hilly

Hi - see my thread "Unable to browse \\UnRaid in win explorer" and see what i have been through trying to get this to work or solutions that stick. Maybe some of the things would work for you? I will watch to see if you find a solution to this as well.

OK, so i set the resrved IP addresses in my router and i set the server as netmaster and the mapped drives all appeared - very good. i then started up my failed backups from my pc to the mapped drives and all was working. A few hours l;ater they were gone again before the backup completed !! This morning i have double checked the IP reservations, all good, i have checked netmaster is checked, fine, i have rebooted the router and i now do not have the mapped drives accesable and i can not access them or the server. As always if i use the IP address the server immediatly is there, it appears in my network places with its IP address but anything name related does not function again. I am sure i could alter something and it might come back but its only for a few hours, minutes or until the next reboot and its all gone again. For year this has worked perfectly, and now its a nightmare. This is sooooo frustrating now. What else can i do / try as i really am running out of things to even try - and why will a solution work for a short whiole and then in the middle of a backup or something just not be there anymore? EDIT: I remember i had to do the map a drive work around to get crashplan to backup to a network drive - would i need to redo this process with the IP to get the new connection in place ?? EDIT 2: maybe a little early to celibrate ..... servers do not appear in netowrk places until the address is entered into the search although then they do appear based on name. Still got issues with crashplan seeing backupsvr from PC and Archonis is not playing nicely. Think i will do what i plan in terms of consolidating to one server and then set things up from scratch and fix the prblems as they present themselves. Never though something as simple as seeing a few computers all on the same network, all in the same workgroup etc causing so much pain !!

OK, will set server as master. How do i discover the mac adress of the servers so that they can be added into the router as reserved addresses? they are not in the client list in the router currently

Viaduct - I am sure i am not the only person with this issue, but it should be solvable, computers dont "just forget" and not when in the middle of backups or something. I also have backup links to names as there is not the option to backup to an IP. I would really like to know what this is and more importantly how to fix the darn thing !!

Thanks for the input RobJ - as i have now upgraded one of my servers to 6.1.3 and still have the same problem with that one do you think a new post there would get more views and possible solutions or can you move this post there with a comment as to why? Just a couple of other notes after reading almost every post i can find about network issues .... I have my DHCP reservation pool set to "xxx.100 to xxx.149" and then i have a static IP for my main \\tower as xxx.150, me second \\backupsvr as xxx.160 set in UnRaid (not in the router) and i have an IP camra set up as xxx.170 - Is it ok to have static IP outside of the DHCP pool - i think i did it like that based upon stuff i had read when it was all set up years ago so there was no overlap. All of this started with a change of motherboard in my main PC and upgraded to windows 10 !! All devices are in the same workgroup, netBios set to enable ..... After setting NetBios to enable everything came back, i started to run my backup software to do all of the backups which fail as it backs up different folders at different frequencies to \\backupsvr\whatever - and after about an hour the backups failed as the destination had dropped off again and could not be found by \\backupsvr - by IP address it always works ..... Frustrating for something which should be so simple !!!!

Sorry to go back to this but also sorry i dont seem to be able to fix it !! Tried to power down everything, including phones, tables .... everything. starter router, then server then pc, phones etc and for an hour or so everything fine - and then the mapped drives drop out again and are not accesable by name only by IP. After some checking i made another device the net master and tried again - and for a few hours ....... Went into the netwrok settings of my main win 10 PC and set netbios to enabled and for a few hours ...... I have even upgraded one of my 2 servers to 6.1.3 to see if unraid can do something new here, but no improvement While i could do everything using IP why should i, this always used to work, and for brief periods of time i can make it work again. i have backup software which is backing up to \\tower\backups and other software which wants to see a network drive and an IP adress cannot be used. Any more help from anyone - this is driving me crazy - it should not be this hard to get a set of machines all on the same netwrok, all in the same workgroup, all from the same router, all from the same switch in most cases from being able to see each other in a way that stick. Pleaseeeeeeeeeee ;D ;D

Thanks RobJ - the motherboard change was a number of weeks ago and its not been right since. I was almost at the point of buying a separate network card just to see if one off the motherboard would somehow function differently (i had an add in board before as the old motherboard did not have a gig capability, the one on the new board does). Maybe i need to try what you suggest and shut everything down and every device (tablets, phones on wifi etc) and then start up in the suggested order and then leave for a day or two to see what happens. I have tried lots of the forum suggestions but maybe i am expecting a faster responce in the modern computing world than hours to sort something which seems quite simple and basic - and something which should remain in placve for more than a few hours before falling over again. I hope i can get a resolution so i do not have to resort to IP addresses to get all my backups functioning again. Could you just confirm should either of the unraid servers be set as the network master or is it best to leave that to the windows 10 PC (my main PC) to handle? when i set my backup server to "no" and checked my PC was the netwrok master - and then i read a post to say the server should be the master so turned it back on again ......

