Jump to content
  • 0

Removing the SSD cache - causes permission errors on a duplicated folder


AlexL

Question

So I noticed severe drops in speed on my storage space SSDs, and wanted to check it out. My disk images where doing their thing to archive folders [since the ssds had not been balanced out for the whole day, another strange issue], and when I removed the SSDs from DP, Trueimage comes back saying it gets access denied. Trying to create a new folder on that windows share gave permission errors.

 

DP now has permission denied from within the OS as well.

 

Troubleshooter uploading now to get you guys some view, but so far it seems I might have to stop using DP when the trial ends :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

Are these SSDs in a Storage Spaces array, as well as in the pool?

If so, that ... may be why your'e seeing the performance hit. 

 

 

Also, what version of StableBit DrivePool are you on?

 

And was the drive still being removed when you started getting the access denied errors?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Are these SSDs in a Storage Spaces array, as well as in the pool?


If so, that ... may be why your'e seeing the performance hit. 


> 1 of the disks was bad


 


Also, what version of StableBit DrivePool are you on? > 651 BETA


 


And was the drive still being removed when you started getting the access denied errors? > Yes, sent all logs through the tool as well.


Thing is, balancing is now super aggressive so the files should've been duplicated/moved but seemed to be only on the ssd storage pool.


However, this for me is a huge show stopper, that I all of the sudden cannot access my own drives.


 


Should I try STABLE (ie 1.x) ?


Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

 

Are these SSDs in a Storage Spaces array, as well as in the pool?

If so, that ... may be why your'e seeing the performance hit. 

> 1 of the disks was bad

 

To be blunt, that doesn't answer the question.

 

Did you use Storage Spaces, or not?  

 

 

 

In either case, a bad disk can cause a lot of problems. Not just for our software.  But since our software acts as a proxy for the disks, any issues with the underlying disks can and will cause issues with the pool.  

 

If you were using Storage Spaces, a failing drive would also have created issues with the array.

 

 

 

And was the drive still being removed when you started getting the access denied errors? > Yes, sent all logs through the tool as well.

[...]

However, this for me is a huge show stopper, that I all of the sudden cannot access my own drives.

 

For the "older" versions, this is normal.  There are a number of reasons for this, but ... suffice  to say, we agree. 

 

That's why in the new public beta (2.2.0.8##), the pool doesn't actually go read only.  We try to ensure that the entire pool is writable while the disk is being removed.   We feel that this a better experience for users, and requires less "hacks" to keep the pool online.

 

http://blog.covecube.com/2017/09/stablebit-drivepool-2-2-0-847-beta/

* [D] Rewrote how drive removal works:
    - The pool no longer needs to go into a read-only mode when a drive is being removed from the pool.
    - Open duplicated files can continue to function normally, even if one of their file parts is on the drive that's being removed.
    - Open unduplicated files that reside on the drive that's being removed will need to be closed in order for drive removal to complete 
      successfully. An option to automatically force close existing unduplicated files is now available on the drive removal dialog.
      When not enabled, the service will move everything that's not in use before aborting drive removal.

Should I try STABLE (ie 1.x) ?

 

The latest stable version of StableBit DrivePool is 2.1.1.561. 

 

This version will work, but we hope to have a stable release of the 2.2 version out in the near future. 

 

 

Thing is, balancing is now super aggressive so the files should've been duplicated/moved but seemed to be only on the ssd storage pool.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here.

 

That said, the aggressiveness of the balancing depends heavily on the balancers enabled, but more specifically, on the main balance settings.   Namely, if you have the software set to "balance immediately", it should balance often. 

Additionally, if the balancing ratio slider is set to 100%, this should also help make the balancing more aggressive. 

 

 

As for the SSD(s), if you're using the SSD Optimizer balancer plugin, then yes, it should aggressively balance data off of the SSD drive.  This is to clear room for new data.   

 

Also, it should be worth noting here, that if you're using the SSD Optimizer, and you have duplication enabled, that you should have two drives configured as "SSDs" for the SSD Optimizer. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Sorry, I panicked in the dead of the night and didn't get a chance to explain. Let me rephrase my user story.

 

Drive Pool:

10x NTFS drives (Icybox diskN)

1x Storage Spaces (SSD Pool) - containing 2 SSD's one Intel, one Micron.

 

Balancers:

SSD Optimizer - SSD Pool selected as SSD, rest as archive. Fill SSD and archives to 99% 

Scanner

Duplication space optimizer - Not sure if i enabled this after the fact.

Balancing was set to 70%, no real time duplication enabled, no file rules, balancing immediately.

