Christopher (Drashna)

Dude, StableBit DrivePool stores the files on normal NTFS volumes, as normal files. The are located in hidden "PoolPart" folders, and we recommend that you don't use these folders directly. Except in special cases (seeding a new pool, or data recovery, for example). As for how the files are placed? "shotgun scatter". Specifically, when a new file is added to the pool, StableBit DrivePool places new files on the disk(s) with the most available free space. This can cause the data be very scattered. However, the Ordered File Placement balancer changes this default behavior and fills one disk at a time (or two if duplication is enabled). And it tends to keep the contents of the folders on the same disk. https://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Plugins And umfriend is right, duplication != backup. Duplication protects you against a drive failure. However, if you delete the files off the pool.... it's gone. No backup to restore from. As for the backup, and limitations, that 2TB limit applies to the SERVER Backup feature. However, the client backup shoudl work fine. But you should test it just in case. And if it has issues, then install the UEFI patch for WHS2011.

First, if you experienced BSODs with the latest beta, then please upload the crash dumps to us. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_System_Crashes As for the Pool, have you tried to manually remeasure the pool? (under pool options)? And is real-time duplication enabled (default)?

Going with what is familiar is definitely a good idea. Though, Windows 8 Pro isn't a bad idea. Install Start8 or another start menu replacement and it feels like Windows 7. And yes, Out of band management (IPMI or intel vPro) is actually very nice.

Alternate Data Streams. Aka, that information about files, that you can normally edit, but can see the affect of (such as the "unblock" button on the properties tab when you download files) Yes. That would work. Though, that's basically what you did. And yes, you can access the PoolPart folders directly. We generally recommend against it, except in specific circumstances. But that folder is where the actual "pool" resides. Though depending on how SnapRAID works exactly, theoretically you shouldn't need #5-7... but as I said, that depends on SnapRAID.

Well, that's why we don't officially support SnapRAID or the like. It can cause issues, as you've seen. Normally, the correct way to replace a disk is to remove it from the pool, and then add the new disk. But obviously, snapRAID complicates that. I'm not sure, but I don't believe that SnapRAID supports ADS, which we use to store some data about the Pool (such as duplication setting), as well as info about the pool. So if it doesn't that would account for the issues you've experienced, and there weren't be any sort of real solution... other than what you've done already.

Compatibility is definitely an important consideration. And a Core i5 CPU should definitely be up to that task, and then some. And IMO, future proofing is always a good idea. And just as a word of warning... that ASUS motherboard you have selected.... It will NOT support Server 2012 or 2012R2 properly. Specifically, that LAN chipset (intel 217-V) isn't supported by either OS. WIndows 8 would be fine. But if you ever plan on upgrading... you'd need new hardware (either a motherboard or a LAN card) Otherwise, the system looks very good. The CPU may be overkill though. A Core i3 may be better overall here. As for HBA (controller cards), I would recommend anythign that uses the LSI chipset primary (higher end), but if you need 8 SATA ports, the HighPoint Rocket 2720SGL is a great card.

Amen to that. Yeah, there are a lot of moving parts, and a lot that happens behind the scenes. And Alex has done an extraordinary job making it all look simple and making it easy to use.

You're very welcome. In the mean while, you could set up the balancer to do that. Or maybe move out unduplicated data from the disks... or even fully remove one disk from the Pool. But either way, the File Placement Limiter balancer is a good way to prep a drive for removal.

Could you right click on the "drive" in question, and select "Disk settings". Check the "Do not query SMART data" box. and hit "OK". After doing this, does it help with the device's stability?