I am really hoping there is a key to fixing this. The first time I changed the local master by switching it off they all came back but only for a few hours, switched it back so this server is the local master it was OK .... And now that does not work either. You would think there was one thing that would control this and resolve an IP to a name. For a couple of years this has been no issue and I have files which back up to \\ backupsvr\something and then these are then backed up by crashplan to the cloud. It all worked so well and now it's all failing. Can someone see something in the syslog or say what's up as I really don't want to change everything - after all it should work with a name !! Edit: is this just a "5" issue or should it be moved to another area of the forum where it might get some technical feedback or more visability?

Hi I have tried to resolve this issue by searching the forum etc but i just cannot get to the bottom of it and so now need to ask for help ! My setup was working perfectly until i changed my motherboard and upgraded to windows 10 - although the motherboard change seemed to be the start of the problems. I have a number of programs and different things which work with my backup server at \\backupsvr (in addition to my main storage which is on \\Tower). I can access them at 192.168.1.150 and 160 at and time in explorer but none of the mapped folders which are used will work and i get the "network path not found" message and cannot browse \\backupsvr or \\tower in windows. I have rebooted everything, i have unset and reset the backupsvr as the network master in SMB setting several times (this did work one time but it seemd to "drop off" after a couple of hours and now changing the setting seems to do nothing anymore. This has become a real pain and i cannot find a resolution which will make it so i can resolve names instead of IP addresses. I have attached the syslog where i am sure you will see me setting the network mater off and back on again a few times, in between with some windows reboots, router reboots ..... I have no idea why a new motherboard would cause such an issue but i need to find a way to get my mapped drives to work again so all of my backups work without needing to redo everything only using IP addresses as it should work like it did before and be able to hold onto those settings ...... frustrating !! As soon as i get time i am going to upgrade to 6 and combine my 2 servers together but for now i need the current setup working like it was before. All help is much appreciated syslogoct.zip

For such a setup would not an HP microserver be a better option - even if you put that inside another wooden box/cabinet to conceal it? just thinking its cheaper, holds the number of drives you mention, runs everythingand its all pre built ..... just thinking/typing out loud.

Yes, been reading the guide so I know the steps involved and I need things like crashplan and to adopt my current backup so need to learn a bit about dockers, sequence to do things etc. One question is still not clear to me - file system format. Should I use the chance to change? Will it cause me some problems in the future if there is a need to change, it it worth changing the cache disk format etc. There is info on the different ones but no definative statements or clear recommendations. Because of this I dont know whether to do an as is upgrade or get a couple of larger disks and effectively start again .... What is your view?

Thanks for your input and help RobJ but i did a reboot to kick start the syslog and of course now the others are gone - never though to copy them somewhere safe first - Damn, its not like i dont know that bit !! Also thanks for the info on the packages, i have left the systems alone for a long time now and they have kind of got behind or are a bit untidy. I will be clearing everything off anf going to 6.0 very soon - remembering to make a full backup of the flash from each machine first !! i hope then to use new apps and keep them up to date inside of unraid But for this issue i think i just holed my boat !!

As the 2 syslogs are older would they still tell you anything? if it was just full memory then i am fine with that as an explination - i am assuming you get no warning your syslog is no longer being written to for whatever reason?. It is when the primary server is down i get so many UPS messages. going to do a conversion of that server to 6.0 shortly and add more storage and work with only that server so the piggy back issue will go away. will then use the backup for just that reason. I have done a restart now the disabled disk has been rebuilt and the the syslog seems to be writing perfectly fine now - could these 2 things be related? The syslog from the restart is attached but it looks fine to my untrained eye and the server is running and all showing green. syslog-2015-05-22.txt

I checked the syslogs. There are 2 older versions noted as syslog_1 and Syslog_2 but these are older, the one in the OP is the most recent but seems it stopped logging very soon after a reboot and has been doing nothing else since then. I currently have the rebuild of my failed drive ongoing but when this is finished i will do a restart and check if logging is working again. Just never heard of the logging stopping like this and a syslog is always asked for to do problem analysis. Strange .....

