January 18, 201115 yr I have a single 2.0 TB WD EARS in my unRAID server (ver 4.6). It has a jumper installed on pins 7-8. I have some data loaded that I can reload. Obviously it's not currently parity protected. I just ordered 2 new WD20EARS drives to add. I plan to preclear both 3 times and add them as data drive 2 and parity drive. With the release of 4.7 beta 1, I have more choices. 1. Stick with 4.6 and jumper both drives. 2. Upgrade to 4.7 beta 1 and run preclear with the -A option on the 2 new drives. 2a. Leave the existing drive with the jumper on it. 2b. Run preclear with the -A option on the existing drive and start over copying data. I'm fine with 2b if that option is valid. I realize that I'd need to not rely on unRAID for my data with 4.7 until it's out of beta. I know there is no performance difference with the jumpered drive, but long term I think I'd be better off without having one drive with a jumper on it. Is 2b a valid option?
January 18, 201115 yr I try to always go the direction that will save me time, and having my data protected by parity on a stable release does exactly that. I would recommend keeping 4.6, jumper both new drives install and be happy. When 4.7 officially is released update and any new drives will be covered while the drives you have jumpered will have no ill effects on system performance.
January 18, 201115 yr Author I'm not concerned about time or data protection right now - I have my data backed up on another drive that's not on unRAID that I can reload. Since I'm still setting up a new server, I was thinking of testing unRAID 4.7 with Advanced Format supported drives.
January 19, 201115 yr I'd just leave the one that's already in there and go with 4.7 on the new ones. Peter
January 19, 201115 yr There really hasn't been any proof running with or without makes a significance. I have some Jumpered and I'll more than likely try to run with some un-jumpered unless my OCD takes over and says leave them all jumpered since I already have some that way. Only way to know for sure is time. Time for me has proven that running jumpered is just fine and some have decided that running jumpereless is fine.
January 19, 201115 yr Author Thanks for the replies. I've been reading quite a bit and it looks like there's not a definitive answer on changing a drive from jumpered to unjumpered. For now, I'll update to 4.7b1 and start preclearing with -A on the two new drives.
January 19, 201115 yr 2b. Run preclear with the -A option on the existing drive and start over copying data. Presumably you mean: 2b. Remove jumper and run preclear with the -A option on the existing drive and start over copying data. 4.7b1 seems stable. My choice would be 2b just so you never need to remember which drive has the jumper or wonder if that is somehow a factor in a problem you're trying to diagnose a couple of years from now. I know it shouldn't be, but we can spend a lot of time on problems that shouldn't happen.
January 19, 201115 yr FYI If you have already precleared a disk and need to change the partitioning, there will soon be a quick and easy way to change the partition setting.
January 19, 201115 yr FYI If you have already precleared a disk and need to change the partitioning, there will soon be a quick and easy way to change the partition setting. I'm adding a new feature to the preclear script to allow set the partition start from sector 63 to 64 if a drive is CURRENTLY precleared. Once added to the array or formatted it will not work. It will be good if you have a prcleared drive sitting as a warm spare. It works in seconds by first verifying the drive is currently pre-cleared, then setting the starting sector. Joe L.
January 19, 201115 yr Author 2b. Run preclear with the -A option on the existing drive and start over copying data. Presumably you mean: 2b. Remove jumper and run preclear with the -A option on the existing drive and start over copying data. Yes, that's what I meant. 4.7b1 seems stable. My choice would be 2b just so you never need to remember which drive has the jumper or wonder if that is somehow a factor in a problem you're trying to diagnose a couple of years from now. I know it shouldn't be, but we can spend a lot of time on problems that shouldn't happen. That's what I was thinking too. If 4.7 hadn't come along so quickly, I would have just put the jumpers on and not worried about. (at least until I got more drives ) For now, I'll just do the 2 new drives with advanced formatting (in sector 64) without a jumper and see what changes in the next few days/weeks.
January 20, 201115 yr Author What do the jumpers on the drive do? I believe currently I have none. They're for WD EARS drives to enable backward compatibility with an O/S expecting the data to begin in sector 63. See http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5384.0 Interestingly, I learned about unRAID from searching for the difference between the WD20EARS and the WD20EADS.
January 20, 201115 yr What do the jumpers on the drive do? I believe currently I have none. They're for WD EARS drives to enable backward compatibility with an O/S expecting the data to begin in sector 63. See http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=5384.0 Interestingly, I learned about unRAID from searching for the difference between the WD20EARS and the WD20EADS. Is it necessary if I have those drives?
January 20, 201115 yr Its shouldn't be a problem as long as you are running 4.71beta and you used Joe L's Pre_clear script with the advanced disk option, which is setup to run with Jumperless drives.
January 20, 201115 yr No, it's not needed at all if you're not concerned about performance. If you are concerned about performance ... Depends on which version of unRAID you're using and which format you select on the newest unRAID 4.7+. Max Performance for EARS: 1) unRAID 4.7+, advanced format, no jumper 2) unRAID 4.7+, normal format, jumper pins 7-8 3) any unRAID, normal format, jumper pins 7-8 Worst Performance for EARS: 1) unRAID 4.7+, advanced format, jumper pins 7-8 2) unRAID 4.7+, normal format, no jumper 3) any unRAID, normal format, no jumper
January 20, 201115 yr No, it's not needed at all if you're not concerned about performance. If you are concerned about performance ... Depends on which version of unRAID you're using and which format you select on the newest unRAID 4.7+. Max Performance for EARS: 1) unRAID 4.7+, advanced format, no jumper 2) unRAID 4.7+, normal format, jumper pins 7-8 3) any unRAID, normal format, jumper pins 7-8 Worst Performance for EARS: 1) unRAID 4.7+, advanced format, jumper pins 7-8 2) unRAID 4.7+, normal format, no jumper 3) any unRAID, normal format, no jumper is the preclear.sh an advanced format? Currently I am running 4.6, no jumpers(w/e comes stock)
January 20, 201115 yr If you use the '-A' option (Capital "A") in the newest version of the preclear script, it will write a preclear signature that requests unRAID start the partition on sector 64 (aligned for 4k sectors) rather than sector 63.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.