I've read several of the threads in here, and it seems that power mgmt options (namely S3 Suspend) have been in the works now for a couple years, but it was hard to tell from the threads what the current status was.

 

The disk spin-down feature is great, and my server currently sips only 37W in that state, but even that is too much for 15-20 hours of the day.

 

If someone could provide a current ETA or just a simple update, I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. I also didn't see in the list anything about improving read performance with Realtek chipsets.  Is that anywhere on the radar?

im curious too about s3 support, as im in the same boat as cohiba (40 watt idle -> to much for 24/7 in my opinion)

so if anyone has any information about this, could u plz share it with us

 

ty

Yeah...I'd also like to throw my 2 cents in here.  S3 standby is something I have been waiting for as well.  This needs to be tied in with WOL as well though. Hope it comes soon.

Yeah...I'd also like to throw my 2 cents in here.  S3 standby is something I have been waiting for as well.  This needs to be tied in with WOL as well though. Hope it comes soon.

 

I would add UPS support to that as well, get all the power stuff done in one release.

 

 

Bill

Yeah...I'd also like to throw my 2 cents in here.  S3 standby is something I have been waiting for as well.  This needs to be tied in with WOL as well though. Hope it comes soon.

 

I would add UPS support to that as well, get all the power stuff done in one release.

 

 

Bill

 

I better ask what you mean by this???  Is UPS support the ability of the s/ware to auto shutdown if the UPS is failing after an extended period off?  If this is the case, then I'd definitely like that too.

 

Now to find an UPS than can handle 850W @ a good price

http://www.refurbups.com/

You can get refurbed ups here cheap.

 

As far as UPS support, Either apcupsd or NUT can be compiled and installed by the end user.

I'm personally in the process of getting NUT working within my network.

 

 

 

I just set up my first unRAID system. I've been looking for informattion on S3 support and wake on LAN, is this possible?

Wake on lan is based on your motherboard support and bios options. Most modern motherboards support this with a special power option.

S3 standby is currently unavailable in unRAID, but may be added in the future.

S3 (suspend to ram) is a compatibility nightmare.  Under Windows, about half the machines I work with have SERIOUS problems with S3.  Under Linux, even more.  The only exception is laptops, which have better, but still far from perfect, track record with S3.  Read the various manufacturer's support boards for mobos.... you'll see S3 and ACPI issues are a large chunk of the problems.

 

I have compiled my own kernel for unRAID, and got S3 working on one system, but constant hangs on another.  MANY MOBOS ARE NOT PROPERLY ACPI COMPLIANT.  Their drivers get around it in Windows, but not for Linux.

 

Once you get it to S3, then you have WOL.... another compatibility farce.

 

unRAID's major client base is people that want a "black box" that works w/o maintenance or attention.  Most of the people on this forum are not the average user... we are tweakers.  I'll venture well over 90% of the people what buy unRAID never even REGISTER for these boards, much less post.  They couldn't care less about S3 even if they knew what it was.

 

Stability, stability, and stability are the three most important features of a file server like unRAID.  I used to post a sign on all the doors to our computer rooms and wiring closets: "DO NOT DO ANYTHING THAT EVEN REMOTELY HAS A CHANCE OF CAUSING ANY DOWNTIME WITHOUT WRITTEN AUTHORIZATION FROM [me]."  If someone did, they were wither violating policy, or they were so incompetent that they thought (incorrectly) that what they were doing would not cause downtime.  They lose wither way.  When ever any downtime was caused, there was a report posted on the company's intranet and sent via e-mail identifying WHO caused it, by name.

 

I know there are plenty of folks out there wanting S3, NFS, and all manner of additions.  I suspect, however, that they are not the customer base which actually generates income for unRAID... who are a vast, silent majority.  This is not meant to say that the voices should go unheard -- far from it.  But the 800 lb gorilla is stability for the customer base.  He gets fed first.  How can Tom justify enabling S3 in unRAID, when 99% of users don't know what it is (or care) and it would stand a good chance of fscking a lot of paid user's systems?  I certainly would not do it if I were Tom.

If someone did, they were wither violating policy, ..... They lose wither way.

