Will DrivePool work with Kodi? or SAS2LP-MV8? Few questions...

[Spuds]

My HTPC is a mess and I've finally decided to increase storage and try and get my media in order.

 

Word of warning, I'm very very new to software raid and hardware controllers but for the most part, after a lot of reading, I think I get it.

 

Windows 10 PC upgraded from Win 7

Supermicro SAS2LP-MV8 controller (JBOD)

4 Hitachi 3tb

4 WD Green 2tb

2 128gb ssd 1 for OS, 1 spare

1 WD Black 1tb used with the SSD as an assist drive for Desktop and Libraries and some programs

 

Storage is for tv/movie, games (Steam Library is around 4tb) and home pc back ups and such. Nothing outside the home, only local streaming.

 

Anyway... I have zero redundancy. I lost a couple drives in the past and trying to replace the content was a real pain. I just don't have the time anymore (or Bandwidth for cloud services) so I decided to invest into redundancy. 

 

3 X 6tb WD Reds just arrived so I should be good for a while, I think. My HTCP can house all the drives no problem.

 

So I have a few questions:

Will DrivePool work with Kodi (XBMC)? Meaning, will I be able to tell Kodi where the media is after DrivePool does it's thing. I read in another post somewhere that DrivePool and Plex don't get along because of "Hardlinks"..... whatever that is.

Sonarr, Sickbeard are a couple other programs that I might use once in a while. Sonarr is great for organizing my media.

And what about my controller, SAS2LP-MV8? Anyone have any issues with this controller and DrivePool?

 

Originally I stumbled on to unRaid and thought "Wow, thats what I need!" but after a lot of research I found that my controller card didn't quite get along with unRaid. This opened up the door to other software programs, which I had no idea exsisted, DrivePool SnapRaid FlexRaid Storage Spaces ect. So I thought it would be best to ask a few questions before investing the time.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

[aws1971]

I use Kodi and also some of those other programs you're talking about without any issues.

But then I got all my media in a separate server placed in another room.

And all shared with NFS or SMB (windows share).

I didn't want the drives in my HTPC for the noise.

 

Can't answer your other questions

[p3x-749]

...I don't think there should be an issue with kodi and drivepool...I tested it for some time but then took the route to only use the pool over SMB network shares.

 

As for the SAS2LP-MV8...this should work, when it runs fine under WIndows (so rather a driver thing).

However, this card should work with unraid, of course...are you aware of this thread? -> http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=29052.0...did you try and reflash the BIOS of that card?

[Christopher (Drashna)]

I completely understand your issue, and wanting to have redundancy. I've been there, and all of my data is duplicated. Even the videos. 

 

 

 

 

Kodi/XMBC should have absolutely no issues with using the pool for the media.  I used it for a while in this sort of configuration, without any issues.

 

 

As for Plex, it's specifically the Plex database. You can't move it onto the pool, because it uses hardlinks to prevent creating duplicate copies of data.  However, we don't support hardlinks on the Pool directly (due to a fairly technical reason, that I can explain, if you would like). 

But if you just use the default config for Plex, it works great with the pool (i've run it on my server, without any issues... from StableBit DrivePool at least).

 

As for Sonarr, Sickbeard, and other programs, these should have absolutely no issues with the pool either. Again, I use these on my personal server, so I can verify their compatibility.

 

 

As for the SuperMicro SAS2LP-MV8 controller card, it should work fine with StableBit DrivePool, but we have had some issues with StableBit Scanner and this specific card. This is mainly to do with the fact that it's a customized Marvell chipset on the card.  Marvell makes decent chipsets, so it should perform fine with the pool, but you may see issues with SMART data (such as not getting any).

 

 

 

If you need any clarification or have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[Spuds]

I completely understand your issue, and wanting to have redundancy. I've been there, and all of my data is duplicated. Even the videos. 

 

 

 

 

Kodi/XMBC should have absolutely no issues with using the pool for the media.  I used it for a while in this sort of configuration, without any issues.

 

 

As for Plex, it's specifically the Plex database. You can't move it onto the pool, because it uses hardlinks to prevent creating duplicate copies of data.  However, we don't support hardlinks on the Pool directly (due to a fairly technical reason, that I can explain, if you would like). 

But if you just use the default config for Plex, it works great with the pool (i've run it on my server, without any issues... from StableBit DrivePool at least).

 

As for Sonarr, Sickbeard, and other programs, these should have absolutely no issues with the pool either. Again, I use these on my personal server, so I can verify their compatibility.

 

 

As for the SuperMicro SAS2LP-MV8 controller card, it should work fine with StableBit DrivePool, but we have had some issues with StableBit Scanner and this specific card. This is mainly to do with the fact that it's a customized Marvell chipset on the card.  Marvell makes decent chipsets, so it should perform fine with the pool, but you may see issues with SMART data (such as not getting any).

 

 

 

If you need any clarification or have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Default config for Plex meaning don't install on one of the drive pool drives, correct? I have a drive specifically used for larger program installs which works with my SSD drive running Win 10 so that should be no problem (both drives are not in the pool).

 

About the Supermicro card.... will running StableBit Scanner along side DrivePool remedy this? or does Scanner rely on S.M.A.R.T. information to protect my drives?

 

The hardest decision I've had to make so far was... do I build a separate box for the pool or just combine it all in to one HTPC. Maybe after I get the hang of how everything works I'll build a dedicated media server separate from my HTPC.

 

Appreciate all the feed back and help from everyone, thanks again

[Christopher (Drashna)]

Default config for Plex meaning don't install on one of the drive pool drives, correct? I have a drive specifically used for larger program installs which works with my SSD drive running Win 10 so that should be no problem (both drives are not in the pool).

 

The default config installs the files into your AppData folder ("C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Plex Media Server\").  You specifically have to change the location in the settings to change this. So it's not something you can do by accident.  

And even if you do, mostly, you'll notice that images don't show up for the items in your library, and that's about it.

 

 

 

About the Supermicro card.... will running StableBit Scanner along side DrivePool remedy this? or does Scanner rely on S.M.A.R.T. information to protect my drives?

 

Not entirely sure what you mean here. But to clarify, StableBit DrivePool should have absolutely no issues with this card.  StableBit Scanner does have some issue with this card, and may be erratic about grabbing SMART data. This doesn't affect the card or the pool at all, so it should be fine. 

 

However, we do want to get SMART data from the drives, as this can predict mechanical failure. But it's not necessary. StableBit Scanner does a monthly surface and file system scan, so it may detect issues without having the SMART data. 

 

Looking though support tickets for the issue, it seems that the specific issue with this card, is that one of the two methods we query for SMART data causes issues (it returns erratic information, that changes).  However, this is easily remedied:

http://wiki.covecube.com/StableBit_Scanner_Advanced_Settings

Find the "Smart" section, and find the "NoWmi" option. Check this, and reboot the system. Then you should have no issues with this card.

 

 

 

 

The hardest decision I've had to make so far was... do I build a separate box for the pool or just combine it all in to one HTPC. Maybe after I get the hang of how everything works I'll build a dedicated media server separate from my HTPC.

 

Appreciate all the feed back and help from everyone, thanks again

 

Either one works.  Personally, I went with a main file server, and multiple HTPC devices (for various rooms). 

 

If you go this way, you can get some lower end PCs (such as Intel NUCs) and use them for HTPCs. That way, the server is the only power hungry box.  And if you use XBMC/Kodi, you can install MySQL/MariaDB on the server, and sync the library information between the systems. (this is specifically what I did before moving onto Emby/MediaBrowser)

http://kodi.wiki/view/Mysql

 

But this is a bit more on the complex side.