ask for help before trying something risky. The Grateful user also becomes more realistic about unRaids strenghts and weaknesses and what it takes to care for their unRAID server. The Pro The Pro knows how to pop the hood and fix the busted oil filter. The Pro has been the paniced user several times, and likely has a few scars from when things didn't go perfectly. The Pro knows what to do and not do to protect their data. They may not know how to fix every problem, but do know how to isolate problems and use the tools available to recover from the most common problems. The Pro even knows enough to advise other users when they have problems.
October 14, 201015 yr Very nice post and very recognizable. I am currently in the convert stage (have been a while already, but only now I am beginning to order things for my build. Didnt have time before.)
October 14, 201015 yr Author Very nice post and very recognizable. I am currently in the convert stage (have been a while already, but only now I am beginning to order things for my build. Didnt have time before.) Congratulations! I am sure you will be happy with the process. When I did my build, it didn't go without a hitch, but I was able to go to the boards and find previous post that helped me get past any minor difficulties. There is some excellent support available here. Enjoy.
October 14, 201015 yr Very nice post and very recognizable. I am currently in the convert stage (have been a while already, but only now I am beginning to order things for my build. Didnt have time before.) Congratulations! I am sure you will be happy with the process. When I did my build, it didn't go without a hitch, but I was able to go to the boards and find previous post that helped me get past any minor difficulties. There is some excellent support available here. Enjoy. thanks I will enjoy. Been lurking around here for a while now. Will be needing posting my shopping list soon to verify I didn't miss any obvious issues.
October 14, 201015 yr I'll add one as this is the stage I am in now: The Anxious Novice This user is past the Lurker and Convert stage. The anxious novice, once confident in their ability to complete a build, have a new-found insecurity after collecting hardware over the last 2 months. They have read the forums religiously, preparing for the day that all of the components have been installed, now left wondering...what headache will I create for myself? Will I not properly pre-clear my drives, will I be able to access //tower???, will I somehow erase all of my data? Oh no - why can't newegg be slower on their delivery? I like having the prospect of unRAID and the shiny new case. So much invested, but so many other users have problems....hopefully Joe L, Rajahal, bjp99, gk20, and the guy that knows everything about user shares (is it LionelHutz?? ;-) will come to my rescue.
October 14, 201015 yr I think there's one more The Zealot! This falls after the Apostle. For the Zealot, yes everything works perfectly, but after awhile it's no longer good enough. The Zealot craves more drive space and faster performance. But even that isn't enough! The Zealot then craves a nicer looking case which he may even hack to fit in those 5 x 3.5 stackers. Must bend those tabs or perhaps dremmel. The Zealot sways between fits of being an Apostle and at the same time denying he is a Zealot.
October 16, 201015 yr this made me laugh. you really nailed it based on my experiences (currently at the True Believer stage)
October 21, 201015 yr You guys forgot one. The apostate. (most of them don't read the forum any more to declare themselves as apostates, but hey, here is one)
October 21, 201015 yr I don't think it is the place to discuss this (nor I think some people would welcome my comments). Let's just say unRAID is good for what it is, but what it is is very limited compared to what I want from my 24/7 server. Plus I do not agree AT ALL with the way some things are done when we talk about a COMMERCIAL product that unRAID is. (more than) enough said
October 21, 201015 yr You guys forgot one. The apostate. (most of them don't read the forum any more to declare themselves as apostates, but hey, here is one) I agree, apostate should be one as well (or The Judas if that is the preferred label). Might as well put me in there too.
October 25, 201015 yr I'm not sure if I agree with unRAID being cheap... ever since I discovered this forum, I've spent hours of time reading posts and watching Newegg for the perfect unRAID parts. Then I spend a bunch of money ordering parts I don't even know what I'm going to do with yet. Worst of all, I'm still trying to justify to myself why I need to spend $300 on a Norco 20-bay hot-swappable RAID chassis (or better yet, the 24-bay) to store my current 3TB collection.
October 25, 201015 yr I'm not sure if I agree with unRAID being cheap... ever since I discovered this forum, I've spent hours of time reading posts and watching Newegg for the perfect unRAID parts. Then I spend a bunch of money ordering parts I don't even know what I'm going to do with yet. Worst of all, I'm still trying to justify to myself why I need to spend $300 on a Norco 20-bay hot-swappable RAID chassis (or better yet, the 24-bay) to store my current 3TB collection. well, whether it's cheap depends on what you've ordered...and I reckon you said "I don't know what to do with it yet" in jest....right? In all other respects, unRAID can be considered cheap, yes (needless to say, buying parts that are seeing no use is pretty pricey )
October 28, 201015 yr I'm not sure if I agree with unRAID being cheap... ever since I discovered this forum, I've spent hours of time reading posts and watching Newegg for the perfect unRAID parts. Then I spend a bunch of money ordering parts I don't even know what I'm going to do with yet. Worst of all, I'm still trying to justify to myself why I need to spend $300 on a Norco 20-bay hot-swappable RAID chassis (or better yet, the 24-bay) to store my current 3TB collection. well, whether it's cheap depends on what you've ordered...and I reckon you said "I don't know what to do with it yet" in jest....right? In all other respects, unRAID can be considered cheap, yes (needless to say, buying parts that are seeing no use is pretty pricey ) Yes, in all seriousness, I believe unRAID is a great value for most users. Unfortunately, I too suffer from Raj's inability to pass up a good deal on perfect unRAID hardware (which is darn near anything).
October 28, 201015 yr Yes, in all seriousness, I believe unRAID is a great value for most users. Unfortunately, I too suffer from Raj's inability to pass up a good deal on perfect unRAID hardware (which is darn near anything). Well then I urge you to not look at this!
October 29, 201015 yr Yes, in all seriousness, I believe unRAID is a great value for most users. Unfortunately, I too suffer from Raj's inability to pass up a good deal on perfect unRAID hardware (which is darn near anything). Well then I urge you to not look at this! I almost ordered that board last night, but decided there was no rush since it was good until the first. Little did I know the Egg was going to be giving them away a few hours later and unRAID users would come out of the woodwork to take them off of their hands. Oh well. I guess I'll have to wait to catch the next one. What a steal!
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