April 3, 201313 yr Hi All, A year ago i built my first unraid server with the parts below and it has been rock solid till about a month ago. I randomly lose connection to my network share and access to the server during either file transfer or just before i try to watch a movie. The only solution to this is to shutdown and restart the server. The last time the same issue occured, i let the parity check run and it reported 0 errors, this was two days ago. Yesterday i lost connection to the server twice, while transfering a 2GB file from one drive to another and when i tried to watch a movie and noticed i had lost access to the server again. Again, both times i had to shutdown and restart Motherboard - Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 CPU - AMD Sempron 145 OEM Processor RAM - Patriot Signature 4GB DDR3 PSD34G13332 Memory PSU - Corsair CMPSU-430CXV2UK Startech 4 Port PCI SATA RAID Storage Controller http://www.ebuyer.com/123967-startech-4-port-pci-serial-ata-sata-storage-controller-raid-0-1-pcisata4r1 Startech 2 Port PCI-E SATA 2 RAID Storage Controller http://www.ebuyer.com/123967-startech-4-port-pci-serial-ata-sata-storage-controller-raid-0-1-pcisata4r1 StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack Backplane http://www.ebuyer.com/179318-startech-3-bay-3-5-removable-hdd-rack-backplane-satsasbay3bk Version- 5.0-beta14 unRAID Server Pro It is running 10 Sata drives - ST3000DM001 (5) & WD30EZRX (6) - Movies,Music,TV Shows and a few documents. I have no addons installed I'm not sure if this might be the solution but i am thinking of replacing some of the parts. Any idea which parts should be replaced? Apart from this issue and slow file transfer between the sata drives, the server has been running smoothly.
April 3, 201313 yr Hmm.. If you suspect real hardware beiing broken then run a memcheck (available option at boot of unraid, attach a monitor and keyboard first). But there are a lot of possibilities... Check cabling, check your router/switch and if possible replace it, or even change a switchport. REboot your router/switches, those things get messed up also sometimes. also make sure to try your system without any plugins, it might not be likely but some conflict might be causing this. Your symptoms also could mean you are running out of memory , that would cause the smbd daemon (giving you the shares) to be killed and will make sure you loose your shares. You can check that by checking the logfiles, if you see OOM messages there is a big chance this is happening. Did you add any new plugins lately ? Plex for example ?
April 3, 201313 yr I'm wondering whether the 430W PSU is marginal for ten (or eleven - 5 + 6?) drives. Perhaps you have recently added a drive?
April 3, 201313 yr Author Hmm.. If you suspect real hardware beiing broken then run a memcheck (available option at boot of unraid, attach a monitor and keyboard first). But there are a lot of possibilities... Check cabling, check your router/switch and if possible replace it, or even change a switchport. REboot your router/switches, those things get messed up also sometimes. also make sure to try your system without any plugins, it might not be likely but some conflict might be causing this. Your symptoms also could mean you are running out of memory , that would cause the smbd daemon (giving you the shares) to be killed and will make sure you loose your shares. You can check that by checking the logfiles, if you see OOM messages there is a big chance this is happening. Did you add any new plugins lately ? Plex for example ? Thanks Helmonder. I have no plugins installed. I'll check the cables,reboot the router/gigabit switch and change the port. The server is next to this PC in a separate room so i can connect this monitor and see what's in the log files.
April 3, 201313 yr Author I'm wondering whether the 430W PSU is marginal for ten (or eleven - 5 + 6?) drives. Perhaps you have recently added a drive? Thanks Peter. I am guessing it is down to two issues if it is really a hardware problem - 4 port sata controller/StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack I got this controller 3 weeks ago and attached two 3tb Drives to it via StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack. Maybe i should have gone for a better controller but it was the cheapest i found on ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/123967-startech-4-port-pci-serial-ata-sata-storage-controller-raid-0-1-pcisata4r1 - PSU. With 10 drives and one HDD rack connected to the PSU, i think it's time i replace to a 650 or 750w PSU Also, is the 4gb RAM enough? Will i notice a difference if i add another 4gb ram? The board has two dimm slots and only one is currently being used
April 4, 201313 yr Also, is the 4gb RAM enough? Will i notice a difference if i add another 4gb ram? The board has two dimm slots and only one is currently being used Without any addons, 4GB should be more than adequate.
April 4, 201313 yr I have a bunch of plug-ins running with 2gig of memory so your memory isn't the issue. I agree - go after the recently added parts or suspect the power supply has been recently overloaded. I have read of others running something like 14 drives off a Corsair 430W supply, which is likely the same one.
April 4, 201313 yr I'm wondering whether the 430W PSU is marginal for ten (or eleven - 5 + 6?) drives. Perhaps you have recently added a drive? to get a rough idea, how your psu is holding up with your hardware i recommend a psu calculator. http://www.msi.com/service/power-supply-calculator/ is one example (actually pretty decent and straight forward) others you will find also with a short search. anyway, if your psu gets to the limits, dont skimp out on a few bucks for a new one. cheap psu's cause more damage than many other things. good quality, 12v single rail is a must, to save some bucks look also for at least broze rated energy savings... i usually use ocz (good price/ quality). also modular psu helps to keep clutter out of your case -> better airflow/ cooling.
