Moving from unraid to truenas but want to preserve data

[rob90033]

I'm wanting to move from unraid to truenas. I don't want to lose my data however and would like to import it. The File system used is Xfs. Can I import this data or do I have to jump through some hoops? Thanks

 

[Alecmascot]

I suggest you search the forum and see what others did to migrate to TrueNAS.

 

[rob90033]

I suggest you search the forum and see what others did to migrate to TrueNAS.

Thanks! Maybe I should elaborate my drives are xfs. Trying to verify from the knowledgeable community here that's possible.

 

[Dan Tudora]

hello
1. you have a data backup ?? IF not do one !!

Can I import this data or do I have to jump through some hoops

no
https://www.truenas.com/docs/hub/initial-setup/storage/importdisk/
TrueNAS on the same machine/computer ??
with the same HDD ??
what version of FreeNAS/TrueNAS ??
provide please some info
cherss

 

[jenksdrummer]

I'd recommend copying off your data before you do anything.

 

[sretalla]

No can do in terms of preserving data on existing disks or importing the disk(s).

XFS is not supported for importing a disk, nor can it be the filesystem of a pool in TrueNAS

You can easily transfer files over the network to TrueNAS using tools like rsync though, so I would put that at the top of your list.

 

[rob90033]

No can do in terms of preserving data on existing disks or importing the disk(s).

XFS is not supported for importing a disk, nor can it be the filesystem of a pool in TrueNAS

You can easily transfer files over the network to TrueNAS using tools like rsync though, so I would put that at the top of your list.

Thanks,
My dilema is, I have an Unraid Server with all XFS files and 30 TB of data. If I took the drives out and did it over the network it would take forever I think. I am moving the data to 4 out of the 10 drives now. I was hoping I could just mount the drives. Unraid only allows XFS, BTRFS, Reiser. I guess I could get a linux live boot and format the empty ones to ext2 (which would be best?) and copy that way. I was trying to import internally to make this as fast as possible. By my estimates it will take 3 or 4 days... What a mess!

 

[Constantin]

It would not take forever. Per the File File Transfer Time Calculator, 30TB @ 1GbE ethernet will take just over 3 days. Even if they're off by 2x, that's less than a week. Moving up to 10GbE would maybe cut that down to a day or two. However, actual time is quite dependent on the file size. Large batches of small files usually take longer to transfer in my limited experience than a similar amount of data in fewer but larger files.

 

[Dan Tudora]

hello
guys let's go to take a beer and in this time let's think of that user situation
tooo many beer !-> make good for "think" but maybe, who known

for the OP. provide more info if you need/want sugesstion/solution
Happy NewYear

 

[Constantin]

Rob, you could

• use the empty 6 drives to create a 6-drive Z2 VDEV in a pool on your TrueNAS server
• transfer the data from unRaid server to TrueNAS server via ethernet
• buy two more drives
• add a second 6-drive VDEV (4 remaining drives from unRAID server plus two new ones) to the TrueNAS pool

...for a 12-drive total array with a good balance of IOPS and data protection. Remember, TrueNAS works best when it is below 80% fill capacity.

Random drive mixes per unRaid is not possible. VDEV data capacity = smallest drive capacity in VDEV multiplied by # of data drives. VDEVs in a pool don’t have to be the same size though, so one can consist of 4TB drives and the next of 8TB drives. They just have to be structured similarly (Ie each a 6 drive Z2, for example).

 

[sretalla]

with a good balance of IOPS

Careful on this advice, since you'll be filling one VDEV first, so when adding the second VDEV, you will most likely have all reads coming from the older VDEV with all the data on it and most of the writes going to the new empty VDEV, so no IOPS advantage.

You can try to wash the data around inside the pool by moving to another dataset and renaming or think about plans for starting from a 2 VDEV pool from the beginning (before the file transfer).

I just don't want to have you expecting differently to what will happen, I'm not trying to discourage you from doing it.

 

[jenksdrummer]

Careful on this advice, since you'll be filling one VDEV first, so when adding the second VDEV, you will most likely have all reads coming from the older VDEV with all the data on it and most of the writes going to the new empty VDEV, so no IOPS advantage.

You can try to wash the data around inside the pool by moving to another dataset and renaming or think about plans for starting from a 2 VDEV pool from the beginning (before the file transfer).

I just don't want to have you expecting differently to what will happen, I'm not trying to discourage you from doing it.

Maybe saying the solution the same way, but nutshell is adding a VDEV does not rebalance the pool; save for new writes. To force the issue, one can copy all the data to a temp dataset/subsets, then once the pool is expanded, copy the data from within the box to a new dataset/subsets, then delete the copied source data; that would then get the added benefit of the expanded pool in terms of disk IO...but that's a long way around.

30TB is not a small amount of data. To that, if you don't have backups or replicas...you should consider it! As it's been said, your data is only as reliable as your latest confirmed-working backup.

 

[Constantin]

It is a long way around but if that approach works (and I’m not 100% convinced), it saves the expense of the added hard drives the OP would have to purchase.

I started fresh when my turn came about and upgraded from 4TB to 10TB disks. Using a non-ZFS backup as a source was less than ideal, however.

apologies for my ignorance re the VDEV IOPS issue, thank you for correcting me!!! It’s also something to keep in mind before allowing a pool to fill too much before adding another VDEV.

 

[rob90033]

Guys will this work? I took a couple 10TB drives and 4 6 TB drives and formatted NTFS. I then copied the data over to these drives. Can I now install TRUENAS, setup a VDEV and copy over the data. I assume once completed and verified I can add the remaining 10TB drives and expand. Then I guess I will create another VDEV with the 6TB.

 

[sretalla]

I assume once completed and verified I can add the remaining 10TB drives and expand.

Assuming you were adding mirrored pairs to get to the pool VDEVs in the first place, adding 2 more 10TB as another mirrored pair (VDEV) will be fine.

If you have existing VDEVs in the pool which are RAIDZ2 (or anything other than mirrors), it's not really the right thing to do.

 

[rob90033]

Assuming you were adding mirrored pairs to get to the pool VDEVs in the first place, adding 2 more 10TB as another mirrored pair (VDEV) will be fine.

If you have existing VDEVs in the pool which are RAIDZ2 (or anything other than mirrors), it's not really the right thing to do.

Thanks, I have read some of the docs on VDEVs but to be honest I don't think I truly understand this new system 100%. Is there a noob guide somewhere that I could read and learn more about how best to set this up for my situation?

 

[SweetAndLow]

Guys will this work? I took a couple 10TB drives and 4 6 TB drives and formatted NTFS. I then copied the data over to these drives. Can I now install TRUENAS, setup a VDEV and copy over the data. I assume once completed and verified I can add the remaining 10TB drives and expand. Then I guess I will create another VDEV with the 6TB.

Yep that's the right way to do this. Will work great

 

[Bikerchris]

Thanks, I have read some of the docs on VDEVs but to be honest I don't think I truly understand this new system 100%. Is there a noob guide somewhere that I could read and learn more about how best to set this up for my situation?

I can't remember where it is on here, but Cyberjocks guide gives an excellent foundation on the basics. Do see attached.

 

[Bikerchris]

You might also want to visit this site so you know how much storage space you'll end up with

ZFS Capacity Calculator - WintelGuy.com

ZFS / RAIDZ Capacity Calculator - evaluets performance of different RAIDZ types and configurations

wintelguy.com