Hi. So today at work i got mails to say a disk in my backup server had been disabled. I have come home and disk 3 is disabled and has 364 errors. This alone would be something i would search and resolve as i have a spare disk, just not sure how to do a smart test on the disabled disk as its not giving anything back when i go into health to check - so thats the first part But here is an interesting one - attached is my syslog. given my server is still up and runing, has not had a restart and i have touched nothing you will see it had a number of entries about the UPS (its slaved off my main server and so when this is off it complains about beign able to see the UPS, i know about this, its not a problem) What IS a problem is it seems my syslog has stopped writing in mid line and did so nearly a month ago !! i have not heard of people not able to check the syslog when there is an error because there is no syslog to check !! Tried to run a smart report from putty and got "failed:No such device" So before i do anything about the disabled disk what is the view about this? anything i can check etc. I am assuming if i shut down, replace the failed disk (can i check it somehow with it disabled?) with a spare and restart the syslog will start also. EDIT: As this is my backup server i wanted to get it on the road quickly and so i stopped the array, removed the disabled disk and put in the spare. Data rebuild is now in progress without issue so far - so it seems at first not to be a tray or cable issue. The syslog has not seen any of this and is still not logging, it is exactly the same as it was before i took any action. Should i restart the server after the rebuild or is there something to check here first about why logging has just stopped (not good to try and fault find if the map is not there to try to follow !) syslog-2015-05-21.txt

Yes, they are very good machines and were a very good price. I might just go for 2 * 8tb drives for parity and an extra 6tb of space (replace a 2tb data drive). This would give me space for now and a new v6.0 platform with a machine left over - spares :-) with more 8tb drives I could get to 32tb in 1 MicroServer without pushing it. Amazing really ! As I only use this for storage, downloading some stuff and a backup for my PC's etc it seems a sensible solution given my relatively low power needs. Now just need to ponder file format changes, migration path / sequence .... Thanks everyone for the inputs

Thought it would be too simple an idea, although there might be technical reasons i dont understand why this could not be a simple addition. I have seen a feature request for this also but it did not get any reply or feedabck as far as i can tell. Will need to carry on thinking about my options - maybe i just get a N54L motherboard and stick it into my N40L and do the normal upgarde and then stick in some bigger drives. Thanks for the quick input

Was this request ever aknowleged or acted upon? With USB externals now available on the gen8 Microserver but limited space internaly this would seem an ideal solution to mount a cache drive on an external USB 3.0 to make these new servers as useful as the older N54L etc

Just a quick clarification - if i was to purchase an Gen8 microserver (can get for £100 after cash back in the UK right now) could i use an external USB 3.0 port for the cache drive? Is the cache drive seen as part of the array or not? would UnRaid see the USB connection as a selecatable drive for the cache? The gen8 is not so good for expansion due to the size reduction but 5 drives in the array and an external cache would work for me if i used 8TB drive for parity and to replace one of my existing 2TB drives.

Added in some edits to first post, I am reading as fast as i can to try to understand the options here. Can someone tell me if this is going in the right direction and are the links above good selections in order to add an external storage cage? Anything else i need to be aware of?

I currently have 2 N40L servers which "serve" me well. I am working out my next steps and preparing for an upgrade to 6.0. My first server is just for storage and the second is for backups (crashplan) and the usual SAB, couch etc. The main server has been modified to have 6 disks of sizes ranging from 2 to 4TB. There is only a little spare space in this server. Total storage currently is 12TB with 4TB Parity. I was considering a new build but this is quite expensive given i have all of this existing hardware. I also do not feel i need 2 servers sat on the desk doing different things when 6.0 should be stable, dockers will keep the different apps from messing things up and so i would like to work with one larger UnRaid and have the critical stuff from my PC backed up here and then on again to Crashplan cloud. The six disk server has no cache drive which i would want to add to speed up writes and so will lose a disk slot to that and so reduce the capacity before i can increase it ! . The eSata on the server is routed back into a disk mounted inside the server alongside another in the optical drive bay (all based on info on here when i first got it all set up) I have been thinking about 2 different options - but i am sure people on here could thing of more or better ones Firstly is there a way to simple connect the 2 Unraids together or to use one N40L as just an additional storage bod for disks attached to the principal machine? Secondly i am wondering about an external caddy of some description connected to the server to add in more of my existing disks to enlarge the array, i would just sit this on top of the server. This could be eSata or USB 3.0 (i dont have USB 3 ports but would add a card for this - is this simpler than eSata, less expensive, similar speed etc?) My reasoning for wanting to extend the amount of disk slots is that i have the disks available and so it should be a neat but also cost effective option. I have considered larger drives but as i will lose a slot even replacing the parity drive with an 8TB and adding another 8TB in place of a 2TB, using the 4TB parity to replace the last 2TB gives me some growth but it seems that £400 is expensive for what will be "only" 6TB more than now - and a big waste of several fully functional disks So has anoyone done this and could recomend a way forward? are there speed or compatibility issues to think about? Can i use my second N40L as a storage box and how would i do that? should i think about eSata or USB 3.0 to connect to a caddy ...... or should i just stick with 2 machines and just use them for different things (not ideal but doable)? As always all input is good input EDIT 1 - Would something like this work with the N40L? I do not think the eSata port has port multiplying (unless someone knows how to do that. Would a USB 3.0 card be a good idea and would it be quick enough speed wise (not a speed freak but for parity checks etc?). This kind of thing seems a good option to simple add 4 more disks to the server and so make it easy to do the expansion using my current hardware for not a big invetment but i do not know if it would work as expected? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4-bay-silverstone-ts431u-35-hdd-tower-usb-30-and-esata-interface-black Edit 2 - would this card be fine with UnRaid? http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-PAS3062-2E-PCI-Express-Blackplate-Compatible/dp/B00B3RCC4G/ref=sr_1_5?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1431596214&sr=1-5&keywords=low+profile+esata I am reading as fast as i can to try to understand and it seems i need an eSata port (or an internal sata card as the N40L eSata is used for the 6th drive) and a cage which supports JBOD - hope i am on the right track ....

