Christopher (Drashna)

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. 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")

Actually, to be honest, the DrivePool should circumvent any drive size limitation. The driver shows up as a 2TB disk. However, everywhere else in Windows, it shows up as the actual size of the pool. This should prevent running into the limit. As for the disks in the pool, there are a couple of ways to identify them. By the number (as it appears in disk management) By the disk labels (even with a letter, they can still have labels, and DrivePool sees that) DrivePool has an "Identify" option when a disk is missing to ping the disks, so you can see which are connected and where. (if the case has LEDs for the individual disks) StableBit Scanner. If it's installed, then DrivePool will pull information from StableBit Scanner. This includes the model number and serial number of the disks. As well as the customized "case" location (in Scanner, under "Disk settings", you can specify this information). This option has a "Case" and "location" setting. It allows for a lot of flexibility here. And it shows up in the tool tips in DrivePool. By mounting the drives to a folder path (they won't show up in "My Computer" but in a path like C:\DrivePool\[case]\[drive]) http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q4822624 Additionally, if you have both StableBit Scanner and StableBit DrivePool installed on the same system, if Scanner detects damage on the disk, DrivePool will automatically move data off of the disk to help prevent data loss due to corruption/damage. By default, this is only for "damage" (bad sectors), but you can enable it for SMART data as well. Also, there is the option to do either for unduplicated data or duplicated data. Additionally, if you have Scanner installed, and you have notifications enabled, it will include the case and location information information in the notification.

Ah, yeah, antivirus can do that. Specifically, the file system filter (aka, what's used to create the real time scanner) intercepts the file access. If this filter isn't 100%... then it can definitely cause performance issues. And yeah, the audio being out of sync is very annoying. It ruins everything, even if it seems like such a minor thing.

Ideally for both, just in case. Unless you definitely have IPv6 disabled on the system. As for the Network IO Boost, since it looks like you're using StableBit DrivePool 2.x: Open the DrivePool UI. Click on "Pool Options". Open the "Performance" section. The third option should be "Network IO Boost". Try toggling it and see if it helps.

Thank you for doing that! Also, if you disable the Network IO Boost, do you see the same behavior? (for reference: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/13451)

If the wireless is connected, then it could cause the slow issue. Another thing to check, the network adapter priority (will prevent it in the future). Open the Control panel, click on "network and Internet" and then click on "network and sharing center". Click on the "Change adapter settings" on the left hand sidebar. Open the "Advanced" menu (you may need to hit "alt" to see it), and then select "Advanced settings". Then make sure that the powerline connection is the top one. Once youv'e done that, hit "Ok". That should make sure that the powerline adapter connection is always the first used adapter. Also, this: Try enabling the 'Network IO Boost" option. This uses a bit more CPU and memory, but prioritizes network traffic over local traffic. This may help. If not, then on both NICs, make sure that any "checksum" or "offload" settings are disabled. This use more CPU, and if not properly implemented can adversely affect your network speed and stability. These settings are on the "Advanced" tab on the network adapter entries in Device Manager.

Depends on what exactly is happening. Are you streaming, or playing off of a network share directly? If it's from a network share, try enabling the 'Network IO Boost" option. This uses a bit more CPU and memory, but prioritizes network traffic over local traffic. This may help. If it doesn't try copying the file over and then playing it, maybe it's a bad file. If that's not the case, on both NICs, make sure that any "checksum" or "offload" settings are disabled. This use more CPU, and if not properly implemented can adversely affect your network speed and stability. And no, the graphics chipset on the server shouldn't affect anything here.

You are very welcome. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Yes, the 1.X version support multiple pools. It was added at 1.3.0.7534, specifically. 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!

Well, glad that you found the OS that fits your needs the best!

You can use Marvell chipsets as well, but ASMedia is the most reliable we've seen. As for the file window... I've seen that, but with Folder Redirection. But that's handled completely different. It's cached to the disk, and then sycned to the network. So, definitely not the same. However, I think somebody has reported similar to what you are describing. Could you ... well, you know the drill. Could you grab file system logs from when this happens. Also, do you have Network IO Boost enabled?