And with a handle as in bubba... I would be afraid to violate policy.... 

I have to say I have not seen S3 work yet on any linux machine. Although it would be nice to have it work with unRAID.

Wake on Lan has been working well for me.

I unerstand your point, and I too have had S3 issues in the past with older crappy hardware. Currently though, I have ALL my PCs using S3 and WOL without a hitch. Call me a tree huger or what you will, if there is a way to save energy and cost and help with environmental impact I'm all for it. I'm already hunting own the lowest power consuming parts for my new unRAID box. I just feel if there is no reason for the NAS to be on, why should it. For now I'll just turn it off and on by hand.

 

Sure maybe there are users who don't want it, but to say those who don't know what it is don't want it is a broad statement. Everyone I've ever told about S3 wants to use it on their system. If it doesn't work properly, then just disable it. At least there is a chance to use it.

 

If it is a big PIA for Tom to add-in and he doesn't want to....fine. It's his product after all, he can do what he wants. I for one would find it a nice option to have. Stability should be the overall concern. I don't know linux very well at all, so if just adding it into the kernel makes the whole kernel unstable, maybe it isn't worth it. If it is just an option that you turn off and it has no effect on the OS, then why not?

 

...just my thoughts on it, take it or leave it.

I, as do many other nuts , have need of at least one box that must be ALWAYS on, and never enter S3 or even S1... my security system, home automation, phone (Trixbox), etc.  So my goal was to put everything on that one box, and make that one box low power.  With cpufreq (P-state) control, undervolting and throttling, my system spends 99% of the time at idle, pulling less than 40 Watts from the wall (and I can make that even smaller with an AMD Geode).  Right now, my goal is unRAID running on a full Slackware 12.1 install with my custom unRAID kernel, with one VM for Windows XP and the other for CentOS and Trixbox (no internal interface cards, only an ethernet attached VOIP/FOIP gateway).  Base OS install is on a pair mirrored 250GB drives, and the unRAID array is 3 1TB green drives, and a few 500GB non-Green drives (slowly being replaced).

 

As you said, if you "tell" the unwashed masses about S3, they generally won't object to it, and may like it, but you have to TELL them about it.  As it stands, Joe off the street doesn't know, and doesn't care.  When I said "doesn't want it" I meant he isn't standing in line asking for it.  You can't want what you don't know exists.  The "bang for the buck" to spend the development time on it is a clear negative return on investment to the developer.

 

Like I said, I wouldn't do it if I was the developer.

This is my first foray into Linux. Are there some easy to understand guides on how one would compile thier own unRAID kernel for S3 like you did bubbaQ? I'm sure I'll have quite a bit of learning and experimenting to get it right, but I like to tweak. I'm up for giving it a go (as long as I won't kill my RAID setup).

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=1244.msg8721#msg8721

Thanks bubbaq. I'll look over that thread and start learning.

im curious too about s3 support, as im in the same boat as cohiba (40 watt idle -> to much for 24/7 in my opinion)

so if anyone has any information about this, could u plz share it with us

 

Since my server is only used for serving movies and backups of other systems, it is lightly used. I created remote startup(WOL)/shutdown scripts that run automatically when I boot my media PC. If I need to access the server from another PC, I have clickable scripts on my desktop. Takes a few minutes to boot up but hasn't been a problem. The "hassle" has been worth the energy savings to me.

im curious too about s3 support, as im in the same boat as cohiba (40 watt idle -> to much for 24/7 in my opinion)

so if anyone has any information about this, could u plz share it with us

 

Since my server is only used for serving movies and backups of other systems, it is lightly used. I created remote startup(WOL)/shutdown scripts that run automatically when I boot my media PC. If I need to access the server from another PC, I have clickable scripts on my desktop. Takes a few minutes to boot up but hasn't been a problem. The "hassle" has been worth the energy savings to me.

So are you saying your unRAID server goes into Standby and you can wake it?

