Christopher (Drashna)

Even the data on wikipedia indicates that an increasing value for this attribute isn't a good thing (#11) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.#Known_ATA_S.M.A.R.T._attributes It doesn't say that it is related to an outright failure, but that it is indicative of hardware issues.

I had (well, still have) a MediaSmart Server ex495. And yeah, even with the eSATA, not enough ports!

dslabbekoorn, Valdimarsson: This is definitely unusual. Like James has said, I'm also using Server 2012 Essentials and have the client backup database in the pool, with duplication on, and with no issue. What version of DrivePool are you using? Also, have you tried checking the disks in the pool for errors (chkdsk /r /f), as well as ran a memory test? Also, there are logs in "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Server\Logs\". If you want to zip those up and send them (just the "backup" ones), I can take a look and see if I can figure out whats going on there. Otherwise, enable "CoveFS_TracingEnabled" in the "advanced settings", run a backup (manually, or wait till they happen automatically) and submit the logs to http://stablebit.com/Contact http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Advanced_Settings

Okay. That makes sense then. And is a good configuration, IMO. As for that Samsung.... If it was me, I'd see about getting a different brand/model drive.

The drivePool disk isn't a "real" drive. It's a Virtual drive, and windows itself has some rather strict requirements (and they tend to be undocumented too) about what features will work on what drives (API, file system features, etc). For example: NFS. Both Alex and the Drive Bender team had issues getting the built in NFS Server to work on WHS2011. And Server 2012 changed something and now the built in NFS server doesn't want to work with the same settings that did on WHS2011... But for the Symbolic Links... how would you create them? Where would they point to? I understand that it sounds like there are easy answers, but everything must be done within the confines of Windows API. Which while it may be very robust, it isn't exactly well documented. Nor is it as "fully featured" as many would like. Either way, I've let Alex know. And if it's possible, and feasible...

If this setting increases, that's definitely not a good thing. And no, this has nothing to do with Scanner. All scanner is doing is reading the SMART data, as reported from the drive. What this indicates is that the drive basically had issues powering on. So, like I said, if the count increases... you may want to replace the drive. But if this is the second drive of that model that you've gotten that has the same issue... It may be a good idea to go with a different model. Also, any reason you're using a laptop drive here for the server backup?

lol. Definitely not. CHeck out the "my server" link in my signature. I was excited to get a Norco 4220 4U rackmount case for $55. (that's 20 hotswappable HDDs bays)

StableBit DrivePool will use the drives whether they are mounted (to a letter or folder) or not at all. I believe you'll have to recreate the mount points on the new system (if you want to use them that way) but other than that, you should have no issues.

The "check for update" version is controlled on our end. The newer updates haven't really been pushed due to a number of issues (mostly caused by Windows 8, actually). If you're not having issues, we would rather keep you on a more stable version than roll out a version that has issues. Even though v2 is a beta... we do care about trying to release a product that is as stable as possible and as free of issues/bugs as possible. And all those settings look good. But yes, balancing and duplication can take a while, depending. But not being able to add a new HDD is definitely a big deal. I mean, how do you expand your storage to obscene capacities otherwise! And happy to help (and promptly too)

Well, first of all, there is a more up to date version of DrivePool available, and I'd recommend updating to it. (there are some important fixes for the Windows 8 kernel) The first "calculation" can take a while, especially with a lot of small files. As for "boosting", I assume you mean the process priority. Before you try that, check out the Balancing options (the arrow in the bottom right section of the pie chart), you can change when it balances. I recommend setting it to "Immediate", and "not more than ever 1 hour, as well as check the "Allow balancing plugins to force balancing immediately). And if you still have issues with the UI and adding disks, definitely update. And if that doesn't help, do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Error_Reports and submit the ErrorReports folder to http://stablebit.com/Contact and we will take a look at them and see if we can figure out what is going on.

@JazzMan: I've flagged this thread for Alex, so he can weigh in. But I'm pretty sure it's not possible, given how DrivePool work. It's a virtual drive that just passes the IO operations to the actually drives basically. (this is a vast oversimplification of how it works, though). @Pal: For Plex, do you mean it's local database/cache? I've used plex before with DrivePool without issue. But I have manually scrapped the data (using XBMC metadata, and a 3rd party tool), and had it installed to the default location (C:\Program Files)

Vincent, I've see a good number of people using FlexRAID with DrivePool without issue. http://forum.covecube.com/discussion/720/dp-with-flexraid-raidf-comments#Item_30 Regards

Definitely don't delete the poolpart folders. That's where the actual data resides! But it would be best to remove the drives first, just to make things easier. And then reconnect them after the OS is installed. Once DrivePool is installed, it will recognize the "old" pool immediately.

Beta's tend to be a bit more "in flux" when it comes to features. RC's are usually feature complete (and none will be added or removed unless necessary), but there may be some small bugs that crop up, or not completely fixed. Other than that, that is pretty much spot on for the "standard naming practices" that most companies use.

