Considering UNRAID over DROBO - Setup and Usage Question

[maximillianrg]

I'm going to be building a new PC based on the Gen3 Ryzen processor that will be running both Windows 10 and Plex Server.  At present I have several Drobo's that handle my storage needs but I'm considering moving to UNRAID because I just discovered the IO Crest Internal 5 Port Non-Raid SATA III 6GB/s M.2 B+M Key Adapter Card which gives you 5 Sata ports from am M.2 Slot.  Based on some UNRAID videos and documentation, here is what I believe my setup process will look like.

 

1. Install (2) M.2 Sata Cards and connect (3) 6TB Ironwold NAS Drives to one and (2) to the other

2. Create Unraid Boot USB, Boot System and set up drives with Unraid

3. Install (1) Samsung Evo 1TB M2 and install Windows 10 on it

4. Boot system and Windows sees the drive its installed on (C:) and the Unraid Drive Pool (D:)

 

Questions

A. Is this the correct way to do this as I do not want my OS on the raid drive?

B. My Drobo has LED's for drive status and capacity, how will I get this from UNRAID in Windows?  is there an app or do I just have to log into the UNRAID web interface?

C. What UNRAID add-ins should I consider in this config?

 

Notes

- I do not run VM's

- I have never used Linux

 

Thank you so much in advance?

 

[Frank1940]

52 minutes ago, maximillianrg said:

I just discovered the IO Crest Internal 5 Port Non-Raid SATA III 6GB/s M.2 B+M Key Adapter Card

Do be a bit careful about such devices.  Many SATA port expanders are designed with the idea that they will only be accessing one drive at a time.  Unraid will often be accessing every drive in the array at the same time.  When that happens, the controller chip on the device could overheat and start generating errors.  It might work just fine but you might well be the guinea pig in testing it out on Unraid. 

 

Currently, the LSI-based controllers in IT_Mode are the recommended solution to additional SATA ports.  The 8 port ones are widely available both new and used for well under $100.  You can find the list of part numbers here:

 

   https://forums.unraid.net/topic/69018-sata-controller-replacement-question-and-advice/?tab=comments#comment-630097

 

Many of us have purchased these boards on E-bay and by carefully vetting the vendors (Shop vendor more than price) are satisfied with our purchases.   (There are suppliers of counterfeit boards out there so a word to the wise should be sufficient.)

[JorgeB]

Those JMB controllers don't have port multipliers, I have one in but in the PCIe version, and it works fine, performance is very good, stability is also good so far, though don't have it that long, still the LSI is much more tested if it's an option.

[trurl]

1 hour ago, maximillianrg said:

1. Install (2) M.2 Sata Cards and connect (3) 6TB Ironwold NAS Drives to one and (2) to the other

2. Create Unraid Boot USB, Boot System and set up drives with Unraid

3. Install (1) Samsung Evo 1TB M2 and install Windows 10 on it

4. Boot system and Windows sees the drive its installed on (C:) and the Unraid Drive Pool (D:)

I'm not entirely clear. Is it your intention to have Unraid and Windows running on the same computer? So you will be running Windows in a VM, but you want it to have its own drive not managed by Unraid?

 

 

[maximillianrg]

Hello Trurl

 

- At Present I have a server running Windows Server 2012R2 and connected to it is an old DroboPro (DAS) with 8 Drives connected via iSCSI. 

- In my future build I was going to run Windows 10 and connected to it is a Drobo 5D3 (DAS) with 5 drives connected via USB Type C

- Rather than use Drobo 5D3, I'm considering installing the LSI 9201-16i, moving the drives inside the case, and using UNRAID to manage the drives rather than using hardware raid or Windows Storage Spaces.  Now it may be the case that UNRAID does not work in this configuration in which case I need to look at FlexRaid or SnapRaid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[danull]

16 minutes ago, maximillianrg said:

need to look at FlexRaid or SnapRaid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FlexRaid website has been down for months and the Dev went AWOL....not much to look at!

[trurl]

2 hours ago, maximillianrg said:

Hello Trurl

 

- At Present I have a server running Windows Server 2012R2 and connected to it is an old DroboPro (DAS) with 8 Drives connected via iSCSI. 

- In my future build I was going to run Windows 10 and connected to it is a Drobo 5D3 (DAS) with 5 drives connected via USB Type C

- Rather than use Drobo 5D3, I'm considering installing the LSI 9201-16i, moving the drives inside the case, and using UNRAID to manage the drives rather than using hardware raid or Windows Storage Spaces.  Now it may be the case that UNRAID does not work in this configuration in which case I need to look at FlexRaid or SnapRaid.

That didn't actually answer any of my questions directly, and I still don't know. Is Windows a separate machine or not?

3 hours ago, trurl said:

I'm not entirely clear. Is it your intention to have Unraid and Windows running on the same computer? So you will be running Windows in a VM, but you want it to have its own drive not managed by Unraid?

 

[maximillianrg]

Hello Trurl

 

No - Windows is not a separate machine.   Think of it as one computer with Windows 10 booting from an M.2 Drive and then 10-16 large SATA drives connected to an LSI controller in the same case.   No VM's.  I'm jusyt looking for the bet way to manage the drive pool of 10-16 drives.

[trurl]

That sounds like you really don't understand Unraid.

 

Unraid is an Operating System.

 

If you are going to run Windows on the same machine then Windows will have to be a VM with Unraid as the host.