April 4, 201313 yr I'm wondering whether the 430W PSU is marginal for ten (or eleven - 5 + 6?) drives. Perhaps you have recently added a drive? Thanks Peter. I am guessing it is down to two issues if it is really a hardware problem - 4 port sata controller/StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack I got this controller 3 weeks ago and attached two 3tb Drives to it via StarTech 3 Bay 3.5" Removable HDD Rack. Maybe i should have gone for a better controller but it was the cheapest i found on ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/123967-startech-4-port-pci-serial-ata-sata-storage-controller-raid-0-1-pcisata4r1 - PSU. With 10 drives and one HDD rack connected to the PSU, i think it's time i replace to a 650 or 750w PSU Also, is the 4gb RAM enough? Will i notice a difference if i add another 4gb ram? The board has two dimm slots and only one is currently being used 4gb ram sounds like plenty, on the other hand if you run sth like subsonic and/ or directory caching more would poss not hurt. you might wanna check also if your setup is dual channel memory capable (it should be), in this case you would be better off with 2x2 or 2x4gb, it helps with speed issues. as mentioned before, if you go for a new psu, dont skimp around on $10 or 20! nothing is worse for your system than a cheap crappy psu. see also unraid webpage (somewhere under build your own) even there you get told buy a GOOD psu. its not only for unraid, but generally when you build a system. single rail 12v should be a must when looking for replacement. i run a fairly similar setup to yours, have a ocz zt750 in it. kinda overkill, but it stays cool (helps to keep it effiçient) and gives me plenty room for expansion in the future.
April 4, 201313 yr More then 4gigs on a 32bit system is of less then optimal value.. It even decreases the amount of memory BELOW the 4gig limit and causes memory issues, so unless you experience out of memory issues I would not do any upgrades to that... I was running with 16 gigs and having memory issues on a weekly basis, I went back to 4gig and no issues anymore, als no issues with any kind of performance. If you recently added a controller and probably drives then chances are big your power supply is beiing taxed to much, if your power supply is not single rail then even the fact that you moved disks to a different power connector might be causing issues.. In any case: if the 430W is nog overloaded now it will be soon so I would invest in a higer performance one. I am using a Coolermaster silent pro gold 800W and happy with it.
April 4, 201313 yr More then 4gigs on a 32bit system is of less then optimal value.. It even decreases the amount of memory BELOW the 4gig limit and causes memory issues, so unless you experience out of memory issues I would not do any upgrades to that... I was running with 16 gigs and having memory issues on a weekly basis, I went back to 4gig and no issues anymore, als no issues with any kind of performance. If you recently added a controller and probably drives then chances are big your power supply is beiing taxed to much, if your power supply is not single rail then even the fact that you moved disks to a different power connector might be causing issues.. In any case: if the 430W is nog overloaded now it will be soon so I would invest in a higer performance one. I am using a Coolermaster silent pro gold 800W and happy with it. have to agree with the 4gb in a 32bit system as a max. in this case than 2x2gb instead of 1x4gb, otherwise go wherever you like to 8, 16... on a 64bit os. just keep in mind, there is a line between show-off and practical use. 4 should be plenty anyway, my 8 dont seem to bring any advantage (maybe for the directory caching combined with subsonic and 600K media files). in real life.
April 4, 201313 yr Author Thanks All. I plan to make the following changes - Change the controller, the file transfer speed is not as fast as i would like - Change the PSU to a 600w+ PSU - Replace the 4gb RAM with a 2x2 Ram Thanks again for all the replies
April 4, 201313 yr - Replace the 4gb RAM with a 2x2 Ram Performance gains from doing this will be minimal.
April 4, 201313 yr Author - Replace the 4gb RAM with a 2x2 Ram Performance gains from doing this will be minimal. Thanks for the info, no point changing to 2x2 if i won't see any performance increase. No RAM upgrade for now then
April 4, 201313 yr Author - Change the PSU to a 600w+ PSU Make sure it's a single rail PSU Yes, i am looking at this PSU Corsair CP-9020048-UK Builder Series CX 600W Power Supply http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-corsair-builder-series-cx-cp-9020048-uk-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu
April 5, 201313 yr - Replace the 4gb RAM with a 2x2 Ram Performance gains from doing this will be minimal. Thanks for the info, no point changing to 2x2 if i won't see any performance increase. No RAM upgrade for now then that wasn't what i tried to suggest to begin with, if you have to run out and buy it new. more as a tip if you have it sitting around and collecting dust. about the performance gain you can argue. in some cases there is very little, some software comes to life with the use of dual channel capabilities. i am by no means a unraid expert, so i tend to believe the statement that it does little to nothing for unraid. here is some basic starter info about dual-channel memory... just in case you are interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture
April 5, 201313 yr - Change the PSU to a 600w+ PSU Make sure it's a single rail PSU Yes, i am looking at this PSU Corsair CP-9020048-UK Builder Series CX 600W Power Supply http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-corsair-builder-series-cx-cp-9020048-uk-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-atx-psu i would say with corsair, ocz and the likes you cant really go wrong. just consider your 'near' future expansion plans when deciding on the wattage for your new psu. generally it is not good to have it running close to max. but i would think 600w will give you quite a bit of room for now. on the other hand, shopping around might turn up a 'bigger' psu for the same price or less! i was shopping in january for sth in the area 600w and ended up with with same brand 750w for about $20 less total than the smaller one (on sale, $25 after sale rebate, $15 instant rebate). it might be worth it to spend an hour or so shopping around. dont get scared away by shop warranty etc policies, its the manufacturer warranty that counts in the end. L
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