It feels like a new beta is imminent, thoughts on what it might contain?

Having been around here a while, I'm resigned to the long wait cycle and dashed hopes of delivery. However, there's a snippet in those summary release notes that confirms one of the reasons I stick with unRAID;

 

linux: added driver: SCSI_HPTIOP: support for HighPoint RocketRAID 3xxx/4xxx controllers, per customer request.

 

The ongoing willingness to add in seemingly minor tweaks like this for the benefit of a minority of customers is a real plus. This isn't my request, but I've benefited from this policy in the past and I just wanted to say thanks.

 

Peter

 

Right, but if they built the kernel with every storage driver available as a module then unraid would support the devices by default instead of requiring customers requesting it.

 

I realize that would take up some space but that shouldn't add that much to the image size. Perhaps have modules available as a remounted subdir off the flash drive so it wouldn't increase the root image.

 

Sometimes modules may conflict, creating issues instead of resolving them.  Just throwing everything and the kitchen sink into our kernel as modules isn't a good idea.  Just an FYI and not looking to get into a technical debate over this practice.

 

Right, which is why I'd go with a real distro such as Centos / Redhat / Ubuntu that does all of this extensive testing for you. If they ship with the drivers built as modules on their base images then you know there's no troublesome conflicts.

Also, since we use our own Linux kernel build (which is more modern than those distros provide), your statement actually is incorrect.  We'd only get the benefits of them testing the drivers if we used their Kernel, which would hold us back in our efforts in other areas (e.g. KVM / VFIO / BTRFS).

Haha, way to go WebboTech!

Haha, way to go WebboTech!

I really don't care as long as it works. And my customers agree they don't even know what is under the hood... Black box theory. But the price is good and it works. All the bells and whistles mean nothing if it doesn't work. And Unraid is great at that keeping it working, protecting your data, along the way.

Thornwood 

I haven't used dynamix before, does it pose any conflict with plugin creation that I should be aware of? (Like unmenu did back in the day)

I haven't used dynamix before, does it pose any conflict with plugin creation that I should be aware of? (Like unmenu did back in the day)

There should be very minimal community plugins going forward.  The added functionality should be placed in a Docker.

Only functions that should be run on the core OS, such as new Management Pages (ala Docker or VM) or other core functions like UPS, Notifications, or Cache Dirs should be on there. Fortunately those are all planed to be handled natively by unRAID so there is no need for the community to worry about plugins for those.

I use VPN's I would think that would stay as a plugin??

I use VPN's I would think that would stay as a plugin??

The plugin system is there for folks to use as they please. Anyone can choose to make a Docker container or a plugin of any kind they want if the functionality isn't already natively built into unRAID.  While we share the belief that most applications should be added as Docker containers, these systems are there so that others can build in any functionality they want by any means they feel comfortable.  Its up to the other users whether or not they want to use it.

Thank you

There should be very minimal community plugins going forward.  The added functionality should be placed in a Docker.

If this is the case then maybe someone should write / update / sticky some documentation to help people get started...  plugins are the path of least resistance at the moment.

That is a good point.  And sometimes it doesn't make sense to do a docker for a small setting.

There should be very minimal community plugins going forward.  The added functionality should be placed in a Docker.

 

If this is the case then maybe someone should write / update / sticky some documentation to help people get started...  plugins are the path of least resistance at the moment.

That surely must be a lack of documentation thing because plugs are an order of magnitude more complicated to develop than a docker file.

...And sometimes it doesn't make sense to do a docker for a small setting.

Actually that is only true if you have no other dockers running. If you have even a single docker container running then the exact opposite is true. In this scenario it makes perfect sense to run even the smallest thing in a docker because the diff from the base image is just the app and config you need. Given that unRAID is a cut down system it is actually likely that the amount of stuff you need new on disk will be more with an addon than with a docker.

I am happy with the "look and feel" of unraid like it is in 6 beta 10. Things I like to see integrated are SMART error signaling, UPS functionality and an easier way of installing add-ons, either plugin or docker.

 

If this is the case then maybe someone should write / update / sticky some documentation to help people get started...  plugins are the path of least resistance at the moment.