I think he's saying the unRAID boots from a powered-down state using a WOL script.  I'd like S3 as well, but currently it doesn't seem possible unless you're a wiz (I'm not)!  :'(

Boot from S5? I've seen one motherboard with that option. I've been contemplating this. I wasn't sure if it'd work and not many boards advertise this feature. It's hard to know ahead of time what boards have this.

If someone is interested in S3, here is my suggestion.

 

First, install a single hard drive and DVD drive on the primary controller, and do a clean fresh install of Slackware 12.1

 

Then, work on it to your heart's content, to try to get S3 working.  If you can't get S3 working in that environment, give up on getting it to work in unRAID on that motherboard.  If you want S3, you need a different mobo.

 

If (and that is a big IF) you get S3 working under a full Slackware install, you MIGHT get it working with unRAID.  I have gotten several mobos to enter S3 mode under Linux .... I've never gotten one to cleanly come back (except a Dell laptop). I have no intention of trusting my unRAID data to an S3 state.  At the very least, I think your sleep script needs to stop the array and unmount everything, and then restart the array on wakeup.  See

 

If you need something "always on" such as a torrents, home security, VOIP, etc., and you can move those "always on" functions to the box running unRAID, the need for S3 goes away.

 

See  http://suspend.sourceforge.net/index.shtml  and  http://en.opensuse.org/S2ram  for some tips.

 

 

.....I have no intention of trusting my unRAID data to an S3 state.  At the very least, I think your sleep script needs to stop the array and unmount everything, and then restart the array on wakeup.  See

Is data at risk in a S3 state? See what? Did a link not get added?

 

If you need something "always on" such as a torrents, home security, VOIP, etc., and you can move those "always on" functions to the box running unRAID, the need for S3 goes away.

See  http://suspend.sourceforge.net/index.shtml  and  http://en.opensuse.org/S2ram  for some tips.

I've thought about moving my torrent activity to the unRAID box as well, but as we know that is a whole other issue to get working. As a Linux noob getting S3 working or torrent client running are a bit overwhelming for me at the moment, until I get some spare time to learn.

 

bubbaQ, have you run across any mobos that allow wake from s5? That should work ok with unRAID shouldn't it, since technical s5 is OFF?

OK... I just made a liar out of myself.

 

After some BIOS changes, I have S3 suspend mode working on an Asus K8N-E Deluxe mobo with a 2.6.24.4 kernel I built with unRAID, using the s2ram app from http://suspend.sourceforge.net/index.shtml.

 

Suspended and restored with the array started, and appear to have no problems.

 

No the extra "see" was a typo.

 

Restore from S5 or S3 or even S2 present the same risk to unRAID data when successfully restoring from the sleep state ... it is unknown since it hasn't been tested.  I don't know how unRAID will react under heavy load and it needs to be tested. 

 

Even if unRAID is fine with a successful restore from sleep, there is also a risk of restore from sleep state failing... that is not uncommon... which is why I would never do it with unRAID unless my sleep and wake scripts could stop and restart the array.

 

I've thought about moving my torrent activity to the unRAID box as well

It depends on how much torrent activity you have. A few here and there, no problem. If it's heavy, it can be an issue.

Getting it installed and running isn't that much of a problem.

It's the learning curve of the client and tweaking the rtorrent.rc file that takes time.

Suspended and restored with the array started, and appear to have no problems.

 

Restore from S5 or S3 or even S2 present the same risk to unRAID data when successfully restoring from the sleep state ... it is unknown since it hasn't been tested.  I don't know how unRAID will react under heavy load and it needs to be tested. 

 

Great Work!

 

Even if unRAID is fine with a successful restore from sleep, there is also a risk of restore from sleep state failing... that is not uncommon... which is why I would never do it with unRAID unless my sleep and wake scripts could stop and restart the array.

 

The array can be stopped and restarted from a script, but then emhttp will get confused about the array state.

There needs to be some signals passed.

 

 

The array can be stopped and restarted from a script, but then emhttp will get confused about the array state.

There needs to be some signals passed.

 

I've "killed" emhttp, and then re-started it many times, without stopping the array.  I don't know if it reacts to any other signal you send it, but then again, I've never sent it any USR signals...

 

When you re-start it, it figures out the current status of the array and affiliated disks.