This is definitely not caused by StableBit Drivepool. If you notice in the "Storage Controllers" section, there is a "Covecube Drive Enumerator" controller. This is what is used by DrivePool. The only other device we create is the "Covecube Virtual Disk". However, it looks like you have two "IDE" controllers on the system. That is most likely the cause here. To verify, you can change the "View" type to be "Devices by connection". This may be more difficult to view, but it will show you have the devices are connected.

You are very welcome. As for the "Picture" folder, if these are in the same location in the pool folder structure (eg x:\PoolPart.xxxx\Pictures), then it will combine the contents of the folders into one, on the Pool. The contents of all three folders will show up in the one folder on the pool. \PoolPart.abcd\Pictures\file1.jpg \PoolPart.abcd\Pictures\file2.jpg \PoolPart.abcd\Pictures\fileA.jpg \PoolPart.abcd\Pictures\fileB.jpg \PoolPart.wxyz\Pictures\file2.jpg \PoolPart.wxyz\Pictures\file3.jpg \PoolPart.wxyz\Pictures\fileA.jpg \PoolPart.wxyz\Pictures\fileC.jpg \PoolPart.1234\Pictures\file3.jpg \PoolPart.1234\Pictures\file4.jpg \PoolPart.1234\Pictures\fileA.jpg \PoolPart.1234\Pictures\fileB.jpg Then, they'd show up as: \Pictures\file1.jpg \Pictures\file2.jpg \Pictures\file3.jpg \Pictures\file4.jpg \Pictures\fileA.jpg \Pictures\fileB.jpg \Pictures\fileC.jpg if the actual contents are different, you'll see a "file part mismatch" error. As for deleting duplicates, if they're in the exact same folder layout, then when DrivePool runs a duplication pass, it will automatically delete extra copies. However, if the files are not located in the same place, they will all show up, and separately. And you'd need to run a utility to compare the files (or do it by hand).

Do you have any antivirus installed? Could you do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q2159701 Also, could you download the latest build? http://dl.covecube.com/DrivePoolWindows/beta/download/ Then enable file system logging and reproduce the issue? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Log_Collection

I'm really glad to hear that! I've actually experienced similar issues, but when I had anitivirus and defraggers installed, so I chanlked it up to that. I haven't had a chance to test it, but either way. And as I said, this was a very weird, obscure issue. But thank you for grabbing the logs! To be clear here, I mean StableBit Scanner. However, the behavior you're describing is EXACTLY the Silicon Images chipset problems what we've experienced. If you are indeed using a card with this chipset, that is why you are experiencing the problems. ESPECIALLY that crashing under heavy load (or DPC WATCHDOG BSODs). I've owned this card personally, have see the exact behavior you're describing. They're pretty much garbage. If you want to replace the card, then look for "ASMedia ASM1061" chipset. These are the best consumer grade cards that we (well, mostly Alex) have found and tested.

Yes. However, there is a MUCH simpler method. The "Disk Usage Limiter" balancer can be used to do this. Uncheck "duplicated" and "unduplicated" for the disk in question and save the settings. In fact, I personally use this to "prep" a drive for removal, as it can take hours or more to remove a disk if it's full. Using the Disk Usage Balancer this way will cause DrivePool to clear out the disk, making the removal immediate. As for when the errors where happening, the first I saw happened at: 014-12-28 23:06:47 (UTC, aka GMT-0). Also, seeing some really bad errors: Data error (cyclic redundancy check) This happened to: \\?\Volume{8e165666-c65a-4efe-849d-84419094f4fe}\PoolPart.756c226b-d7f3-4515-af16-4f293fcec9af\ (I've truncated the file name, for the sake of privacy) You can compare the folder name, or run "cmd /k mountvol" to see the list of the volumes and what letters they have assigned. However, the CRC error seems to be what "kicked" the drive off. Additionally, on the 28th, a lot of " Errors checking xxxxx for duplication consistency. There is not enough space on the disk" errors.