 

That surely must be a lack of documentation thing because plugs are an order of magnitude more complicated to develop than a docker file.

 

I'm really referring to installing from a user perspective.  Mostly the docker forum is full of links to images,  the current "getting started" sticky is out of date and other tutorials contain a myriad of screens with settings and no explanation of what they do.  I realise this is a new feature but at the moment it just seems confusing. 

I'm really referring to installing from a user perspective.  Mostly the docker forum is full of links to images,  the current "getting started" sticky is out of date and other tutorials contain a myriad of screens with settings and no explanation of what they do.  I realise this is a new feature but at the moment it just seems confusing.

We have been told that updating the Getting started with Docker Guide is being re-written for the beta 11 release.

What's the over-under with Thanksgiving as the timeline point? 

I laughed when I read this (almost 2 weeks ago), but now, I think I'm taking the Black Friday side of this bet 

It's hard to believe that there can be so many "we're really close now" posts, and a month later, we still don't have the new beta.  :'(

It's hard to believe that there can be so many "we're really close now" posts, and a month later, we still don't have the new beta.  :'(

Not hard to believe at all.  In fact, it's the norm.

It was the norm for a long time, but we've been told so many time things will change, I don't want it to be the norm anymore.

Maybe I should have said 'I don't want to believe' instead of 'it's hard to believe'.

Either way, I'm still hopeful development gets put on hold until a new beta gets released, instead of (what I assume is) 'just this one more thing' getting added, then a whole new round of testing.

Maybe it's not new stuff; maybe it's problems that keep needing to get fixed.  Who knows?

Anyway; hopefully we'll see a new beta "soon"

The team is working on hard on it. I don't have any dates or any news to slip out, but I can tell you that I know for sure it is being actively worked on.

I know they are, I have no doubt.  I just don't fully understand how they can be 'so close' for 'so long'?

But, as we all know, it is what it is.  Fingers crossed we see some good new stuff soon

I find that if I take a "coming soon" or "coming on xx" date, I multiply the beta number by weeks to get a realistic expected date. i.e. B11 next week = next week + 11 weeks

In RC mode, it's RC Candidate Number Squared.

I appreciate all the hard work LT does but I really feel like they should be taking the under promise and over deliver road instead of the opposite. I'd rather hear that something will be out by the end of the year and have it released sooner than be told "just a few more days" and hear nothing for weeks.

</rant> I still love you Tom 

I have a friend who is a long-time unRAID user who gave me his opinion several months ago

that I should abandon unRAID because the development progress is so slow. I decided to wait and see, and I

sure couldn't make much of an argument back to him right now, based on the last 5 months:

6/28  jonp:  "unRAID 6 to be released Q3 2014. That’s right folks, we are going to be releasing a final version

              of unRAID 6 in the upcoming quarter."

9/29: beta v610a released, the last release we have seen to-date

10/7  I made the following post in the unRAID Project Roadmap Announcement thread, (which was not locked at that time):

      "Since we are now in 4Q, I am wondering what the probable date is for the first v6 production release,

      which was previously projected to happen in 3Q. Could someone at Limetech comment?  If you like, you

      can just respond and assign a % probability to each of the following choices (the idea is that the sum

      of the four percentages assigned adds up to 100):

      a) any day now

      b) definitely by end 4Q14

      c) 1Q15

      d) no predictions, it's taking a lot longer than we thought"

      I never got an answer from anyone at Limetech to that post, but jonp did respond to the general concern on 10/20:

10/20 jonp:  "Quite simply, more frequent updates to you guys is something we need to do and we are aware of that.

              I can't speak to all the details right now, but you're about to see that kick into high-gear.

              We need a little more time to finish the prep, but seriously, you guys are in for some real treats

              this week ;-)."

11/1 jonp:  "The next beta release is any day now.  We are very close and just working on the final touches before we get it out."

11/12 jonp: "I do not have a release date for the next beta yet, but we are getting VERY close."

Limetech is working hard on providing a good product that you can depend on.

Allot of thought and testing goes into each change. If it's not ready, would you want to use it?