I have been running my test rig now for 2 weeks all on default settings. I have the following:-

Mobo                  MSI P6N Diamond

Ram                    2 GB

Parity HDD            WDC_WD7500AAKS-0_WD-WCAPT0041233

HDD 1                  ST3500630AS_9QG3VKG9

HDD 2                  WDC_WD3200KS-00P_WD-WCAPD2858471

These HDD's are mapped to my XP computer

I have pre cleared all hdds and run parity checks with no issues, but I have a few questions regarding managing and transferring files. I have read in depth about shares and understand the concepts but I am confused about some of the principles of getting data to the server.

Currently I am using the following:-

Raid 1  Music..1.8TB (includes music videos)

Raid 1  Working.. Disc 698Gb..All my downloads /software /torrent stuff and files I'm currently working on

Raid 1  Books.. 698GB Stuff for my e-reader / audio books and training videos etc.

6 500GB HDD's Movies 01,02,03,04,05,06 .No back up copies.

This may seem a daft question but can i continue to manage my discs the same way as I did on my windows PC using unRAID without using any of the share / user setting in unRAID? So I want to set up folders and put the files into those folders myself? Basically i want to distribute files across my discs how i want them and use unRAID purely as a safety net for all my HDD's.

Will this work if i use a cache hdd?

If I set up shares how do you transfer files to those shares from a windows pc. Am I missing something simple here? I cant see any options in the Tower "main window for moving files to the server.

At the moment i open "my computer"  select the folder i want to transfer, copy and paste it to one of the hdd's on the unRAID server.

I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself very well here!

 

Thank you

 

Yes, you can.  They are called Disk Shares in unRAID.  Each share will correspond to a physical disk (disk1, disk2, etc.), just like data drives in Windows.  You can organize your data however you like across all your drives.  Just disable user shares if you don't want to use them (on the Shares page).

 

You don't need a cache drive.  A cache drive is only useful for speeding things up if you use user shares.  You could still use a cache drive just to have a drive that is outside the array, but there's really no point to that.

 

You can transfer your files over the network.  Just browse the network from the Windows PC, open up 'Tower' and you will see all your disk shares.  Alternatively, you can map your disk shares as network drives.  You don't use the unRAID web interface to transfer files, only to manage the server.

Yes, you can.  They are called Disk Shares in unRAID.  Each share will correspond to a physical disk (disk1, disk2, etc.), just like data drives in Windows.  You can organize your data however you like across all your drives.  Just disable user shares if you don't want to use them (on the Shares page).

 

You don't need a cache drive.  A cache drive is only useful for speeding things up if you use user shares.  You could still use a cache drive just to have a drive that is outside the array, but there's really no point to that.

 

You can transfer your files over the network.  Just browse the network from the Windows PC, open up 'Tower' and you will see all your disk shares.  Alternatively, you can map your disk shares as network drives.  You don't use the unRAID web interface to transfer files, only to manage the server.

 

Thank you Rajahal, that's what I was hoping.