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TPham

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  1. I activated the first DrivePool back in January on a server 2019. All was well and never had to make any change, except to use it. Due to the success, I am activating a second DrivePool on a PC. This time, I started with a drive that is almost full of data, so some confusion that need help. Sorry. Here are the steps that I took: 1> PC has 3 drives: C (System, 1TB), D (new volume, no data, 12TB), E (folders with data, 12TB) 2> Installed & activated DP app -> DP created new drive letter F (volume name DrivePool, no data, 2TB) ????????? 3> Within DP app -> Added Drive D + E -> Remove Drive Letter D & Changed it's volume name to DP1 4> Changed Drive E name to D. Questions: a> What is that new DrivePool (drive letter F, 2 TB)? shouldn't it be 24 TB (the total of Drive DP and Drive Family-Media D). See picture #3. b> I'd think, and would like to have, both (Drive DP and Drive Family-Media D) be within DrivePool F and drive letter D be changed to DP0. Please advise what (and how) to do, as I'm confused. Thanks
  2. Ha!Ha!Ha! Nice trick. I did not know and did not even think about that. Playing an 1080P from DrivePool to the main i5 receiver, DP reads 1000 kbps (just barely over 1 MB/s) for 1 second, then 0 for the next 2 - 3 seconds. Cycle repeats with some variations such as 500 or 700 kbps for 1 second, then 1 - 2 seconds at 0. Is this the issue ? The receiver is the root cause ? Is there a way see how it reads in Storage Spaces for comparison ? I have a firetv which my wife hated. I got kodi on it but never knew that it could stream from a network folder. How you did it? Complicated ? Give me some lead and I'll try. Lucky for you. Dealing with large company is a venture. Sometimes I got lucky. Most were disaster. Get them to fix something for free may still end up with a big charge. Better fix it myself.
  3. Same here. I've been using it since Server 2012 was released. Since then I went thru 2 upgrades, 2016 & 2019. Never a problem. I anticipated that some of the hard drives could reach the end of their life soon and will need replacement. If I know how to identify the drive when the time comes, I would move on without a second thought. But reading some bad experiences by others, I wanted to have a solid alternative ready. That is why I am here. Thanks for your continuing support. Continuing with DrivePool streaming improvement, I spent much much hours in past few days analyzing and testings, as I do want DrivePool to work. I have a list of many more things to do. One of them relates to wi-fi setting and QOS (as Shane mentioned in an earlier post). I have fiber optic with AT&T. The gateway/router combo is a Pace 5268A. I have an Asus router set up in AP mode which controls all wireless connections. The main receiver is an i5 and is within 25 ft direct sight to the Asus. Signal strength is excellent every corner of the house. Streaming has always been good. The main receiver and other laptops, phones and ipads always have 5 or 4 solid bars. Pace 5269 gateway/router combo has no setting for QOS and/or any traffic control as far as I know. It can be set up as a bridge, but the speed will drop by haft and ip6 will stop. There is a way to copy its mac address and replace it with the Asus router. By doing this, I can set the Asus in router mode and utilize all its settings. However, this option is too extreme. AT&T certainly would not approve it. I am not ready for it yet, too much exposures. So, let's leave the Pace alone for now. The AP mode in Asus has no support for QOS. It is running the latest Merlin firmware. Chances are there is other firmware that provides something like adaptive QOS, but I can't find one and/or if it would work. Perhaps it could be setup as a second router but proof it as an AP. I heard about but don't know how. There could be other alternatives. So, this is question #1. I can have access to a spare Asus router and get it configured in repeater or any mode that supports QOS. Is this possible and would it help any, at least to the main receiver? This is question #2. There was a notification for new 2.3.0.1244 release. I downloaded it and later found out it is a Beta. Any possible impact to my streaming and/or other functionalities? This question #3. So, I would like to address these three questions first, prior to planning any thing else. For the time being, streaming from Storage Paces is our only choice. Cheers,
