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Advantages / Disadvantages of the two versions of DP on WHS 2011


RobbieH

Question

Sorry if this has been answered, but I couldn't find it. 

 

I'm currently on WHS 2011 running DP version 1.3.7585. I thought there used to be a FAQ detailing the advantages to moving to version 2.0 of DP, but I don't see it now. Is the general recommendation to stay on version 1.x, or should I be planning to move to version 2.x on my WHS 2011 machine?

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(I'm going to pin the thread, as it is commonly asked)

 

StableBit DrivePool v1.X is meant for WHS2011 (and that line of OS's). It features tight integration into the dashboard, and most of the same features.

 

StableBit DrivePool v2.X introduces it's own remote control scheme, supports reparse points (if you're not sure what this is, then you don't need it), and most importantly: File placement rules (allows you to specify which files or folders end up on which disk in the pool).

 

The license is valid for both products, and you can switch between them, if you are inclined. 

Additionally, the pool is backwards and forwards compatible (for the most part). 

 

We recommend the 1.X version unless you need one of the listed features. Or you can try both and figure out which you like more.

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You are very welcome.

 

And in that case, then it doesn't matter which version you use here. And I would recommend trying out ... well, both and see which you like better.

 

But to be clear, you can't have both installed at the same time. You'll need to uninstall, reboot and then install the other to test both of them.

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Christopher, thanks, but I have been running this since May of 2013 with no issues, so I am not going to change. But, I did just buy the scanner. :)

 

Umfriend, I think it only supports one pool. I don't have enough unpooled drives to try to build another one, so I'm not absolutely sure though.

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It's been so long since I used 1.x on my WHS2011 box, does it support more than one Pool like 2.x does?

 

Yes, the 1.X version support multiple pools.

It was added at 1.3.0.7534, specifically.

 

Christopher, thanks, but I have been running this since May of 2013 with no issues, so I am not going to change. But, I did just buy the scanner. :)

 

Umfriend, I think it only supports one pool. I don't have enough unpooled drives to try to build another one, so I'm not absolutely sure though.

If it isn't broke, don't fix it, right? :)

 

And glad to hear about the StableBit Scanner purchase. I hope you enjoy that as well!

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Yes, it is there too, just a little different. So if you click on the pool drive (J: in my case) in Hard Drives, it will tell you how much is pooled and how much is duplication. If you click on an individual folder in Server Folders, it will tell you how much (data size) of each type of file is present.

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Kewl, I think I'll go back to 1.x then as I seem to remember the dashboard would show datausage by shared folder or something.

 

Just uninstalling 2.x and installing 1.x, right? License will remain without having to de-activate as it is in one and the same machine?

Yes, the 1.X has the better dashboard integration.

And yes, it shows the usage per folder.

However, this relies on 3rd party controls for the display, and relies on information from Windows Search. 

Since both of these tend to be less than very reliable... that's why 2.X doesn't have them.

 

However, on our to-do list is better integration with the dashboard. It's not a high priority though.

 

Like this? :)

 

Hey Christopher, look, there's one of those ST3000DM001 drives. And, this is my second one. DrivePool kept me from losing anything (important) when the first one failed!

Yup, that's the nice folder display. And pie charts. :)

 

And I'm glad to hear it. I've had ... 4 of these develop issues in the last six months or so (but I was using external drives that I "shelled")

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This was from an external drive that I shelled also. Why they sell those for less than stand-alone I have no idea. From now on, I'll just buy WD Red drives I think.

Depending on who you ask, some people beleive that the external drives are 'sub-par' disks, that didn't met some quality standard. Since they won't be on all the time (in theory)..... should last longer that way...

 

But the reality may be simpler, they use different firmware than desktop drives. So they may not do as much. Hence cheaper.

 

 

And yeah, WD Reds or Seagate NAS drives (or Hitachi NAS drives) are the better choice.

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Just to chime in on my own opinion of which version to use with WHS 2011.  I started with V1 and moved to V2.  From my perspective, V2 is the right choice.  

 

1) I like the V2 remote view/control scheme much better.  The WHS Dashboard is soooo sloooow to load whereas the V2 remote app for DP is super fast.  

2) I like being able to place certain files on a specific drive (I put my VM images on a very fast drive, for example)

3) I have yet to see any benefit of the tighter integration from V1 vs V2.  

 

So no downside with V2 over V1, and several areas of upside.  Frankly, I am surprised to see Covecube still supporting a separate product for WHS.  IMHO, V1 is really not needed.  

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Just to make sure.  To upgrade to 2.x I would just have to remove the DrivePool add-in from the Dashboard and then locally installed the 2.x?  The pool should pop right back up once the install is done without me doing anything?

 

Thanks for the help!

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Correct. Since I posted up this topic, I have upgraded my WHS server box to V2, then moved it to a new machine, then moved that to WSE 2012, all seamlessly on the same data drives. Once you reinstall the new product, it sees the pools and you just keep on keepin' on. 

 

On one case, I don't remember which, it did change drive letters. Just use Drive Manager and put it back to the original letter. I think though this was when I went from WHS 2011 to WSE 2012. Even with those changes, I have never had a single issue.

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With DrivePool, I haven't had issues with the license, but I do recommend deactivating it first. I've moved it around and such without deactivating with no issues, but I can tell you with Scanner, you MUST deactivate the old one first, then put the new one in place.

 

And if you are wondering, when I installed Drivepool on WSE 2012, it AUTOMATICALLY deactivated the WHS 2011 license. So no, you can't have one license on two machines.

 

(No, I wasn't trying to get around it, in my case I had forgotten to deactivate. I've retired my WHS 2011 machine, had no intent on having two installations) :)

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When I tried that, I did have an issue with the license so it may be worthwhile deactivating the license prior to removing the add-in (and REMEMBER what the license code is somewhere).

Yeah, we fixed that. That's ... pretty much the only change between the 2.1.1.558 version and 2.1.1.561 version, actually. We were getting a LOT of requests for license resets because of how everything was being handled. So .. the 561 version contains some code to check for the 1.X settings and validate them, to make the transition smoother.

 

This means that the installer... well see below.

 

Ok, removed from Dashboard and deleted the Drivepool folder.  It's still saying the add-on is already installed when I tried to run the 2.x installer.

 

Edit:  Also restarted the server twice.

 

Remove the installed version from teh Dashboard (if that has issues, use the control panel and then double check the dashboard.

Reboot the server, to ensure that the driver is completely removed from the system.

Install the new version.

Reboot to ensure that the background services are started after the Pool has been recreated.

 

Aka: uninstall, reboot, reinstal, reboot.

 

After doing that, you should be up and running and good to go.

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