Christopher (Drashna)

StableBit DrivePool 1.3 features tighter integration into the Dashboard. That's it's main thing right now. However, DrivePool 2.X is much more actively developed and will be the version that gets newer features (like the new "Per Folder Balancing", aka controlling File Placement, or the Remote Control option). Otherwise, the pool and license are backwards and forwards compatible, so there should be no reason not to at least try it out.

What Philmatic said. If you're going to Server 2012R2 Essentials, then you may want to check out the WSS Troubleshooter as well. At least to "rebuild DrivePool Shares". http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Utilities

If this hasn't been resolved yet, please open at a ticket at http://stablebit.com/Contact However, the drives you mention sound familiar, so I think you may have already opened a ticket. If that is the case, then disregard.

Thanks for sending it to me anyways. Hopefully, we can get this fixed for you soon.

Well, that would definitely do it. As for the "SkipDomainJoin", it's only needed for the Connector installation. After that, it's safe to be deleted anyways. And I'll definitely keep this in mind for the future!

All the balancer options are well, in the Balancer settings page. Open the UI, find the "Pool Options" button/menu thing (underneath the pie chart) and select "Balancers". This lets you specify when they're triggered. And then there is the "balancers" tab, that lets you select which balancers are enabled, which order they're assigned, and you can definitely disable them. As for advanced options: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_2.x_Advanced_Settings That includes instructions on how to configure the option, as well a brief descriptions on what each setting does.

Could you make sure that you're on the most recent version of the "Archive Optimizer"? We've made a few changes based on feedback (some bug fixes, actually), and it may help with the expected behavior.

There was an issue with the way that HyperV locked the files, that caused issues with DrivePool, and vice versa. Please download the 2.1.0.503 Beta, as the issue should be fixed in that version. https://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Download And thank you for supporting out products! We give support regardless of licensing status, but thanks! If you have any issues after updating, then let us know and we'll see what we can do. As for balancing/duplication, if you have real time duplciation enabled (default), then the files are written to both disks in parallel. And this should respect the balancing options. And no, we don't use the same method as Storage Spaces. Storage Spaces uses a block based system, that sits below the file system. We sit on top of it, basically. So it's handled a lot differently. Also, if you click on "Pool Options", there is a "Balancing" section, where you can control the balancing to a degree.

Well, glad that you're liking it! And yeah, very simple and very nice to use!

Good catch. Submitting official feature request to Alex: https://stablebit.com/Admin/IssueAnalysis/2175 Preliminary support for ReFS has been added to the software. It is present in the beta versions, but may change. We need to investigate exactly how to implement ReFS, and what we can do with it specifically. There are some serious opportunities for advanced handling of the file system, and we want to make sure that this is done right. For instance: Checking the integrity streams when accessing files or running a duplication pass Replacing a file that has failed the integrity check with a known good copy on another disk, when duplication is enabled Showing the pool as ReFS instead of NTFS (more for Scanner, but) run regular integrity checks on the disks. Other, unforeseen complications or features that could be added. Needless to say, this isn't as simple as just turning on the ability to use ReFS and will definitely take some time to investigate. Unfortunately, we are a small company, and our resources are limited. That means that this won't happen until we have an RC or release version of StableBit CloudDrive (which we hope is soon).

That is actually 100% expected. Specifically the service controls the "Remote Control" feature of DrivePool, which allows you to administer the pool from another PC on the network.

Well, that's good news, at least (the "haven't had any problems" part). If you do continue to experience issues, then definitely let us know right away.

I'm not going to recommend a case, because as I said, it's user preference. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. Personally, I really like rackmount hardware And open air cases. But I tinker constantly. As for PSU, like I said, that 450W should be good, but I'd recommend a 650 or 750 model, as it will be able to handle more. As for brand.... I'm partial to OCZ and Corsair. But all things considered, I'd avoid OCZ for a while.

Not a problem!

#5 It should remember the duplication status, including the "pool file duplication" status as well. #6 it will need to measure the pool first, and then it will "know" what is duplicated and what is not. It will then compare that to the file system and see if it is supposed to be duplicated or not. if the file system is damaged on one or more disks, then it may have the same issue. if this is the case..... Move everything out of the "PoolPart" folders, delete these folders, readd the disks to the pool, and move the contents back in.

I'm not exactly a fan of that case, but that's entirely personal preference. Though the Power Supply should be adequate, I'm in the camp of "get more than you need". That way you can expand without worry, or having to upgrade later. But otherwise, looks good.

If the throttling doesn't work... Try this: http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/597-constant-emails-warning-of-impending-disk-death-but-all-disks-check-out/&do=findComment&comment=3667

Good to see you! As for the intermittent SMART errors, could you update to the latest internal build? http://dl.covecube.com/ScannerWhs2/beta/download/ (newest at bottom) If the issue persists, could you set "Smart_NoWmi" to "True" via the following link: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_Advanced_Settings Do this, and reboot the system. See if that fixes the issue.

Steps #1-3 are spot on. But until you activate DrivePool, the pool will be Read-Only. Also, it will remeasure the pool, as it's essentially a new pool to the system, and will check the duplication status of the files as well. Once that's all done, you're all set. No need to move folders around or anything.

The "remeasure" option? It forces DrivePool to remeasure and recheck the pool. If this isn't what you mean, could you clarify?

Yeah, supply for WHS2011 seems to be drying up. But it definitely can be had. Just takes a bit more digging, it seems. As for the hardware, I'd recommend ASUS over ASRock. The last couple of ASRock boards I've gotten have had some weird issues, and more trouble than they're worth.

I really hate to ask, but could you remind me which is your ticket? I'll double check, and "bump" it up, to make sure Alex sees it again, just in case. But if you check the change log, Alex has been fixing a bunch of issues lately. And while we definitely understand that any issues are bad, we're (well, Alex) is trying to fix as many as possible, as quickly as he can. Regards

Sorry, no, on the smart tab. Should be an option to throttle the smart queries.

From the sounds of it, it sounds like an issue with the way that the SMART data is being passed to StableBit Scanner. I'd recommend throttling the queries and see if that helps (Scanner/All settings option). That, or try installing the latest internal build and see if that helps: http://dl.covecube.com/ScannerWindows/beta/download/StableBit.Scanner_2.5.0.2997_BETA.exe

Well, to temporarily stop duplication, it's as simple as stopping the StableBit DrivePool Service. That stops .... well, everything, basically. The UI won't be accessible, etc. Once you've moved the files out, you could then start the service back up, and everything would go on as normal. As for changing duplication status, you can do it per folder, without any problem. For details about the duplication stuff, see the following blog post: http://blog.covecube.com/2013/10/stablebit-drivepool-2-0-0-420-release-final/