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WHS 2011 - Upgrade from 1.3.1 to 2.5.1


dsteinschneider

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Hello all. I'm running WHS 2011 with DrivePool 1.3.1.7541. It has an Sil 3114 connected to 4 external SATA docks and an Sil 3132 connected to a MediaSonic ProBox 4 bay. Everything is running great, the only changes I make are WHS2011 updates and occasionally I replace smaller capacity drives. Lately I've replaced several WD Greens with WD Red drives of higher capacity.

 

I'm interested in any opinions on whether I should upgrade to 2.5.

 

Will it still show up in the Home Server 2011 Dashboard or will I monitor from its own console?

 

Thanks,

 

Doug

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Latest version of DP on the web site:

 

For WHS 2011 is 1.3.6.7585

For W7 is 2.1.1.561

 

I don't know exactly how but I ended up running vers 2.1.1.561 (W7) on WHS 2011 it works and shows up in dashboard, but not as an add in.

 

I wouldn't do the same unless a MOD confirms, I have been looking at ways to go back to the WHS 2011 version but so far it works ...

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I'm pretty sure that dsteinschneider meant version 2.1.1.561 of StableBit DrivePool. (as StableBit DrivePool is at version 2.5)

 

And yes, britgeezer, you are correct.

 

 

 

As for upgrading, the 2.X version will install a dashboard tab. However, it's basically just the normal standalone UI in the tab. 

The main differences (aka, the new features) are:

  • Remote Control:
    install DrivePool on another system, and you can connect to it, no license needed on the "client side".
  • Reparse Point support:
    junctions, soft links, symbolic links, etc. If you're not sure what these are, you don't need them.
  • File Placement rules:
    Allows you to set rules to determine which folders and/or files end up on which disks (such as movies on the WD Black drives, and music and photos on the WD Green).

 

 

As for the dashboard, you won't see it under "add-ins" because it's not installed in the normal way. You can remove it by uninstalling DrivePool 2.X from the system or by loading it safe mode and disabling the tab.

 

And for going back to the 1.3, just uninstall the 2.X version, reboot and install the 1.3 version.

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To britgeezer,

 

I would just stay with 2.x. The fact that 1.x was a WHS plugin doesn't have any advantage except that the install is streamlined. The mechanics of Drive Pool are the same. I'm staying with 1.3 because it's stable and I wouldn't use the 2.x features. I will definitely go to 2.x or whatever DrivePool is current when I retire this WHS server in the future.

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As it happens, I uninstalled ver 2.xx and put back the 1.3. 

 

To be honest it looks the same to me and just lists 1.3 as an add-in, it did however fix an issue of a duplicate folder from the recovery.

 

Not sure what features I lost - guess I didn't need them.

 

Think I will stay with this version while I use the WHS 2011 OS.

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Yes I meant 2.1.1.561 of Drive Pool. I do have 2.5 Scanner installed also. I think I'll just hang with 1.3 until I upgrade hardware. Hate to send this thread in another direction but it does tie in - what's the most popular OS for DrivePool 2.x now that it's not tied to WHS?

I'm not sure we have statistics about it, but we do have a large number of WIndows 7 and 8 tickets. And since it works well on those OS's.

 

And 2.1 works well on WHS as well.

 

Is there a plus or minus to revert to 1.3 since my OS is WHS 2011?

better dashboard integration for 1.3.

 

However, 2.X has the remote control feature, the reparse point support, and most importantly, file placement rules (allows you to specify what folders and files end up on which drive).

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To britgeezer,

 

I would just stay with 2.x. The fact that 1.x was a WHS plugin doesn't have any advantage except that the install is streamlined. The mechanics of Drive Pool are the same. I'm staying with 1.3 because it's stable and I wouldn't use the 2.x features. I will definitely go to 2.x or whatever DrivePool is current when I retire this WHS server in the future.

 +1.  Go with 2.X.  I run WHS2011 and started with 1.X of drivepool.  Moved to 2.x and never looked back.  I like the stand alone remote DP monitor/control app much better. It starts instantly and you can control everything on your WHS server from any PC.  This is far better than having to start the WHS dashboard which, for me, takes too long to start and requires I put in the password every time.