  4. @Shane Thanks. Great advises. I did some of the trouble-shooting tips you mentioned, as well as tried the options "Network I/O boost" and "Bypass file system filters". For the time being, I maintain both systems, and continue to monitoring DrivePool. One weird thing just happened though. Last Friday, I made a BALANCING' change in 'DrivePool.OrderedFilePlacementPlugin' from 'new files only' to 'including existing files'. Immediately afterward, the long bar turned yellow then to green and stayed there (as mentioned is earlier post). No activity whatsoever till this morning, after I activated DrivePool. Suddenly DrivePool started writing & writing non-stop. It has been going on for a while now. The green bar stayed as it was before. Strange. I did the read stripping and the other options in performance tab since day 1. The drives in DrivePool are new, the server is powerful with Xeon processor and now 32 GB of ram, Lan & wi-fi speeds are great, and the receivers for streaming have more than sufficient power. The server is pure, no third-party app, only windows defender. So, I'm baffled about the poor streaming ability of DrivePool. I like the app and really want it to work. Although CrystalDiskMark read/write speed tests in the 400 mbps, DrivePool showed an average around 100. This is still good. Until I can get to the bottom of this, Storage Spaces will be for streaming and DrivePool for archiving. My life became sooooo complicated now. As for PrimoCache, we are on the same page. I reached out to their support staff on the performance and pricing. They suggested using 'delay-write' option, which allows the cache to build up. This option improved the initial burst, but dropped down even worse afterward. As for the pricing, server edition is $119. Eric Chen offered 10 % discount as my server is stand-alone and of no commercial use. Well more later. I enjoyed reading yours, but last night I was up all night replacing the hard drive in my laptop. Cheers,
  5. It used to be a transparent bar, I think. So after the balancing activity which was yellow, the bar became green. Therefore, I am not sure if this is normal, or some i/o is still going on. Good point. In my case, it is a Server for storage and streaming. DrivePool is struggling with the latter over wi-fi network. I'd like to know a bit more about background process as well. Just like those balancing, the bar went from transparent, to yellow then stayed green. Should I worry about, or just disregard. Weird. So I did a comparison between DrivePool and Storage Spaces. Storage Spaces with Parity is REAL bad in writing, but its streaming capability is far superior to DrivePool. That is why we never experienced with streaming until I implemented DrivePool. I tried PrimoCache as you suggested to see if streaming improved. Initial set up with Level-1 using RAM memory. It is helpful ONLY when writing tens or hundreds GBs. No need for a few random files now and then. Added Leven-2 cach with an SSD showed no change. Actual writing to Storage Spaces was around 40 mb/s. With PrimoCache, the initial burst over 110, but quickly dropped down to between 40 - 60 mb/s. Actual writing to DrivePool (2 x SSDs for caching) is around 100 - 110 mb/s, with or without PrimoCache. PrimoCache is not likely to help my case. By the way, PrimoCache Server Ed. is quite expensive, whether or not it's use is for home or commercial. Look like I can't give up Storage Spaces, as yet. Until I can find a way to improve streaming. Picture 1: Read & Write capability to Stablebit DrivePool Picture 2: Read & Write capability to Storage Spaces Picture 3: Write capability with PrimoCache From DrivePool to Storage Spaces. Initial Burst Speed Picture 4: Write capability with PrimoCache From DrivePool to Storage Spaces.Soon Dropped to Normal Speed
  6. I made a BALANCING' change in 'DrivePool.OrderedFilePlacementPlugin' from 'new files only' to 'including existing files', or something like that. A long yellow bar appeared at the bottom of the screen. I clicked on 'Re-Balance' button on the side of the bar. Some activities appeared briefly, then the bar changed to green and Pool Organization label. It remained in this state for 4 - 5 hours now. Cancelletion option not visible anywhere. What would be appropriate next steps ? Thanks