Ahh yes, YaReg - i think i used this prevoisly when i had a bit of a disaster. From memory it worked fine in order to take data off a disk i connected to a doc on my PC. The mounting a disk internally would also be an option for the first couple of disks until the slots get filled up (which would be before all the disks i have now would be emptied. But thanks for the reminder :-)

Thanks - That is exactly what i was looking for. Would be good for LT to put a link to this in each of the release notifications so it is easily referenced or make it a sticky in the general support forum as it covers a lot of ground and answers a lot of questions and will be a good resource when it is updated to align with 6.0 final As a suplimentary question i would like to use one of my existing N40L microservers as the new build hardware, it suits my needs, has been modified for 6 disks so 1 for parity, 1 for cache and 4 data disks (8+4+4+2) would give me 18TB of storage with disks i have plus 2 new 8TB drives and still some room to grow by upsizing the disks over time if its even needed. Can i just stop the array and powerdown the server. Remove the disks in there and start from scratch with 2 new percleared disks (possibly the seagate 8TB ones given the recent testing and input i have had / seen on here). Can i then mount the current disks onto my windows machine using an external dock and copy the data on them across to the new build? are there issues with doing this or alternatives that would be better as i need to empty a running machine but no space to store the data currently there - its a bit chicken and egg.

Hi all. I want to go from a running 5.0.4 to the latest 6.0 beta. I have some plugins running for crash plan, Sab, sick etc - not many and not daily (other than my crash plan backups). I have read the upgrade notes but it just covers how to get 6.0 up. I have read about different file systems that are in use on 6.0 (and that seems to have changed during the life of 6.0 developments), dockers and a whole pile of other good new things. So my question is is there a more detailed step by step guide and best practice that covers what info to capture in advance like any user names, the upgrade, selecting and changing the file system, kicking off docker and generaly getting the system back into a functional state .... Or is it all in different places? Thanks in advance for any guidance, but better to ask than miss a key point and c**k it up.

Garycase, or anyone else ... additional advice As my N40L's currently do all that i need and i am only looking for a route to upgrade my amount of storage and also to make a "6" box could i fit 2 of the new seagate 8TB drives into a box with a SSD for apps etc and then expand this with my existing drives as i clear them by transfering to this new platform? This would mean i would have a spare N40L to rebuild as a backup server again and have plent of space as i could use some of my exisitng 4TB drives. This would give me 8TB parity plus 8+4+4+2 = 18TB storage (yes i did the drive mod to allow full speed and so can fit 5 drives plus the SSD on the esata port) - all this in a box the size of the N40L would be great, and all for the price of 2 drives, although expensive ones ! My usage is pretty light. I store movies and music, i download some stuff but not a lot and not so often and i stream to a smart TV and so no need for transcoding etc. My question is are the new seagate drives OK for unraid? i read here http://www.storagereview.com/seagate_archive_hdd_review_8tb that they have some inbuilt control that means they should not be used for raid - but does that also mean unraid type setup or using them as a parity drive? Would an N40L with these drives be a medium term route for more storage and an upgrade to 6. Should i consider more than the 2 gig of ram i have currently instaled etc? EDIT - OK, so now i have read the sticky on these, and it seems its an option as long as i am happy with the performance of the N40L, which currently i am as it does all i need. So would 6.0 be faster on an N40L as its 64bit and would it benifit from some more memory - this could be my easiest route to a larger 6.0 box using the hardware i already own.