So I am in the process of deploying a new Rockstor 4 node. I have this node all setup and ready to deploy but I do have one question. The disks that this node will be using are coming out of a Rockstor 3 node on version 3.9.2-57. Previously I have been able to move all disks from one rockstor node to another and reimport the disks into the new node. Does this same process apply to moving between rockstor 3 and 4? Anything to look out for?
Disks are currently in a raid 10 configuration. 8x12TB.
@kingwavy Hi yes I have done exactly this (although with not as many disks, and was a relatively simple 2-disk raid1 setup). It worked fine for me, and I always have a backup just in case. If all the array members are connected, importing from one should bring the whole lot into play.
I assume you have effective backups, in case the worst happens?
Do you have any more insights on importing the disks from the previous appliance and the process as a whole? I too am on Rockstor3 and would like to move to 4. My important data and the OS drive are backed up, but I have 2 disks in Raid1 as a scratch drive and a main array of 5 disks in raid5 (critical data is backed up and easily recoverable anything else is just archived elsewhere and may not be returned to service if there are issues)
Can it really be as simple as installing Rockstor4 to a clean boot disk on a system that has the raid disks installed, using the same credentials for root, and then importing the backed up config file from the current rockstor 3 appliance?
I have yet to move the disks over but the donor host and the recipient host are ready to make the move. I have moved disks between Rockstor 3 installs before and it was very very easy to do. (Just reimport the disk groups and resetup shares/sharing). It sounds like this process is exactly the same for moving to rockstor 4. I will try to remember to update this post with my success after I move the disks over.
As has been described above, yes, it is fairly easy to do. As moving from Rockstor 3 to 4 requires to install the new Rockstor 4 version, this is akin to the reinstallation procedure described in our documentation. I unfortunately am short on time so I have to stay brief and concise, but the gist of the procedure would be (assuming you are reusing the same disks overall):
Create backup config, and download it to your local machine (a different machine that your Rockstor machine)
Turn off the Rockstor machine, unplug all drives but the disk to be used for the OS. This is a precaution measure, and always a good idea to avoid any bad surprise were you to somehow misclick and choose the wrong disk for installation.
Turn the machine back on and proceed with the Rockstor 4 install.
Turn off the machine, remove Rockstor 4 ISO media and plug back all disks
Log into Rockstor, follow the first login setup procedure (using the same username might help, although I’ve actually never tested the difference from using a different one).
Go to the Disks page, and click on the little import icon you see. Your pools and shares should now all be the same as they were on Rockstor 3!
Now, you should be able to go to the Config Backup & Restore page, upload the file you downloaded in Step 1 above, and restore that backup… Leave it alone for a little bit, the time for the changes to propagate and most of your settings should be back to what they were.
