Dave Hobson
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Posts posted by Dave Hobson
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Welcome to Microsoft. Yeah, they've changed directions a LOT in the last few years. it's enough to make your head spin.
Also, just keep in mind that ReFS doesn't do the integrity stream for files by default. Just for drive metadata.
if you want to enable it for everything:
Set-FileIntegrity H:\ -Enable $True
Hey thanks for that... However I really should have just created a "small" test ReFS drive.
I have no idea why but every movie or show has severe lip sync issues since I changed to ReFS... Copying the files back to an NTFS drive and the issue is gone.
That coupled with only just discovering that I could have achieved my desired parity with SnapRaid and WITHOUT interfering will the existing files. So right now I'm moving my 30TB+ back to NTFS.
I really should have looked into it more when you first mentioned SnapRaid but you live and learn
.Anyway one more question on a new balancing strategy I plan to adopt. In the past I have always balanced the free space however I'm looking to cascade the drives BUT still try to keep file placement rules if that makes sense.
With the "ordered file placement" plugin... Or indeed what seems to be the same option embedded in the SSD optimizer. Does this cascade the filling of disks regardless of the type of media or can it be fine tuned.
I did actually set the order that I wanted to fill the disks HOWEVER, I also hoped it would still honour the placement rules.
For example
Movies on Disks 1,2 & 3 ... Filling Disk 1 to Capacity first
Current TV Shows on Disks 4 & 5 ... Filling Disk 4 to Capacity first
Archived TV Shows on Disks 6 & 7 ...Filling Disk 6 to Capacity first
However It just seemed to start throwing all media types on Disk 1.
So that's either because its not achievable OR probably because I have the tick boxes for the "file placement settings" set wrong... It wouldn't be the first time.
No big deal. I only have three major libraries and am currently getting round it with a different pool for each library.
It would have been nice to feed the SSD'(s) then have the SSD feed each media type to the relevant disks. With my current setup I guess I would need an SSD for each pool.
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As for Storage Spaces, its simple and "just works". So I can definitely understand the appeal.
True enough for any RECENT "pooling" converts.
The main difference is parity, as you've mentioned. And we have a number of people using SnapRAID in conjuction with StableBit DrivePool, if you really want to do down that route.
Sadly ReFS isn't supported ...having just finished converting the whole 30-40TB on my system. Nor is it, it seems in FlexRaid (which I know I bought a licence for way back when....)
As for ReFS, there are some potential issues with it. not everyone has had issues, but enough have. If you see high memory usage, let me know.
Otherwise, I believe they're just reverting back to pre-Creators Update, in regards to how ReFS is being handled. Meaning, you can't create new drives, except for on Storage Spaces, but you can continue to use existing drives.
Ok... Well I have been monitoring things as I moved the File System... Definitely haven't seen anything out of the ordinary.
Well I'm on Enterprise so hopefully covered... I'm jus a little baffled that at one point it seemed that MS were attempting to actively push ReFS to the masses. Now it seems they are using it as a further revenue source ?
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Well, I'm sorry to hear about the problems with Storage Spaces. And yeah, the recovery options are ... shitty.
As for donate/etc, well, buy more licenses.
$15USD for each additional license, for additional computers you own. Up to 8 licenses of each product on a specific Activation ID. Grab a bunch of licenses for StableBit Scanner and install them on all of your computers! It's a literal win-win.
Also, mention the software to friends/family.
Otherwise, we do plan on a subscription based service in the near future.
Ahh indeed... More licences.... I cant believe I hadn't thought of that.
As for Storage Spaces, I have no idea how I fell for it. As someone who has never had any confidence in Raid purely because I feel more comfortable knowing that I can take any drive out of any system and read it on any other system.
From what I saw in my failed tests, Storage Spaces offers nothing beyond what DrivePool has offered over the last few years...Well apart from the ability to lose 35TB of data if you go down the parity route.
On the plus side... It did actually give me an excuse to switch to ReFS as I restore my data.
Although I do wonder what the future holds now MS are pulling the ability to create a ReFS drive in W10 other than in Enterprise or the new Pro Workstations edition. -
Well, thank you for the kind words and support!