If it's having issues balancing, then enabling trace logging would give a better indication of what's going on (or not). (http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Advanced_Settings, CoveFS_TracingEnabled). However, as for that log entry: "Cannot balance. Requested critical only" is normal to have. When you set up periodic balancing (such as daily balancing at night), you configure balancing triggers, such as: "Balance, if the balancing ratio falls below: [some percent]% OR if at lest this much data needs to be moved: [some value]GB This is set up in balancing Settings. The warning that simply indicates that the balancing time has passed, but none of the triggering conditions were satisfied. Basically, in English is means that: "It's not time to balance". Nothing to worry about. As for manually triggering balancing, try remeasuring, and if it's pass any of the thresholds on the balancer settings, it should give you the option. @DrParis, any particular reason to not have it automatically balance? Periodically, or "immediately"? And like Henrik mentined, the "Disk Space Equalizer" plugin is the only way to ensure equally filled disks (either by percentage or space remaining)

DrParis, do this:http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Log_Collection Namely, enable that (you may need to do this: http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_DrivePool_Advanced_Settings, and enable "CoveFS_TracingEnabled"), replicate the issue, note the time it happened, and submit a report via http://stablebit.com/Contact with the trace logs, and the approximate time it happened (when tracing was enabled). I ask this, because I've experienced the same occasionally. Though, usually waiting a few minutes fixes it.

DrParis, Don't worry, I had to look twice before I realized what was going on myself. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to know how the software you're using works. Besides, just remember, the only stupid question is the one not asked!

2.0.0.263 added some text for the pool options, so it's more obvious. As for the window size, you can resize the UI and get a lot more information, if needed. As for the explorer shell integration, Alex has posted about that: http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/26-first-off-topic-new-competition-is-coming-to-town/&do=findComment&comment=206 (Which is to say, he's not a fan) The rest are definitely good suggestions, and ones that have actually been considered, if not added to the "To-Do list".

Jeff, that's pretty much exactly right, on both. And yeah, Mick is right about that. On the plus side, if you have purchase DrivePool, you would get the discount on both copies of Scanner, at least.

You're welcome. I haven't kept up with OwnCloud in a while, but it was pretty good last year. I'm sure it's gotten better since.

There is something already out there: OwnCloud. It requires PHP and mySQL, but it works. I'm not sure if the app does instant uploads yet (it didn't a year ago, IIRC), but otherwise, it works pretty darn well. And if you want detailed instructions.... We Got Served has that. The "25 Essential Projects for Windows Home Server" volume 1 covers how to isntall PHP and mySQL (.... it's as easy as installing the Web Platform Installer, and checking a few boxes). The "25 Essential Projects for WHS volume 2" covers OwnCloud though. (caveat: I co-wrote the second book, and do get revenue off of it).

If it's using USB, then it may not pass on the data properly. Alex has posted a nice utility which you can actually test the compatibility of the drives/enclosure. http://community.covecube.com/index.php?/topic/36-how-to-contribute-test-data/ One request though, if you test this out, would you mind posting the data? (a screen cap of the program would be fine, just PM it to me and I'll do the rest).

Overall Identify: Yes* SMART: Yes* *Only available when using "Legacy mode" for the drives (not in a ARRAY nor JBOB) and when the UnsafeDirectIo method (detailed here). Card Details HighPoint uses slightly different configurations for each card, but all of the 2700 series uses this chipset. However, there are some differences between the drivers and firmware for each version, so we've opted to list the basic info here, and the specifics for each card on it's own page. HighPoint RocketRAID 2760 - Link HighPoint RocketRAID 2720SGL - Link StableBit Scanner - WMI SMART Status: No SMART Attributes: No SMART Thresholds: No SMART Error Log: No Power Mode: No StableBit Scanner - Direct I/O Methods: ScsiPassthrough, ScsiPassthrough48 Identify: Yes SDD: Yes SMART Status: No SMART Attributes: Yes SMART Thresholds: Yes SMART Error Log: Yes Power Mode: No (Thanks to Doug for doing most of this point initially!)

Specifications: Speed: SAS/SATA 3 (6.0Gb/s) Ports: 2x Internal Mini SAS SFF-8087 Slot: PCI-Express 2.0 x8 Chipset: See Marvell 9485 SAS/SATA Controller Chip Firmware Firmware: 1.5AHCI compatible: No (proprietary driver required) Link: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/CS-PCI-E_2_0_x8_Configuration.html Driver: 1.4.13.230 (03/20/2013)272x_1x.sys Link: http://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/CS-PCI-E_2_0_x8_Configuration.html Performance SATA III HDDBurst: 360 MB/s Drive: Seagate ST3000DM001 OS Tested: Windows Server 2012 Essentials

You are using Windows Server 2012 Essentials, correct? If so, you MUST enable the media features, if you haven't already. After you've done that, you need to make sure that the folders in question are added to the media indexing. Check these before anything else. As for clearing the database, searching for "WHS 2011 reset media database" should come up with the right solution (or I can dig up a link if you need me to). Also... have you checked out Subsonic? It arguable works much better than the built in stuff, can be configured to integrate with the domain accounts, *and* stream over your Anywhere Access site (these can be difficult to set up if you don't know what you're doing).