unRAID vs. Flexraid vs. Others?
#16
(2012-07-10, 05:27)Sliphorn Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 03:32)assassin Wrote: I have elaborated already on the benefits in multiple threads in the last few days.

Okay, I just now saw the links you added in post #2. The first I read before and was what interested me in FlexRAID. The second post I Hadn't seen. Nice info in there. So, I get that they're both excellent, but why is it that it seems like unRAID has a larger fan base here on the forums, and also on avsforums? I don't understand why FlexRAID seems to have a dubious reputation among some of the forum folks. Perhaps someone could clarify for me?

That's because unRAID is basically a stripped down Linux that runs from a USB stick whereas FlexRAID sits on top of an operating system like windows 7 or Windows Home Server 2011.
Flexraid gives you drive pooling (bunching up all your harddrives into one big drive) and parity, you can have multiple drive failures with Flexraid. Also Flexraid's filesystem sits on top of the existing filesystem. Therefore it does not touch the drive's filesystem. When you remove the drive from the pool you can read it as per normal in other computer with data intact.

If anyone wants to use unRAID, they would have to remove all the data, format drives then move the data back to them.

unRAID is popular because it just works, its a cheap way into file servers and runs off a memory stick. Flexraid combined with WHS2011 gives you drive pooling, parity and the benefit of WHS2011 shared folders, and backup tools

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#17
Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.
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#18
Until i found xbmc and created my first xbmc live pc I had only used windows

so I was more inclined to go with flexraid because i could be where i was most comfortable ( also correct me if im wrong but flexraid used to be free wasn't it)

in the end i went with unraid

to me it was like xbmc....very active and helpful user base....a lot of documentation already established and once you get it to where you want it just works

sure flexraid can handle more than one drive loss but again if im wrong please correct me....that comes at the price of having multiple parity drives correct
don't get me wrong im not saying it like a bad thing....it is a wonderful option to have but sometimes people say things like it just magically happens without an important factor....more money lol

I know i know...my data is more important so the extra money is worth it....but I doubt anyone's data is that important that you only leave it to flexraid or any product....family pics etc. are probably backed up to multiple other drives

so you spend more money for all data and still spend the same money as me on other drives for that "important data" that you backup to and then unplug and store somewhere

If i didn't lose you in all that then it all comes down to what is important to you....not one product is for everyone
I would have loved to stay with windows but in the end it was worth it to me to leave my comfort zone
WE ALL WE GOT
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#19
(2012-07-10, 12:41)assassin Wrote: Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.

I think, up until just some months ago, that FlexRAID was also free.

Has anyone had any real experience using FlexRAID on Linux?

I'm leaning toward FlexRAID at the moment for a few reasons, not the least of which is that my disks are already full and NTFS.
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#20
(2012-07-10, 12:41)assassin Wrote: Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.
If free is what makes it popular, then everyone would use Snapraid. I've chose Unraid because it's a reliable product, well vetted by many users here and AVS. It optimizes the things a media server needs - namely capacity and read speeds. It's also pretty darn simple to setup, unlike anything I've seen using ZFS. Flexraid may be a great product - but I wouldn't try it until I'd seen many positive endorsements of it by people who use it the way I do - namely the crowd here at XBMC forums. I haven't seen that, so therefore I didn't pursue Flexraid. Great product or not, I don't want to use my media server as the guinea pig.
For everyone looking for a comparison, the best one I've seen so far is provided by Snapraid: http://snapraid.sourceforge.net/compare.html
(2012-07-10, 17:43)Sliphorn Wrote: I'm leaning toward FlexRAID at the moment for a few reasons, not the least of which is that my disks are already full and NTFS.
With Unraid you don't need to completely wipe all of your disks simultaneously, you only need to clear one disk. For example, I started with one empty disk. I did this by moving everything on it to the extra space on my other 4 drives. Then take the empty disk and add it to the Unraid array (which will clear it). Now copy data from data disk #2 into the array. When done with that, add disk #2 to the array. Do that until everything is in. Make the last drive you add the parity drive, and you're done.
So yes, you have to clear a disk in order to add it to Unraid - but it's not as onerous as some make it out to be. Already full drives aren't that big of a deal. The fact that you use NTFS is a problem I can't help you with Smile

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#21
(2012-07-10, 12:41)assassin Wrote: Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.

Only partly true.
I've seen where Software game companies are releasing games where you can play up to the first level.
If you enjoy it,..you buy the full product.
I've downloaded a few games this way,..and have only bought a very few.
The rest were just plain boring,..or just plain bad.

I think you're finding that people give the free 3-disk unRaid version a try,...and then when they find out how
simple it is to use,..they are more than willing to pay for the upgrade. Me included.

If unRaid was bad,..people would have found out a long time ago, wrote about, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.


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#22
(2012-07-10, 21:17)GortWillSaveUs Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 12:41)assassin Wrote: Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.

Only partly true.
I've seen where Software game companies are releasing games where you can play up to the first level.
If you enjoy it,..you buy the full product.
I've downloaded a few games this way,..and have only bought a very few.
The rest were just plain boring,..or just plain bad.

