Christopher (Drashna)

I use Server 2012 Essentials, so the site has a mobile version. That you can use to upload and download. I'm not sure about streaming, because .... That, and for music and video, I use Subsonic. Well, Madsonic. And I use URL Rewrite and ARR to "reverse proxy" subsonic, so it's all available from my purchased domain name. But I've heard of tonido, a long while ago. Nice to know that they're doing good. There are also some other self hosted options, like OwnCloud or Personal Online Host Backup. But both are not exactly great.

I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure it's more complicated than that. But it is possible that we may be able to get that working in the future. At least for Previous Versions and the like. It's on Alex's to-do list.

Well, I try to get to any inquiries or posts within a day. And hopefully, we should be able to get to the folder placement balancing option soon. And I'm glad to hear that you really like our solution. But I am sorry to hear that you've lost (or almost lost) data to Storage Spaces.

Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Then yes, the best solution would be to create a second pool then, and then turn off the enclosure when not in use.

Do you mean that some of the shared folders are not in I;\, the pooled drive at all? That they're missing from that drive completely? And from the looks of it, they may be residing on the K:\ drive instead. It looks like you may be able to use the dashboard to just move the folders back into the pool. However, if those folders are empty, and the actual full folders are still in the pool, try using the WSS Troubleshooter. It should force the WHS dashboard to use the DrivePool folders for the shared folder. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Utilities And yes, the x2 means that the folders are duplicated (just x2 though)

I'm assuming both are with the array, correct? Specifically which MediaSonic box do you have? The ProRAID box, correct? If so.. it looks like you only get RAID. No way to pass on the disks individually (which would be preferred). Also, these disks are GPT, i'm guessing (given the size, they should be). Could you open a ticket at http://stablebit.com/contact ? And upload a few things? If there are any files, do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Error_Reports And after that, enable tracing and try to add the disks to the pool again. http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Log_Collection

So you want to use the 500GB drive ONLY for duplication, correct? If so, then yes, you ABSOLUTELY can do that. If you check out the Balancer settings, there is a "File placement limiter" balancer. That has two checkboxes for each disk. "Duplicated" and "Unduplicated". Just uncheck the "Unduplicated" box for the 500GB drive, and then it will only put duplicated files on that drive. However, if you want to do this for certain folders only. Then no, there isn't a way to do that yet. However, Alex (the developer) has already considered this option, and it's on his todo list. http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/208-stablebit-drivepool-controlling-folder-placement/ But he's currently very busy adding support for "Reparse" points, which should give the pool a lot more flexibility. http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/279-stablebit-drivepool-reparse-points/ If neither of these are what you mean, please let us know. Regards

Amanteka, You can absolutely use that enclosure with DrivePool. Since it passes on the disks normally, it should have no issues. Though for turning it off, that may be a bit more complicated. Worst case, since DrivePool supports multiple pools, you could create a separate pool for the drives in that enclosure. That way, when you turn it off, it doesn't set the "main pool" (i'm assuming you have a set of drives in the computer that needs to be always accessible, or at least just left on) into an offline mode with the disks are disconnected/turned off. And in this case, if it has the option, you would use the "safely remove" option for the enclosure. Also, there is an alternative. StableBit Scanner can help put your disks into a low power state.

Do you have any of the additional balancer plugins installed on the server (Ordered File Placement, Archive Optimizer, or Disk Space Equalizer)? If you do, make sure the same ones are installed on the client.

Open up Scanner, click on the "Settings" button and select the "Scanner Settings..." option. Then head to the "Throttling" tab. Here you can change the thresholds for the disk access. By default, it should be on "medium" sensitivity. Try setting it on "Low sensitivity", and see if that helps. If it doesn't, uncheck "Do not interfere with disk access", and see if that helps. If you're still having issues, let us know.

I wasn't actually aware that the "WSS" stuff would wipe out the "unknown" SIDs. But that it does, doesn't really surprise me either. And yes, if they were removed, then they would need to be "reapplied" if you move the disks back. As for the system issue. Unfortunately, it could be something as simple as "bit rot" that is the issue. And speaking of which, have you ever considered running "sfc /scannow" (or sfc /scannow /verifyonly) to see if there is any issue with the files for hte system? It *may* help.

To be honest, the Windows Backup feature is primarily good for imaging the system. I mean, you can use it for backing up data... but it doesn't do a good job of that IMO. But I've used it to back up just the disks with the OS and system Roles, and have used it to restore more than a few times. And it does work great for that. But SnapRAID looks like a good way to help ensure data integrity.

