SOLVED HELP! I killed my NAS by upgrading to version 12.0-U8!!!

[NumberSix]

OK, it looks like a corrupted install. Try going to System->Boot, and activating your previous 12.0-U7 boot environment. Reboot back into U7, and try upgrading again.

Hi
Thank you - I didn't previously know that it was possible to revert to an earlier install. Good to know! So, I reverted to U7 as described - all good. Now I am trying again to upgrade to U8. IN fact it's just rebooting now - I should have a result in moments...

Annnnd... it seems fine! It has rebooted into 12.0-U8, seemingly without a hitch this time. I am so grateful to you Samuel - as I am with others here who have helped me too. Your assistance is very generous and gracious and I really do appreciate it. Thank you all!

 

[Samuel Tai]

Glad you're back in business. Thanks for the kudos. However, in the future, please peruse this little guide I put together on avoiding the pitfalls of system upgrades, and take it to heart.

Path to success for system upgrades

Path to success for system upgrades Too many folks here just blindly upgrade, and find themselves in a pickle afterwards (jails no longer working, encrypted pools not unlocking, or other nastiness). All too often, their predicaments are addressed in the upgrade's release notes, or in the Guide...

www.truenas.com

 

[pschatz100]

If there is one lesson to learn from this experience, it is that you should have a backup of your important data.

 

[NumberSix]

If there is one lesson to learn from this experience, it is that you should have a backup of your important data.

Like the backups and snapshots I have?

Perhaps you missed that part :)

 

[pschatz100]

Like the backups and snapshots I have?

Perhaps you missed that part :)

Well, actually, yes I did. I don't see any mention about backups of your important data. If you have backups of your data, then you have done well and there is no need for such panic. At the end of the day, restoring a system is pretty easy as long as you have backups of your data.

Many people who suffer catastrophic problems with their systems do not have their data backed up. Although RaidZ helps mitigate many problems, it is not a replacement for a proper backup strategy.

Good luck

 

[NumberSix]

Well, actually, yes I did. I don't see any mention about backups of your important data. If you have backups of your data, then you have done well and there is no need for such panic. At the end of the day, restoring a system is pretty easy as long as you have backups of your data.

Good luck

Actually before I attempt to fix my broken plugins, I wonder if you have any tips to help me do so successfully and avert further mess ups? Here's what I have:
First, I don't have a backup of my important data as you said - the NAS is it. I don't have a 2nd NAS or anywhere else to back it up to, nor the resources to buy more backup, so - this is it. In relation to plugins, what I backed up from is the (now wiped) iocage, which had resided on the SSD, now reformatted/repurposed as the boot/system/log store. Since the upgrade to 12.1-U8, I see a new, empty iocage has been created on my HD mirrors. Prior to the reformatting of the SSD, I took periodic recursive backups of the iocage, storing the resulting backup in a purpose made dataset on the HDs. Snapshots too, but to be honest, more out of superstition than actually understanding what they do - but let's leave that ignorance there for a moment. Looking at the backup dataset, it appears to be a copy of the /iocage folder and all that was below it.

My 'restore plan' such as it currently is, is to:
1. Go to the plugins folder and do the minimum to install both Grafana and Syncthing. By 'minimum' I mean I don't plan to spend days tearing my hear out trying to work out what complex permissions and ownerships need setting and configuring to actually have them work, just to do enough to let ReadyNAS know I have these plugins on the system.
2. Find out what the copy command is in Linux to copy the backup /iocage over the new /iocage, recursively, and presumably preserving file permissions.
3. Reboot, and hope for the best.

Now yes, it does strike me that I'm on a wing and a prayer with this. So here's the million dollar question - is there not a neater, tidier, and more reliable way of applying a backup than this? And lastly, snapshots - can they help me here?

Thank you.

 

[NumberSix]

Update.
I tried it. I used :
rsync -aP --delete /mnt/NAS/System-Backup/iocage/ /mnt/NAS/iocage

and I got a 'completed with errors' message. Then I engaged in trying to delete the whole iocage to start over and found it refuses to delete, so that seems like a good point at which to ask about that aspect in a separate thread...