I think you're finding that people give the free 3-disk unRaid version a try,...and then when they find out how
simple it is to use,..they are more than willing to pay for the upgrade. Me included.

If unRaid was bad,..people would have found out a long time ago, wrote about, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

When did I ever say unRaid is bad? I did no such thing. I think its a great option although not quite as good as FlexRaid.

BTW you can try FlexRaid for free as well now.
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#23
The best is to try each product for yourself. You are always going to get individuals that have a opinion about which is better without having tried each option themselves.

Flexraid and unraid is two very different products aiming to give you the same result. Both are safe to use regardless what people on this forum will claim.
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#24
(2012-07-10, 21:00)teaguecl Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 12:41)assassin Wrote: Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.
If free is what makes it popular, then everyone would use Snapraid. I've chose Unraid because it's a reliable product, well vetted by many users here and AVS. It optimizes the things a media server needs - namely capacity and read speeds. It's also pretty darn simple to setup, unlike anything I've seen using ZFS. Flexraid may be a great product - but I wouldn't try it until I'd seen many positive endorsements of it by people who use it the way I do - namely the crowd here at XBMC forums. I haven't seen that, so therefore I didn't pursue Flexraid. Great product or not, I don't want to use my media server as the guinea pig.
For everyone looking for a comparison, the best one I've seen so far is provided by Snapraid: http://snapraid.sourceforge.net/compare.html
(2012-07-10, 17:43)Sliphorn Wrote: I'm leaning toward FlexRAID at the moment for a few reasons, not the least of which is that my disks are already full and NTFS.
With Unraid you don't need to completely wipe all of your disks simultaneously, you only need to clear one disk. For example, I started with one empty disk. I did this by moving everything on it to the extra space on my other 4 drives. Then take the empty disk and add it to the Unraid array (which will clear it). Now copy data from data disk #2 into the array. When done with that, add disk #2 to the array. Do that until everything is in. Make the last drive you add the parity drive, and you're done.
So yes, you have to clear a disk in order to add it to Unraid - but it's not as onerous as some make it out to be. Already full drives aren't that big of a deal. The fact that you use NTFS is a problem I can't help you with Smile

That's really a great comparison chart. I mean, it's no substitution for actually testing them firsthand, but it is very convenient and revealing.

That said, I'll try FlexRAID first, since it'll be free to try and the most convenient for starters...then I'll go from there. Thanks for all of your opinions. I'm learning a lot.
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#25
(2012-07-10, 22:27)assassin Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 21:17)GortWillSaveUs Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 12:41)assassin Wrote: Because unraid is free up to a few drives. That's why it is more popular on here.

Only partly true.
I've seen where Software game companies are releasing games where you can play up to the first level.
If you enjoy it,..you buy the full product.
I've downloaded a few games this way,..and have only bought a very few.
The rest were just plain boring,..or just plain bad.

I think you're finding that people give the free 3-disk unRaid version a try,...and then when they find out how
simple it is to use,..they are more than willing to pay for the upgrade. Me included.

If unRaid was bad,..people would have found out a long time ago, wrote about, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

When did I ever say unRaid is bad? I did no such thing. I think its a great option although not quite as good as FlexRaid.

BTW you can try FlexRaid for free as well now.


Relax Assassin. I was speaking in the general sense and not making a personal attack or trying to put words in your mouth.
Let me restate what I said,.......

If any product is bad,..people usually find out pretty quickly, write about, and the product slips from any discussion.
In the case of companies that offer free trials,...it usually means their product is awesome and they know it.
They know that once people try it,..they'll love it,..and will willingly pay for an upgrade.

The bottom-line is, ANY product has its pros and cons,..fortunately for all of us,..both products have a free version.
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#26
(2012-07-11, 13:54)GortWillSaveUs Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 22:27)assassin Wrote:
(2012-07-10, 21:17)GortWillSaveUs Wrote: Only partly true.
I've seen where Software game companies are releasing games where you can play up to the first level.
If you enjoy it,..you buy the full product.
I've downloaded a few games this way,..and have only bought a very few.
The rest were just plain boring,..or just plain bad.

I think you're finding that people give the free 3-disk unRaid version a try,...and then when they find out how
simple it is to use,..they are more than willing to pay for the upgrade. Me included.

If unRaid was bad,..people would have found out a long time ago, wrote about, and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

When did I ever say unRaid is bad? I did no such thing. I think its a great option although not quite as good as FlexRaid.

BTW you can try FlexRaid for free as well now.


Relax Assassin. I was speaking in the general sense and not making a personal attack or trying to put words in your mouth.
Let me restate what I said,.......

If any product is bad,..people usually find out pretty quickly, write about, and the product slips from any discussion.
In the case of companies that offer free trials,...it usually means their product is awesome and they know it.
They know that once people try it,..they'll love it,..and will willingly pay for an upgrade.

The bottom-line is, ANY product has its pros and cons,..fortunately for all of us,..both products have a free version.

+1. Well said.

Thanks for all the help.
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#27
I just migrated from unRAID to Flexraid. I had no complaints with unRAID, but I wanted to consolidate the number of boxes running in our house. Flexraid + 7MC + XBMC is a fantastic solution for us.
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