 

I also recall that you have more file placement options going with 2.X over 1.X of DP.  Go with 2.X, no doubt.   

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I also recall that you have more file placement options going with 2.X over 1.X of DP.  Go with 2.X, no doubt.   

Version 2.X has the "File Placement Rules", which allow you to specify which files and folders end up on which drives. 

 

 

I recommend the 1.X on WHS, because it's a more integrated and smooth experience for WHS2011. However, either version works fine, and 2.X receives much more activate development.

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 +1.  Go with 2.X.  I run WHS2011 and started with 1.X of drivepool.  Moved to 2.x and never looked back.  I like the stand alone remote DP monitor/control app much better. It starts instantly and you can control everything on your WHS server from any PC.  This is far better than having to start the WHS dashboard which, for me, takes too long to start and requires I put in the password every time.

 

I also recall that you have more file placement options going with 2.X over 1.X of DP.  Go with 2.X, no doubt.   

I guess it may be strange but:

 

  • I previously upgraded DP to version 2.XX and for me I accessed it through Dashboard, didn't notice any option to do it differently.
  • 1.XX is now reinstalled and does what I need it to.

I will it it alone for now - its all working fine for me.

 

If I see a new must have feature I will update :) (again)

 

PS @ dsteinschneider  There is an option to remember your password for dashboard, mine used to take 30 secs or more to load but is now about 5-8 secs.

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Yeah, we still install a dashboard tab for 2.X if we detect that it's an OS that supports it. But the tab is the same as the stand alone UI. And both allow for remotely controlling other systems as well.

However, 1.X has more integration, like on the storage tab. On 1.X, it adds the pool information there, as well as duplication info for the shared folders. It doesn't do that on 2.X.

 

To each their own. And since the license and pool is compatible with either version, absolutely feel free to try out which one you like more.

 

 

As for the dashboard, yes, it's slow to load (takes 15-20 seconds for me, but I have a bunch of stuff installed for it to load), uses up a LOT of memory and sometimes randomly crashes....

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I guess it may be strange but:

 

  • I previously upgraded DP to version 2.XX and for me I accessed it through Dashboard, didn't notice any option to do it differently.
  • 1.XX is now reinstalled and does what I need it to.

I will it it alone for now - its all working fine for me.

 

If I see a new must have feature I will update :) (again)

 

PS @ dsteinschneider  There is an option to remember your password for dashboard, mine used to take 30 secs or more to load but is now about 5-8 secs.

 

Using 2.X, you just install another copy on another PC (no need for a another license) and that copy will find the server and gives the exact same interface as if you were directly on the server.  Very neat.  And it starts instantly (compared to WHS2011 Dashboard).  

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Sorry, to resurrect this old thread, but it actually contained the exact answer I was looking for.

 

I upgraded my 3 servers all running on WHS2011 from 1.3 to the current 2.1 build. All went smooth and I was thinking why I did not do this earlier, but OK.

 

Two things I either don't understand or just can't get working are first how to connect to my servers without having to open the WHS2011 dashboard. I am trying to connect from my regular PC which is not running any Stablebit software.

 

I tried the suggestion in the above post , but I get the expected message that my machine is not known in combination with the activation code. Also felt a bit like trying to cheat :-). I am only looking to control them without having to use the WHS2011 Dashboards.

 

Secondly, when I am in the UI in the WHS2011 Dasboard and I want to switch between servers, it keeps asking for administrator rights. What login is required? I tried the one that I use to remote connect to the WHS2011 machine, but no luck there.

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OK, figured out the second part. Apparently I screwed up my admin pw. Since the machines still recognized me when logging in remotley, I did set up 3 new administrator accounts only for Drivepool and they work perfectly now.

 

For the first part I clicked on trial mode to see if it all would work. What happens after the trial? I am not planning, not yet at least, to use drivepool on my regular PC. So will I be able to use the PC to remote access after the trial? Or will it shutdown?