 

SSD pool was empty in the morning, started disk image upload via SMB, verified that I was writing to the SSDs and left for work.

17:00, I come home, I had managed to move 200gb by 14:00 or so the logs say, no balancing activity was being done on DP, even tho I did have more than 200GB left on a few drives. 

 

I start my usual test of copy a big file from non-DP system ssd disk to the storage spaces and see the transfer rate go UP (Intel slab) then it goes down (Micron slab) to 30mb/s from 230! I want to troubleshoot this, naturally so I click remove SSD and it starts moving the files from the SSDs to the archive disks.

In the bkg the mac keep trying to reconnect to continue backing up and all of the sudden I get an error msg on the mac saying 'access denied' on the upload. Odd, so I verify if I can create a new folder in the share which is a NO although this folder has been duplicated many days ago to several drives. I logon to the machine itself and try creating a folder withing the same folder, access denied. I can see the duplicated folder on a few drives so i should receive any errors should my writes/reads now go to the same folder on other drives. So I panic, write this...not well worded error report...and run the troubleshooter emailing as drivepool@l......e

 

After a while DP manages to move all the data off from the SSD Storage Space, I check the Micron and no SMART errors and no weirdness, just super slow. I test another USB enclosure and I get the same slow speed. I replace that disk and install to the main DP which seems to work.

Since I need the files OFF that ssd storage spaces pool, I set the Balance ratio to 1%, I also disabled Read stripping because I read somewhere it might be slowing me down. And a bunch of other radical changes as the default behavior obviously doesn't suit me.

 

So thats my user story, along with full logs, at least those I could get, I wish I had the logs from the whole day before.

 

As for the balance ratio, I get the desired super aggresive behavior of having a balance ratio of 1% or 1gb, but I should set it to 100% instead ?

 

Now your answer indicates I should have 2x SSDs selected , so I am reading:

"If you are using duplicated files, then you should specify multiple SDD disks or else the system will fall back
to an Archive disk for one or more of the file parts."

I am using file duplication, but the problem seems to me that I was writing big files to the SSD, that where never balanced off, or duplicated for that matter. And as soon as I clicked remove it felt like DP went all "read-only!!" on me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

As for the panicking, I absolutely understand that. Anything involving your data is "panic worthy". 

 

The 5 built in balancers are enabled by default (StableBit Scanner, Drive Usage Limiter, Prevent Drive Overfill, Duplication Space Optimizer, Volume Optimizer).  

 

For the SSD Optimizer, I would recommend setting the percentage for the SSD to 75% or similar.  Some SSDs have issues with they get too full. Also, it may cause issues when trying to add new files.  Lowering the percentage will help avoid that.

 

 

 

For the balancing, if these are large files, the balancer has to wait for the file to finish before it can even attempt to balance the file. And it must be "unlocked" (eg closed) before it can be moved, as well. 

Additionally, StableBit DrivePool uses a background priority to balance the files, so if you're constantly writing to the pool, then balancing may not occur in a timely manner. 

 

 

As for the balancing ratio, you want it higher, if you want it aggressive.  Anytime the balancing ratio falls below the specified value, it will try to balance the data. Setting it to 1% means that it would basically never balance.  Setting it to 100% would make it want to balance all the time.

 

 

As for the files, unless you have real time duplication disabled, it should always right both copies of the files.   

 

And as for the read only state when removing the drive, that will no longer happen in future versions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Hi,

The files are still not moving from the SSD pool after many days although the Balancing ratio is set to 100% as you suggested. I sent troubleshooting logs with a ref to this thread. Please check and get back, I need to make a decision in 4 days until the trial ends..

 

Thanks,

A

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Well, as for the trial period, if you install a newer beta version, it should reset the trial period.  Otherwise, open a ticket (https://stablebit.com/Contact) and let me know, and we'll issue a trial extension. 

 

 

 

As for the rest, it looks pretty normal. No real serious issues show up in the log. And it does look like it's balancing everything properly.

 

I do see one error though. Namely, that it errored out on removing a drive, because it wasn't empty.  The beta version should handle that a lot better.  It also doesn't put the pool into a read only mode, which is likely most of what you were seeing (not being able to create folders).

 

 

And from what I'm seeing, the software is definitely balancing data here, though. And a lot of it.

 

Though, it may be worth making sure that the SSD Optimizer balancer is at the top of the list, as this should give it higher priority. 

 

 

Also, if you wouldn't mind, could you grab screenshots of the UI? 
The Windows Sniping tool should be fine to do this.

 

And if you don't want to post them here, open a ticket at https://stablebit.com/Contactand post the images there. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Answer this question...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...