June 26, 201115 yr Hi, I'm new to unRAID, and new to linux, but I've been reading a lot in the wiki and the support forums. I've found a few similar issues, but none like the one below. I occasionally lose connection to the server via web (404 error), so I click the reload button of my browser, which seems to do the trick. Similarly, I lose connection to the contents of my flash drive, and even refreshing that window can take a long time or even time out entirely. I can write files to the HD easily enough (they're set to 4k MBR) but I get similar timeouts when trying to read the data back, or even trying to access the contents of a folder. My network is GB, all cat6 cables, and I've set the connections to default and to various jumbo frame sizes, to no avail. I'm attempting to access these files via Win7. Putty/telnet works without timeouts, however it was non-responsive during the initial parity check. Can anyone shed light on this? Mobo: ASUS P5G41T-M RAM: 8Gb CPU: Dual-Core E5800 @ 3.2GHz SATA: mobo has 6, plus 2x Promise TX2plus/TX4 Power: 650w HD: 2x WD EARS 2Tb (1 parity, 1 storage) in IcyDock MB455 SPF syslog_2011-06-26.txt
June 26, 201115 yr Author I ran MemTest for a few hours and it came back with no errors. Attached is a more recent syslog. I tried to access a file, but I can't see a trace of my trying to access that file. syslog-2011-06-26.txt
June 26, 201115 yr ...looks like you're on an Atheros NIC. My current status is, that these do not work reliably with unRAID. Check the Hardware and Motherboard sections of the forum for your board, NIC or similar equipment.
June 27, 201115 yr Author Wow, I had no idea that unRAID was this hardware-specific. I'm surprised that I can't simply install Atheros linux drivers to resolve this issue. Either I buy a new motherboard or replace my PCI SATA controller with a PCI NIC and buy a new PCIe SATA controller to replace the first one. Both will set me back a lot of money, time and effort. Disappointing.
June 27, 201115 yr Sorry to say this but the Atheros issue has been discussed enough for you to pick it up when you're reading a lot in the wiki and the support forums... It is not some obscure hardware incompatibility with unraid but rather the linux kernel.
June 27, 201115 yr Author That's a good point--next time I want to buy a linux-related product, I won't trust the main site to alert me to incompatibility with common hardware, instead I'll plow through the wikis and forums for a few days, just in case.
June 27, 201115 yr That's a good point--next time I want to buy a linux-related product, I won't trust the main site to alert me to incompatibility with common hardware, instead I'll plow through the wikis and forums for a few days, just in case. I am going to assume that was a sarcastic remark. LimeTech, to a certain extent, does not have control over what NIC's will work from version to version of the Linux Kernel. The Hardware Compatibility Page has a list of parts that are known to work in unRAID machines. The Atheros NIC is the one thing that has never seemed to work reliably. Recent Realtek NIC's seem to be having some issues, though it does not seem to be nearly as wide spread as the Atheros NIC problems.
June 27, 201115 yr Author They don't have control, but they could make more of an effort to warn newphyte users before they commit to $120 purchases.
June 27, 201115 yr They don't have control, but they could make more of an effort to warn newphyte users before they commit to $120 purchases. Why did you outright pay for the product before testing it on your hardware? LimeTech offers a free version of the software that is fully functional on the hardware compatibility level. I ran the free version for nearly 4 months before I moved to the Pro version. Tracking every single hardware incompatibility is impossible. It is only because of the community that we know some parts do or do not work. LimeTech uses no Atheros NIC's in there server builds, so how were they supposed to figure it out... guesswork. The recent Realtek issue is new and seems mostly isolated to the 8111E chipset. Doing hardware testing can be very expensive and is very time consuming. Rajahal and myself have tried to test new boards and find ones that are 100% compatible with unRAID, but like I said, that gets expensive. We can only buy so many boards to test at a time. I run a Gigabyte board (kind of a risk and not recommended around these parts) which has a Realtek NIC on it. Maybe I am lucky but I have never had a problem with this setup. It has run flawlessly for me from day 1.
June 27, 201115 yr Author I don't have hardware like this just lying around--I had to buy it first. Once I paid for the hardware, I was fully committed, and I still am. I'm not saying LimeTech should test their software on all hardware--that's a fool's errand--instead I'm saying that the could have highlighted potential challenges/risks on their website, so that a potential buyer could make an informed decision and then start digging through forums and wikis.
June 27, 201115 yr Author In case anyone finds this thread later, I bought an Intel-based gigabit NIC and now I'm able to pull data off the drives smoothly and quickly. Thanks to Prostuff1 for their help.
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