From 1aa1455ea0d36fc4573600f0f464130bb35cc4dd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Andrea Mazzoleni Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2025 19:17:32 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Update manual --- snapraid.1 | 9 +++++++++ snapraid.d | 9 +++++++++ snapraid.txt | 41 +++++++++++++++++++++++++---------------- 3 files changed, 43 insertions(+), 16 deletions(-) diff --git a/snapraid.1 b/snapraid.1 index c0b019ca..e177dbfb 100644 --- a/snapraid.1 +++ b/snapraid.1 @@ -353,6 +353,15 @@ Running \[dq]scrub\[dq] on an unsynced array may report errors caused by removed or modified files. These errors are reported in the \[dq]scrub\[dq] output, but the related blocks are not marked as bad. .SS Pooling +Note: The pooling feature described below has been superseded by the +mergefs tool, which is now the recommended option for Linux users in +the SnapRAID community. Mergefs provides a more flexible and efficient +way to pool multiple drives into a single unified mount point, +allowing seamless access to files across your array without relying +on symbolic links. It integrates well with SnapRAID for parity +protection and is commonly used in setups like OpenMediaVault (OMV) +or custom NAS configurations. +.PP To have all the files in your array shown in the same directory tree, you can enable the \[dq]pooling\[dq] feature. It creates a read\-only virtual view of all the files in your array using symbolic links. diff --git a/snapraid.d b/snapraid.d index da836e14..df5a8e41 100644 --- a/snapraid.d +++ b/snapraid.d @@ -202,6 +202,15 @@ Getting Started output, but the related blocks are not marked as bad. Pooling + Note: The pooling feature described below has been superseded by the + mergefs tool, which is now the recommended option for Linux users in + the SnapRAID community. Mergefs provides a more flexible and efficient + way to pool multiple drives into a single unified mount point, + allowing seamless access to files across your array without relying + on symbolic links. It integrates well with SnapRAID for parity + protection and is commonly used in setups like OpenMediaVault (OMV) + or custom NAS configurations. + To have all the files in your array shown in the same directory tree, you can enable the "pooling" feature. It creates a read-only virtual view of all the files in your array using symbolic links. diff --git a/snapraid.txt b/snapraid.txt index b897ec9c..edf540f3 100644 --- a/snapraid.txt +++ b/snapraid.txt @@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ the best benefits of both. However, it has some limitations that you should consider before using it. The main limitation is that if a disk fails and you haven't recently synced, -you may be unable to fully recover. +you may not be able to fully recover. More specifically, you may be unable to recover up to the size of the changed or deleted files since the last sync operation. This occurs even if the changed or deleted files are not on the @@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ The "content" file is stored in multiple copies, and each copy must be on a different disk to ensure that, even in case of multiple disk failures, at least one copy is available. -For example, suppose you are interested only in one parity level +For example, suppose you are interested in only one parity level of protection, and your disks are located at: /mnt/diskp <- selected disk for parity @@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ Each run of the command checks approximately 8% of the array, excluding data already scrubbed in the previous 10 days. You can use the -p, --plan option to specify a different amount and the -o, --older-than option to specify a different age in days. -For example, to check 5% of the array older than 20 days, use: +For example, to check 5% of the array for blocks older than 20 days, use: snapraid -p 5 -o 20 scrub @@ -219,6 +219,15 @@ output, but the related blocks are not marked as bad. 4.2 Pooling ----------- +Note: The pooling feature described below has been superseded by the +mergefs tool, which is now the recommended option for Linux users in +the SnapRAID community. Mergefs provides a more flexible and efficient +way to pool multiple drives into a single unified mount point, +allowing seamless access to files across your array without relying +on symbolic links. It integrates well with SnapRAID for parity +protection and is commonly used in setups like OpenMediaVault (OMV) +or custom NAS configurations. + To have all the files in your array shown in the same directory tree, you can enable the "pooling" feature. It creates a read-only virtual view of all the files in your array using symbolic links. @@ -284,7 +293,7 @@ symlinks with the command: 4.3 Undeleting -------------- -SnapRAID is more like a backup program than a RAID system, and it +SnapRAID functions more like a backup program than a RAID system, and it can be used to restore or undelete files to their previous state using the -f, --filter option: @@ -319,7 +328,7 @@ Then proceed with the following steps. ---- 4.4.1 STEP 1 -> Reconfigure ---- You need some space to recover, ideally on additional -spare disks, but an external USB or remote disk will suffice. +spare disks, but an external USB disk or remote disk will suffice. Modify the SnapRAID configuration file to make the "data" or "parity" option of the failed disk point to a location with enough empty @@ -447,7 +456,7 @@ If SMART reports that a disk is failing, "FAIL" or "PREFAIL" is printed for that disk, and SnapRAID returns with an error. In this case, immediate replacement of the disk is highly recommended. -Other possible strings are: +Other possible status strings are: logfail - In the past, some attributes were lower than the threshold. logerr - The device error log contains errors. @@ -578,7 +587,7 @@ The files in the array are NOT modified. Scrubs the array, checking for silent or input/output errors in data and parity disks. -For each command invocation, approximately 8% of the array is checked, excluding +Each invocation checks approximately 8% of the array, excluding data already scrubbed in the last 10 days. This means that scrubbing once a week ensures every bit of data is checked at least once every three months. @@ -636,7 +645,7 @@ use the -e, --filter-error option. Unlike other filter options, this one applies fixes only to files that are unchanged since the latest "sync". -All files that cannot be fixed are renamed by adding the +SnapRAID renames all files that cannot be fixed by adding the ".unrecoverable" extension. Before fixing, the entire array is scanned to find any files moved @@ -730,16 +739,16 @@ that have it set to zero. This improves SnapRAID's ability to recognize moved and copied files, as it makes the timestamp almost unique, -removing possible duplicates. +reducing possible duplicates. More specifically, if the sub-second timestamp is not zero, a moved or copied file is identified as such if it matches the name, size, and timestamp. If the sub-second timestamp -is zero, it is considered a copy only if it matches the full path, -size, and timestamp. +is zero, it is considered a copy only if the full path, +size, and timestamp all match. The second-precision timestamp is not modified, -and all the dates and times of your files will be maintained. +so all the dates and times of your files will be preserved. 5.16 rehash ----------- @@ -1187,7 +1196,7 @@ One kibibyte is 1024 bytes. The default blocksize is 256, which should work for most cases. WARNING! This option is for experts only, and it is highly -recommended not to change it. To change this value in the +recommended not to change this value. To change this value in the future, you will need to recreate the entire parity! A reason to use a different blocksize is if you have many small @@ -1235,7 +1244,7 @@ The default hashsize is 16 bytes (128 bits), which should work for most cases. WARNING! This option is for experts only, and it is highly -recommended not to change it. To change this value in the +recommended not to change this value. To change this value in the future, you will need to recreate the entire parity! A reason to use a different hashsize is if your system has @@ -1280,7 +1289,7 @@ SnapRAID periodically checks the temperature of all disks using the smartctl tool. The current disk temperatures are displayed while SnapRAID is operating. If any disk exceeds this limit, all operations stop, and the disks are spun down (put into standby) for the duration -defined by "temp_sleep". +defined by the "temp_sleep" option. During operation, SnapRAID also analyzes the heating curve of each disk and estimates the long-term steady temperature they are expected @@ -1504,7 +1513,7 @@ quote them to prevent the shell from expanding them. SnapRAID stores the list and checksums of your files in the content file. -It is a binary file listing all the files present in your disk array, +It is a binary file that lists all the files present in your disk array, along with all the checksums to verify their integrity. This file is read and written by the "sync" and "scrub" commands and