You are very welcome! And I'm glad to hear it! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

You're very welcome! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

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.

Patrick, To be blunt here, I'm not exactly sure what you're asking here. The way you've presented it is kind of confusing. I'm not trying to be mean here, at all. But I wanted to let you know that if I did misunderstand you, this is why. I'll try to answer as best I can, but if I miss anything just let me know. When moving files around that are already one the pool, but to different locations on the pool: I believe that DrivePool does keep them on the same disk, as long as it doesn't violate a file placement rule, or other balancer settings. When moving files from a disk to the pool: No, this will put the files on the disk(s) with the most available free space. This means taht they may be moved to a completely different disk. However, we do have a "seeding" guide, where you move the files into the pool's folder structure. This will keep the files on the same drive, and only take minutes to complete. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q4142489 Additionally, when seeding files like this, if you have the same folder on multiple disks, in the same location "beneath" the PoolPart folders, then they will all appear in one folder on the pool. And yes, it will hid the duplicate files. However, part of resetting the pool settings in the guide is to force DrivePool to check the files. This will help ensure that "duplicate" files really are identical. I think I've covered most of what you were trying to get at. If not, or if you need clarification, don't hesitate to ask.

Actually, it looks like it pointed out a rare, race condition when deleting folders with contents. Alex has taken a look at it and fixed it. Please download the newest build whenever you can: http://dl.covecube.com/DrivePoolWindows/beta/download/StableBit.DrivePool_2.2.0.586_x64_BETA.exe This should fix the issue. If it doesn't, let us know. As for the eSATA and randomly going offline, that's very odd. We've had reports of some enclosures doing that with StableBit Scanner. But if you're were using the Silicon Images card for eSATA... that could have been why as well. If you want, we can help track that down as well.

(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.

If i win the lotto, I'll send you a couple. Deal? And that's a very good reason to not just test first. And reusing parts definitely helps save on cost. As for creating failures... we have a "test" mode for StableBit Scanner, which will actually intentionally create false positives (aka, create an error where none exists). It's in the Scanner settings section. But if you'pre using all of your actual data, yes, it would be very time consuming. However, you could use a small data set just to see how it works. Even better, if you have a system capable of running VMs... (Windows 8 Pro includes HyperV, just FYI) that would be a good way to experiment and experience them. But R-Studios is pretty good, IIRC. In fact, I think they're the only one that has a "recovery" solution for Storage Spaces already. But yeah, block based solutions are tricky when they fail. You're left with a lot of raw bits and not much to do with them. It's why we went with the file based solution. While it may still suck if you lose a drive... you haven't lost everything at least. As for the SAS stuff, I have a couple of IBM ServeRAID m1015 cards. They use the LSI SAS2008 chipset (equiv to LSI 9211-8i, IIRC). They're great cards, even in IT mode. And ... after doing more research, I only needed the one card, I just need the expander (in theory, PCIe 2.0 8x can handle maxing out ~35 hard drives at the same time). Unfortunatley, I've only really been getting into the higher end storage stuff recently, as I hadn't had the need for it until now. But it's really fun. Also, Intel has a SAS Expander card that works as well. Lots of options! But man, do they get expensive fast. But yeah, the Chenbro are pretty good price-wise.

That's absolutely allowed. StableBit DrivePool has absolutely no problem with that. Specifically, when accessing the files on the disks, we use the "Volume ID" to access the disk, so we never need a letter or folder mount point to access the drives. However, for convenience, we do recommend mounting the drives to a folder path. Namely, so accessing the files on the disks is simple, as is manually running a chkdsk pass, if needed. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Q4822624

You're very welcome! Hopefully, we (and by we, I mean Alex) can get to this sooner rather than later, as it would be very nice to have (personally) and a and a killer product/feature (as a selling point).