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Sorry, to resurrect this old thread, but it actually contained the exact answer I was looking for.

 

I upgraded my 3 servers all running on WHS2011 from 1.3 to the current 2.1 build. All went smooth and I was thinking why I did not do this earlier, but OK.

 

Two things I either don't understand or just can't get working are first how to connect to my servers without having to open the WHS2011 dashboard. I am trying to connect from my regular PC which is not running any Stablebit software.

 

I tried the suggestion in the above post , but I get the expected message that my machine is not known in combination with the activation code. Also felt a bit like trying to cheat :-). I am only looking to control them without having to use the WHS2011 Dashboards.

 

Secondly, when I am in the UI in the WHS2011 Dasboard and I want to switch between servers, it keeps asking for administrator rights. What login is required? I tried the one that I use to remote connect to the WHS2011 machine, but no luck there.

 

if you're using the 2.X version and you're just trying to connect to and manage the pool, then just install it on the system. You don't need to purchase a license, activate it, or activate the trial. At the top, you should see the system name, and you should see the other systems on the network that are running the software. Select it from there, and it will let you control it.

 

This applies for StableBit Scanner as well.

 

 

And yes, you need to log into the admin account to connect to and manage the server.  In the case of WHS2011, you want to use "Administrator" as the username, and the server's password for the account password. This will let you log in and manage the pool. (this is done over NTLM/kerberos, so it should be VERY secure, even if it's just a local network).

 

 

http://blog.covecube.com/2013/02/stablebit-drivepool-2-0-beta-remote-control/

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Two years later I'm ready to build a new "DrivePool server". Someone gave me a box that has mutliple PCIe slots, I5 processor and tons of RAM. As an MS action pack subscriber I can use any OS they make.

 

I'm not backing up workstations and don't use the media streamer. I just need reliable, duplicated storage for WMC - movie folders, MKV's and photo files.  I actually have a powerful Hyper-V server running lot's of VM's for domain server, SQL etc. 

 

From re-reading Chris' posts I'm inclined to install 2.x on a reinstall of WHS2011 (will be migrating from 1.3)

 

The box already has Windows 7 Pro running on it. Perhaps I should just install 2.x onto it? Does it run better on Windows 8? It would only take a few minutes to install that. 

 

I don't worry too much about MS OS EOL but having a newer OS might have other benefits. 

 

Thanks,

 

Doug

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If you're just hosting files (which is what it sounds like here), then pretty much any OS will work for that.  However, WHS2011 does have the website. 

 

As for EOL, WHS2011 will still receive security updates for until 2020 (as the underlying OS, Server 2008R2 will). Just no application specific updates. 

 

As for what OS to use on the system,  that really depends on what you're planning on doing with it. If you don't need the website, then Windows 7 or 8 would be fine.  (or even Windows 10). 

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Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for reply. I am currently running WHS2011 on an old Pentium D 3.4Ghz Dell Optiplex 520 SFF (circa 2005) machine with a PCI gigabit NIC that delivers only half the speed of newer onboard NIC's When I play MKV files over 8GB on machines running WMC they stutter.

 

The same MKV's play fine when placed on local drive of WMC machines. If you pause the movie for 10 seconds it will then play for about 10 minutes before it stutters again. The DrivePool drives are all 6GB WD Reds. 

 

I'm hoping the same eSATA docks and MediaSonic ProBox HF2-SU2S2 connected via PCIe eSATA cards running on an i5 based Optiplex will alleviate the bottleneck enough for the files to play smoothly. 

 

Doug

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Wow, that's a pretty old system!

 

And yeah, I can definitely see it having performance issues over the network, with that configuration. 

 

Also, if the hardware isn't "up to snuff", it can have issues playing MKV files as well. Stutter, lag, etc. 

 

 

I'm hoping the same eSATA docks and MediaSonic ProBox HF2-SU2S2 connected via PCIe eSATA cards running on an i5 based Optiplex will alleviate the bottleneck enough for the files to play smoothly. 

 

That would definitely help, at the very least. ;)

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