Yeah, that sounds about right. Though... if you have the one bay open... once that disk is added to the pool, you should have enough free space to move data out of 3-4 of the 1TB drives at once. i'd recommend using the "File Placement Limiter" balancer to clear the other 1TB disks (by opening that balancers settings and unchecking both "duplicated" and "unduplicated"' options for the disks in question). This will clear out the disks as well, making it super quick to remove the drives. As for how long, that dependds on the system, but probably a few hours at least per disk... unless you use the balancer method I recommended (well, it will take that long or longer to remove the disks... but you can let that run overnight so the actual removal process is seconds)

Could you grab the error reports from the system: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Error_Reports and a memory dump of the DrivePool Service? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Service_Memory_Dump Also, would you mind updating to the latest beta version (2.1.0.552, on the front page) and see if that works better. As for Scanner causing the system to hang, could you reinstall and do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_System_Freeze

As it is the "last disk" in the pool, it may not let you. Worst case here, enable "show hidden files", and move the contents out of the hidden "PoolPart.xxxx" folder into the root of the disk. Then delete the now empty PoolPart folder. You may need to restart the service or the system, but then add the new disk to the old pool. Then move the contents into the new PoolPart folder.

Wonko, thanks for the feedback. As for the stuck on "initializing" issue, we will be looking into that, as I've been able to reproduce that issue independently.

And to make sure, the NFS share works fine, exactly to host VMWare files? Or not at all?

On the "server" and the client computer?

Well, that's part of the "fix" part. When you format, it basically writes zero's to the entire partition. If it has issues with any sectors, then it is supposed to mark them as bad. That's part of the point to doing a full format.

If you decline the update, then the next update should prompt you. Otherwise, yes, it's time to head to http://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Download and grab the installer from there. As for the remote system, this is "by design". The updater downloads and runs the installer. Doesn't work well on a remote system for that. Also, since in most cases, an update means the server needs to be rebooted.....

Just in case, make sure you've done this: http://www.mydigitallife.info/disable-and-prevent-thumbnail-cache-thumbsdb-creation/

Wonko, Could you do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_for_WSS_Error_Reports After doing that, could you see about doing this (just in case): http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_Freeze And then wipe Scanners settings? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_Q4200749

Actually, a full format will usually "fix" them as well. That or running chkdsk. Specifically what "heals" them is writing to the sectors. This will cause the disk to "deal" with the bad sectors and fix them, mark them as bad, or remap them. Both chkdsk and formatting will do this. As will normal usage of the disk (eventually).

is this using the NFS Server role, or using HaneWin NFS Server?

ytulpan: Alex has updated it to a feature request and should be added in the future. (the option to change real time file placement to use disk percent used instead of free space when selecting the destination for new files)

When it hovers over the folder, it reads the folder property, and I believe it also checks for the thumbnail file. I suspect that this last bit may be the key here. Have you tried disabling folder preview on the system?

Thank you for uploading the dump. However, it does look like the issue here was that balancing setting. It does need to be set to "immediately" or to "periodically" to work properly, as the disk space equalizer doesn't affect the "real-time placement limits" (those red arrows that you may have seen). As for shutting down while the service is hanging, no it shouldn't cause any issues. As for the "writing" issue you are seeing, that's expected actually. By default, StableBit DrivePool writes to the disk(s) with the most free space. There are a couple of optional balancers that change that behavior. Specifically Ordered File Placement, and SSD Optimizer. However, these are designed for special use cases. However, maybe we should have an option to write to most free space, or highest percentage of free space. This sounds like what you are referring to, and want. I've flagged that for Alex (the developer) and he'll look into it. IAR/feature request here: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/4211 And I've said this a few times lately, but it's always worth saying again. We rely a lot of user feedback. While we may not always agree or add the feature, requests to help us know where we should focus development. And obviously, control is a big deal for us. We allow a large degree of control over how DrivePool works and places data. So I don't think this should be a problem.

If all the disks are reporting the same serial number.... try swapping the disk on port 0 (or 1, whichever is the first port on the card) and see if it changes the serial number. I'm willing to bet it will, and change it for all of them. If it does, then I don't think there is anything we can do. This would be a bug with the controller's firmware. Some of the Silicon Image based cards exhibit this behavior as well (your uses Marvell, I checked). Though, try installing StableBit Scanner 2.5 and see if that helps (there is a work around for the similar bug for the Sil firmware that may work for you as well). Regards