I’ve searched but can’t find detailed instructions on how to do this: in the not too distant future I will need to replace the internal SSD in my Nucleus that I store my music files on (hi-res downloads and SACD rips are filling up the drive far faster than I anticipated!). The closest instructions for this I could find would be the Nucleus Migration Guide in the KB (https://kb.roonlabs.com/Nucleus_Migration_Guide). If you guys could validate what I think the process should be, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Backup Roon database (I am backing up my database to a thumb drive plugged into the Nucleus).
Shut down Nucleus.
Remove and replace storage SSD with larger one.
Power up Nucleus, go to web admin page, and format new SSD.
On web admin page, stop the server software.
Copy music files across the network from my storage backup location (PC) to new internal SSD in Nucleus.
Restart server software.
Restore database backup.
I’m uncertain about whether restoring the database backup is indeed the last step, or if that should actually be done before copying the music files back to the Nucleus? And what’s the best way to restore the database backup: from the Roon menu, Settings, and Backups, or should I logout of the Nucleus and use the “Restore a Backup” function from the Login screen?
I’m even uncertain as to whether I need to restore a backup of the database at all, since I will be copying back the exact same music content that the original SSD had on it - could I just copy my music to the new SSD without restoring a backup?
As you can see I’m a little confused on the correct process - any guidance here would be appreciated!
Why not leave the SSD alone and obtain a NAS to store music? If you set up the NAS in a RAID5 configuration you would have some failure tolerance which you will not have if you store everything on a local SSD. I have more than 1.5TB of music. I would hate to lose it all in a drive failure. Just saying…
It’s more backup than storing everything on a single SSD. I use a NAS with RAID5 and then copy everything in real time to another NAS and then to a USB drive that is hanging off my NAS. Just to be really careful I also use a cloud service to back up everything in real time as well. So you are right that RAID is not backup. But no backup is not backup either. I was not advocating for RAID as a backup. In my posting the exact words I used were failure tolerance. I never used the words backup.
Why? I have been using a NAS for my Core and for all my storage for over two years without any issues or problems. What is it about a NAS that has been a miserable experience for you?
Understand your points and they are obviously good ones. This has not been my experience using a NAS. I am actually pretty happy with my situation as it is today. Maybe someday I will look at it differently. For now my application works well for me as does the application that you recommend. I just feel as if I am better protected from mayhem than I would be with a one drive solution.
Danny, thanks so much for the assist! When you say swap steps 4 and 5, I assume the point is to stop the server software before formatting the new SSD?
John, thanks for the suggestion. I have considered a NAS many times, and while I may get one in the future, as long as my music collection will fit on an internal SSD in the Nucleus, I would prefer to stick with that configuration. It’s silent, takes up no extra space, is cheaper than a NAS, and requires no management work. While a RAID 5 configuration offers drive failure tolerance, a friend of mine had his RAID 5 NAS fail recently due to a motherboard failure in the NAS, so they’re not a 100% fail-safe solution.
In addition to the SSD inside the Nucleus, I have my music backed on two separate hard drives inside my PC, on an external USB drive attached to my PC, and also in Cloud storage. So a SSD failure in the Nucleus is not going to put me out of business.
Danny, with your suggestions, the correct procedure should be as follows?
Backup Roon database.
Log out of Nucleus.
Shut down Nucleus.
Remove and replace storage SSD with larger one.
Power up Nucleus. On web admin page, stop the server software.
From web admin page, format new SSD.
Copy music files across the network from my storage backup location (PC) to new internal SSD in Nucleus.
From web admin page, restart server software.
Go to Nucleus log-in page and restore database.
Am I correct in assuming that by restoring the database, I also avoid the lengthy process whereby Roon scans each and every music file for audio level info?
It’s an older home built PC with an Asus Z68 chipset motherboard, an Intel i7 2700K CPU, and 16GB of RAM. It’s running Windows 10 Professional. Google tells me that Win 10 can’t read EXT4 directly but it’s possible via some third party software?
I’m not sure where this discussion is going - are you guys suggesting it’s possible to copy the contents of the old SSD to a new SSD by connecting them both to a PC?
No, not suggesting that at all. I was just providing extra information relative to your comment. And as an aside, I was making a comment about external storage and common usage formats between Windows and Rock, again as a side note.
Sorry for the confusion - I’m just kind of in the dark as to why Danny asked me if my computer could read EXT4 partitions. Regarding your comments, I assume the implications are that you could format an external drive as exFAT, attach it to your PC and load it up with music, and then plug it into the Nucleus (as an alternative to starting with the drive attached to the Nucleus and then copying everything over the network)?
i asked because if you want to read the old internal ssd and copy it to the new internal ssd over the network, you will need to be able to read the internal ssd’s contents from your pc
what sizes are these 2 ssd’s you are coming from and going to?