  7. Good to know. Thanks Good to know. I use 2 x SSD as instructed for duplication feature. They are good for writing. Luckily, I have not had any failure yet. But sooner or later, there will be. My luck continues with the help of DP and people like you who are willing to share knowledge. Thanks I have Hard Disk Sentinel. I also spent days & weeks searching & reading the topic. Some gave scripts samples. Others gave links to Microsoft to read, and of course, to get more confusion. At the end, it is something like your suggestion would be the answer. I plan to systematically pull a drive out, run 'Get-Disk' command, record & label each drive. Many ways to skin a cat, your way & my way would be at 'down-the-earth' level. Microsoft would be laughing at us, idiot basterds. I got to remember this. Thanks I misplaced the notes when I had to nuke DP, but it was somewhere in the 30 - 40 % memory usage. Media streaming was terrible. I knew something was wrong, and DP was the last app adding to the Server. After uninstalling DP, all were well. Then, what is the best options moving forward? Continuing with Storage Spaces requires advanced knowledge. The only alternative is DP. Second attempt at DP gave me lot of hopes, especially with quick 'down-the-earth' support from you, this forum and Christopher. Media streaming returned to normal under second DP installation. This time, I got 4 x 4 TB hard drives + 2 x 250 GB SSD formatted with NTFS + 16 GB Allocation. Then, I installed DP (the Beta version from Christopher) + DrivePool.AllInOnePlugin.Setup_1.0.0.2_x64.msi. Next was the settings of DP. Very smooth & quick. Glad to have your help P.S. Removing drive letters & naming drives to be DP01_PB3, DB02_PB3, etc . . . worked. The new names give information about drives and its enclosure.
  8. COOL ! I'll try that. Thanks I've heard about PrimoCache and was tempted to try, but was reluctance to add third party apps. DP took a large percentage of memory on our server hence I nuked the installation & returned to 'storage spaces'. Since then, and with Christopher's options, I am trying again. If additional memory works, then I'm most happy. Well, 'storage spaces' does not return REAL serial numbers. I have 8 disks in the Pool. Get-Disk command returns 2 x SN 152D00539000. 2 x SN 152D00539001, 2x SN 152D00539002, 2 x SN 152D00539003. I guess that reflects the drives according 'parity' setting (if it means anything). So, without real SN, it requires trial & error to locate the desired drive it its location among several enclosures. So, your way, no drive letter and naming drives as DP01, DP02, etc . . . makes perfect sense. I'll try that with new drives and the ones already in DP. KUDO to you. It is a pleasure discuss with you and others in this forum.
  9. @gtaus I'd love to know how to reply by sectional quotes as you and others did. Since I don't know how, I'm responding by the old numbering system, sorry. 1> 'Drive Letters had to go'. Agreed. How do you add the drives in DP without drive letters? Without drive letters, explorer won't show the drives, is that so? Can you give some samples how this could be done. In fact, I've been wondering about this subject, as there are only 23 letters left after A & B & D. 2> 'Duplication options better in DrivePool than Storage Spaces'. Agreed. I've thinking about organizing DP in three folders. Media no duplication. Data 1x2 duplication. Documents 1x3 duplication. This should work well, I think. I do have 2 x 250 GB SSD for cache. I think I'm going to like this setup. Additional observations & considerations: 3> Last week, I had to nuke the DP setup as the media streaming got a hit. I notified Christopher and he reached out to me with advises. I just started to setting up DP again. To my delight, the streaming has gotten better. I placed order for additional 16 GB RAM and methodically built up DP. I hope to finally Activate it soon. So, if there is any tips (Do & Don't), I would most appreciated. Our fist priority is Reliability. Some of us can't live without it. 4> I plan on retiring the some virtual disks from storage spaces for use in DrivePool. Afterward the Pool enclosure can be disconnected from Server & saved remotely with the remaining virtual disks (just in case). The problem is I can't identify the drives in order to properly do the removal process. Get-Disk command does not show actual serial numbers. Here is what I got: Listing as seen in Storage Spaces with 'wmic diskdrive get model,name,serialnumber' command. HGST HDN 724040ALE640 USB Device, Model 724040ALE640, SN 152D00539000 HGST HDN 724040ALE640, Model 724040ALE640, SN 152D00539002 TOSHIBA MD04ACA400 USB Device, Model MD04ACA400, SN 152D00539003 TOSHIBA MD04ACA400 USB Device, Model MD04ACA400, SN 152D00539002 HGST HDN 724040ALE640 USB Device, Model 724040ALE640, SN 152D00539003 HGST HDN 724040ALE640 USB Device, Model 724040ALE640, SN 152D00539001 WDC WD40 EZRX-22SPEB0 USB Device, Model EZRX-22SPEB0, SN 152D00539001 WDC WD40 EZRX-19SPEB0 USB Device, Model EZRX-19SPEB0, SN 152D00539000 etc . . . Thanks