Well, actually, I think ESXi may actually support using iSCSI volumes. So you *may* be able to use them for VMs. I'm not as familiar with ESX, as I primarily use HyperV, but I think this may be what you're looking for: http://www.vladan.fr/how-to-configure-esxi-5-for-iscsi-connection-to-drobo/ (for drobo, but the principle should apply)

It's not that I don't understand it, it's that there are a number of ways that it is done. And since I haven't really paid close attention to it (as I'm not really a fan), I wasn't sure how microsoft implemented it. As for DrivePool, the linked article implies that it uses NTFS Reparse points for the files. DrivePool doesn't support that right now. But Alex is working hard to add support for them. Once that's added, DeDup *may* work. If it doesn't, let us know and Alex will take a look at it.

Well, it's also in "Computer Management", but yeah, that one is meant specifically for managing shared folders (SMB and NFS, actually.... though I'm not sure how well it manages NFS). As for WSUS... yeah. I totally understand that. But as for too many computers... there is a solution for that: virtualization. Personally, I like HyperV. But 17 screens isn't enough. Not by a long shot.

I'm glad to hear it! If there is anything else I can help out with, don't hesitate to ask.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner! I really did mean to. But it was late at night when I got to your post, and I was too tired to respond. As for the pool.... I use a single set of drives for testing DrivePool. A series of 4 VHDx files. And I move them from system to system. That's WHS2011, Windows Vista/7/8 (both x64 and x86), and Server 2008R2, and Server 2012 (R2) (both essentials and standard). So, the pool is VERY portable. Very. The only real consideration is NTFS Security permissions. The "built accounts" will be the same between all Windows systems, so that will be fine ("SYSTEM", "Users", "Administrators", "Authenticated Users", etc. Any "Group" or user account you don't have to create). However, the individual user accounts are uniquely generated on each system. You can "return" without any issue though. Also, Windows Server Solution (WHS2011, and the "Essentials" family) assign "SYSTEM" and "Administrators" to have full control. You don't want to change this part (for simplicity, and to ensure DrivePool works) If I didn't cover anything that you needed covered, or need further explanations, don't hesitate to ask.

Could you grab the error reports from Scanner? http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_for_WSS_Error_Reports And the logs from WHS? Zip up C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Server\Logs and send it to us. Ideally, open a ticket at http://stablebit.com/contact and attach the files. Also, has this happened again?

I don't think it matters which order you do this. I'm not an expert with flexRAID. But check out saitoh's post at the bottom of this thread: http://forum.covecube.com/discussion/554/parity-drive#Item_4 I think that's the information that you want.

At the moment, no it wouldn't be possible. The best way that *may* work, would b iSCSI, and I am not sure if DrivePool will play nice with it. I'd have to test it to confirm or deny that.

sprtfan, If it makes you feel any better, I've been running that setup since... well, WHSv1. In the long run, it makes things a lot simplier. And when the worst does happen, it makes restoring the system a lot easier. And you don't have to worry about if you lost any data, and what you lost, etc. And yeah, replacing the drives with bigger ones is probably a very good idea. If only because those smaller

The disk cleanup should have an "advanced" option. There should be a "Clean up system files" button at the bottom. That may allow you to clean up some additional space... but maybe not. And yes, you should be able to expand the partition. However, how you have it setup right now will make it more difficult. Namely, you're going to need to use an "offline" tool to resize the partitions. That, or get another drive, and remove the D:\ drive (the partition sitting on the system disk) from the pool. The reason is that Windows' native tools won't let you move that partition so you can resize the system partition. You'd have to delete the D:\ partition, resize the C:\ partition, and then recreate the D:\ partition. Or use an "offline tool". Not exactly "simple", but it is very much easy. Though, personally, I'd recommend ~100GB-150GB for the system. That gives you plenty of breathing room.

JMarsh, You can run "fsmgmt.msc" to see where the shared folders are actually located. Worst case, I believe you can use the dashboard to move the folder, if you want. But if you're minimizing the number of Windows machines, then the usefulness of WSUS drops significantly.

Sorry, forgot the link!: http://stablebit.com/DrivePool/Plugins And here is the excerpt about the Ordered File Placement plugin:

Actually, what you should probably do is install the "Ordered File Placement" balancer. It was one especially written by Alex (the developer) because it was requested. It tends to keep file together so it minimizes disk access. But yes, if you have read striping enabled, it will access both files. Though, it is a bit more complicated than that. Also, if you have Scanner installed as well, that has some settings to help try and keep the disks asleep. So you may want to check that out as well.