Out with Rockstor, in with Ubuntu 16.04 Server with ZFS

So my RockStor started to get weird- at first it wouldn't show my rockon (docker) for Plex anymore, though Plex kept working- but then at some point the Plex server no longer worked, and RockStor was showing my ~4TBs of media as all gone (RAID 5).  So BTRFS, I like to route for the underdog and tried a new thing, but I want stability.

The possible easy route from here is FreeNAS, but I honestly haven't liked dealing with anything built on FreeBSD and I have a hard enough time learning Linux, I don't have the capacity to learn FreeBSD as well- furthermore I had tried FreeNAS before RockStor and couldn't get anything to work- Samba, NFS, Pools etc.  But there are heaps and heaps of Ubuntu tutorials and support out there, and ZFS (the big selling point behind FreeNAS IMO) is now officially supported and stable in Linux.

Installing Ubuntu server is pretty strait forward, but I ensured that my ESXi instance afforded 8 gigs of RAM for my 7TB of RAIDZ (RAID 5) storage spread across 5 2TB drives.  The following site to get ZFS running was a great help:
http://www.cio.com/article/3040071/linux/how-to-set-up-a-redundant-storage-pool-with-zfs-and-ubuntu.html

This URL was great for going past the pool setup, making data sets and enabling sharing via samba and NFS.
https://www.latentexistence.me.uk/zfs-and-ubuntu-home-server-howto/

modifying in Linux to mount share even after restarts
https://forum.level1techs.com/t/mount-freenas-drive-to-my-computer-linux-mint/110459

GUI via Ajenti
http://support.ajenti.org/topics/1130-installing-ajenti-v-on-debianubuntu/

Rockstor ESXi notes

Use this URL to fix a single disk seen issue (vs multiple disks of a RAID)

Notably:

edit the VMX file of the RockStore VM and add the following line: 

disk.EnableUUID="true"

This adds a serial number to each drive and they all appear in the webinterface. 

 _______

Install VMtools or Open-vm-tools into Rockstor for graceful shutdown

Installing VMware tools into Rockstor to assist in gracefully shutting it down- or instead open VM tools as it does not need to be re-installed after updates.  Also ensure Rockstor is the first to boot up before other VMs that use its storage pool.

Install the Open-vm-tools:
Rockstore uses epel repo so it is pretty easy to install: on your console login as root:

yum install open-vm-tools
service vmtoolsd start

Getting 4 Pin Noctua fans to work with HP Z800 6 Pin header and avoid BIOS FAN error

So in an attempt to quiet down the old z800, I started to replace fans with Noctua fans-- but HP does not use standardized fan connectors.  In particular, putting 4 pin PWM fans on the header that is meant for a dual fan setup that terminates into a 6 pin connector.  The 6 pin layout is essentially the standard 4 pin layout of hot wires and RPM wires, but the 5th and 6th pin are just for the RPM of the second fan (power is paralleled).  So to make the annoying BIOS 'fan not detected' error go away (requiring me to press F1 to complete boot up-- and also to put the provided Noctua resistors in place as the MB makes the fans go into overdrive with this error) I found that Philmore locking socket 70-4856 fits the 'proprietary' HP 6 pin fan header perfectly.  I paralleled two wires with pins to the Noctua RPM wires to go into the last two blanks-- boot up-- Error free and no need to use the reistors as well!!!  Success!!

Flashing an integrated LSI 1068e RAID controller on an old HP z800

So firstly, the 'why' towards doing this is for the want to using a software raid found in various distros such as FreeNAS ZFS, Linux BTRFS etc.  I feel the 1068e as implemented by HP and LSI on this board (and from my research on a lot of 'embedded' 'integrated' setups on other boards) was seriously affecting performance as well- the RAID 10 write speeds were atrocious and no-where near the ~130mbs it should have been at.

So off to the races- after much research it was looking impossible, all the info out there was in regards to the PCI card setups, not the embedded setups and the tutorials and scripts would not work.  Then I fell on an unRAID thread HERE, page 53 second post down had a write-up.

Add-on notes to that tutorial-
- choose PCI-e when prompted
- 3081 when prompted

enjoy

Proxmox and unRAID on an old HP Z800

Long story short, don't do it.  The 1068e built in RAID controller, and the other IBM SATA controller, both do not seem to play nice with the Linux kernel both Proxmox and unRAID use.  The various tools/scripts/tutorials etc to 'fix' this type of issue on 1068e based PCI RAID cards do not work on the embedded unit.  Ultimately I used ESXi to get the VM performance level expected from the machine.

Intsall Wine, DaZzle, VMware and Veracrypt in Ubuntu

On a fresh install of Ubuntu (gnome 3 is my flavor), I like to install the following right away- its easier with Ubuntu than strait Debian, at least for me, for now, though Debian has been more stable for me.

Download the VMware workstation bundle for Linux from their website.  Go into the command prompt and type:

chmod +x VMware-Workstation-Full*.bundle

next type

 sudo ./VMware-Workstation-Full*.bundle

The key is to be in the directory (likely Downloads) or insert the directory path, and the VMware workstation title in the quotes will be different than the actual package name you downloaded, use the downloaded name.

Install Wine via the Ubuntu software center in order to be able to run Windows apps.

Install Endicia tools (most important, DaZzle) with this link:  https://www.endicia.com/EndiciaProfessionalHelp/Content/install_gs/download_install_gs.htm

If your a Veracrypt user, you can add veracrypt to your repo using the follwing command, then you can simply apt-get update and apt-get upgrade afterworkds.

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:unit193/encryption
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install veracrypt

By installing these programs, my Linux machine comes a long way towards replacing my need for a Windows machine.  I also take the easy route and install Chromium via the software center vs. downloading it and installing it the more manual way.

When installing Proxmox or other install where your only option to make changes is within the command line, this site came in handy-

https://www.howtoforge.com/faq/how-to-edit-files-on-the-command-line