  10. Thanks, Shane, for confirmation about moving DrivePool. It is most IMPORTANT to know. Setting drive volume label to match the drive's serial number is a great practice. Better than a bunch of 'New Volume' labels. Also thanks for the other tips. I'm a magnet for troubles, so every tip, big or small, I collect them all, just in case . Since you mentioned about duplication, I think this feature on DrivePool is COOLER than Storage Spaces, as we can set selective folders, not the whole pool. Best regards
  11. @Shane & @gtaus Thanks, for sharing info and advises. Christopher's reply received: 'So it was stuck on balancing? If so, then that may be a bug, and something that should be fixed.' Now that I know the importance of 'balancing', simply by making sure that SSD cache is clear, it won't be an issue for me. In addition, I set the 'balancing' to start immediately, no interval nor scheduling. 'Storage Spaces' has been good for us from Server 2012, 2016 and now 2019. My concern was about the way it reports the drives 'friendly names'. They don't show the actual disk model names. In case of a drive failure or replacement, it would be tough. DrivePool is better in this aspect by showing drive letters. An issue I recently came across was the primordial pool disappeared. I searched & searched without success. So far, I found lot of good things in DrivePool that addressed my concerns with Storage Spaces. Yet, there is a reluctance of adding a third-party app to the server. There is always the chance of Windows or Server updates. I moved 'Storage Spaces' between Servers & Server Upgrades before. That worked. If anybody had the chance to move DrivePool between servers, or to an upgraded server, please share your experience. I need to know. Thanks again to all of you,
  12. Since I'm facing the same issue, please allow me to continue under this same topic. If a new topic is required, I will do so. Thanks Ref: Contact Request 1828677 that submitted to Support 9 hours ago, but not yet received help. Our case: We are using a trial version of DrivePool version 2.2.5.1237 for the past few days on Server 2019. Test details: . 4 drives (2 x 4TB, 3TB, 2TB) in a Mediasonic Probox for data, USB connection. . 2 x 240 GB SSD's in a separate enclosure for Optimizer, USB connection. . DrivePool started well. Added SSD Optimizer + Order File Placement Plug-ins. . Loaded 6.79 TB data, unduplicated. Current data distribution: 2.34 TB on each of the 4TB drives 1.43 TB on the 3TB drive 531 GB on the 2TB drive. 175 GB on one of the 2 SSD drives. We wanted to test the disk removal. So, 24 hours ago, we clicked the removal button next to the 3TB drive. Next screen we left all 3 options unchecked, and confirmed the drive removal. The button changed to 'Waiting to Remove'. Message at bottom of the screen 'calculating' with the yellow progress bar moving from left to right continuously. More than 24 hours later, the screen remains the same, nothing changes. Update: Since there is no reply from the request, I decided to cancel the process. DrivePool dashboard frozen that required Task Manager to close. DrivePool won't start that required a reboot. Upon reboot and starting DrivePool again, the 'balancing' initiated. When that completed, I was able to start the 'Dish Removal' process again. There is indeed a progress with percent counter. That is better. So, DrivePool needs to 'balance' first, which requires to empty all contents on the SSD cache. That makes sense. However, DrivePool is not robust enough to give a warning and lacking on the balancing task. I'd like to see both these incorporated on the next release. That would give more confident to switch over from Storage Spaces. Sincerely,
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