That said, the pricing is intentionally low, so that it's almost "impulse buy" friendly. We want it to be cheap enough that it doesn't take a lot of thought to make a decision. And not so cheap that it's hard to support ourselves.
But we're not a fan of version based licensing models (eg, pay for an upgrade). We feel that the license should be for the product itself, not for a specific set of licenses. This is great from a customer standpoint, and ... it's also better from a development standpoint (we don't have to maintain 2+ branches of the software just to patch bugs). So, it's a better experience, all around.
And as for support, neither of us really like the idea of charging for support, nor for upgrades. It should be included in the price of the license. Or it should be akin to "emergency support".
From here, I'm not really sure what is okay to tell you, since its internal/financial stuff.
But that said, we do have plans for sustained income via a subscription service. Specifically, the "StableBit Cloud" product/service.
Just my 10 cents here ... as someone that used to design and implement custom file systems, I'm well aware of a) How much work is involved, and
what a truly splendid job you guys (guy?) have done with DrivePool. I have two fairly large pools running (8 drives 30TB in one, 4 drives 16TB in the other), and have to say zero loss of data ever, and remarkably few problems.Given how cheap the product is, I would have absolutely NO problem with paying an annual support fee. I suspect that you might see a similar response from the many, many customers who have NOT contributed to this thread. Keep up the good work guys, and don't be put off by the haters/whiners.
IT
And I know where you are coming from...
Here's my scenario. I'm a DrivePool user since the days of concept.(The WGS/WHSv1 days) I'm also a data hoarder albeit on a budget so literally no local resilience. Despite the "seat of the pants" approach I have had one minor scare but no actual data loss. until....
Only a week ago I decided to make some drastic changes as my birthdays pass by and the concept of the inevitable disaster seems more daunting.
So away I went... ReFS, Storage Spaces & Parity. A "several weeks" undertaking (with my amount of data) but well worth it in the end...or so I thought.
Four days later when my storage space said goodbye in the middle of the migration to SS. It didn't actually vacate, more locked me out.
Fortunately I hadn't deleted much of the source data so it wasn't the end of the world. So after three SOLID days of trying to restore the SS and discovering there isn't to much support from MS even after all these years, I'm back after less than a week.(I'm staying with ReFS tho)
And that's what got me thinking... I paid what? $25 maybe... some 6 or 7 years ago. Back when sterling was stronger that was probably £10-£15.
For a lifetime... Really???
I'm expected to pay £20-£50 a year for AV updates... same again for Malwarebytes, G-Suite, Amazon , PlexPass etc...
Meanwhile that one payment way back has given me piece of mind for more than half a decade already. Just wow!!!
And now having done a reinstall after the SS experiment shambles I just noticed you cured my one major gripe. The "check all" & "uncheck others."
Despite the limited budget I do try to keep my system lean by reinstalling the OS at least twice a year. With a large amount of HDD's and a large amount of libraries (that must strictly stay where on the drives that I specify) this is pretty life changing, cos it was a real PITA before. 30 minutes to reinstall the OS & Programs... and two hours ticking various boxes in Drivepool
.So I get that Alex and yourself have morals and that you don't want to charge for support or yearly subscriptions. But honestly.. if there was a "donate" button somewhere, I for one would be hitting it at least once a year.
I guess we cannot force you to accept our money, but I still think it would be a great option... You would be staying "humble" and not feeling you are over charging, but still giving options for those of us who really do appreciate the Value for Money that you provide.
Micro-management Of Drivepool - Solved by using junctions.
in General
Posted
Hey Christopher.
I tend to Micro-manage my media in Drivepool and I have a lot of media.
I seem to be having issues here with the various placement rules I have Set. After balancing i get the message at the bottom saying along the lines of "x amount of media cannot be moved to respect file placement rules". What I'm wondering is if there is anywhere in the logs or similar, that gives more info on the files that cannot be moved according to the rules I have set?
Clearly I have something wrong somewhere despite no drive having less than 500GB of space free and the offending files amount to only around 234GB. No worries if there isn't I will trawl though and see if I can find the offending files/rules that way.
Thanks in advance.