OK, I'm feeling a little stupid here but where do I see what version of PlexWeb I am running? I know I can see that I am using the latest version of PMS in the settings but is the web a different download?
From the web interface click the SETTING icon top right (wrench).
That will default you to the WEB info. It's a "tabbed" interface without the tabs (sounds stupid, but what it is). You can easily check the WEB bundle version here as well as the SERVER version by clicking on that "tab".
Carlo
What drinehart said. Your drives will last longer and have less chance of problems if you let them constantly run. It will use a bit more electric monthly but if you extend one drive 2 months you are probably a head of the game.
Check and see if there is an adjustment/config you can change in your external enclosure.
You can also check Seagate's website. You can adjust this setting directly on most drives and force it.
Probably not for your drives but here's an example: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/214217en?language=en_US
You could also check out nosleephd.codeplex.com/releases/view/24052 or similar utils to do the same thing.
Let us know how you make out,
Carlo
Probably not for your drives but here's an example: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/214217en?language=en_US
You could also check out nosleephd.codeplex.com/releases/view/24052 or similar utils to do the same thing.
I did glean one interesting set of instructions from that Seagate article:
If you set the drive's sleep interval to "Never" and the drive still falls asleep, or if the drive continues to fall asleep more quickly than your setting, please follow these instructions for Windows XP/Vista/7:
Never thought to look at the USB Root Hub for a power control setting. I'll look at this when I get back home to the server.
Thanx Carlo.
A couple of the boxes would require me to pickup a SAS card which aren't cheap. While I'd probably get higher performance from that setup I really don't need it for the media server (keeping the goal in mind).
Option anxiety :)
Carlo
I wouldn't be worried about the cost there. I picked up an IBM m1015 sas card and an Intel res2cv240 sas expander card for about $150 combined total through ebay deals. Even with the cost of the Norco case, that would still come in comparable to most of the other options especially when you factor in all the extra 3.5" bays vs the other choices. Performance would be greatly improved as well with the sas card. Personally, I'm set as far as expansion now. I still have 10 hot swap bays to fill before I need to expand but at that point the norco 4224 would be in my plans. I could then use sas 8088 to an expander to interconnect and give me 44 hot swap 3.5" drives. Sas cables through ebay are really cheap as well. I think I averaged $4-5 per sas 8087 to 4 port sata 1 meter cable. The 8087 to 8087 internal sas connector for the expander was also i think $4. So not bad overall to move to SAS
In my own experience sata port multipliers sucked. I couldn't get them stable at all. Drives would drop off and they were slow. But I was using Linux so completely different animal than a windows box. On the other hand, I have not had the first problem with SAS. Completely stable and very nice connections
Yep, and just for kicks check your POWER OPTIONS under control panel to make sure you aren't using one of the energy efficient modes. You want the POWER options.
These are called different things on different system due to manufactures mucking with the names but you get what I'm saying.
On most of my HGST and WD drives I've went into the firmware and changed the setting to force the mode I want.
Give me the model number of your Seagate(s) and I'll see if I have one laying around to play with. I'm not a fan of Seagate but have a small pile of them I could check.
Yep, and just for kicks check your POWER OPTIONS under control panel to make sure you aren't using one of the energy efficient modes. You want the POWER options.
These are called different things on different system due to manufactures mucking with the names but you get what I'm saying.
Yeah, I've set all the Windows 7 power/sleep options to "never" including my monitors (which I always turn off by hand when I leave the server desk anyway). All the drive related power settings appear to only effect drives that are attached directly to the motherboard (read: internal). None of those "never" settings have ever effected my externally attached USB drives. They continue to spin-down whether I want them to or not.
I really hope that there is a "Power" setting on the USB Root Hub as that article inferred. That would solve everything.
My "duh" moment a couple weeks ago what discovering that the USB cable I had hooked up to each drive was only a USB 2.0 cable. Once I changed them out to 3.0 cables, the drives nearly tripled in write speeds. I had them plugged into the 2 ports from the motherboard that are USB 3.0, but the old cables I used didn't have all the wires necessary to support 3.0 read/write speeds.
We've all had the "Duh" moments. What separates the men from the boys is long log it takes us to realize and fix the problem.
So how long were you running them with a USB2 cable? ;)
BTW, Plexhilarated you would absolutely HATE my physical setup. I was just looking at your link (again) in your sig "My Plex World" and everything is so nice and tidy. A thing of beauty actually (for a home environment) for sure.
I work around racks of computers pretty much daily for 30 years and when I get home I don't want to look at a rack. I've got stuff piled on top of each other. Switches sitting on top of computers. Cables and fiber all over the place. Piles of drives (backups), PVR units, NAS boxes, etc But super easy to work on.
I used to be ■■■■ about this type of thing but now I'm almost the complete opposite. I almost swear that the more chaotic my setup is the faster it runs!
I'm constantly working on something or another and racks just get in the way. I can pop open computers and work on them while they are running (yep pull and insert PCI cards while computer is running) cause I've got space to do it.
My setup (in the basement) is complete anarchy but I love it! Also why I never post pics. :)
I could rack stuff but I'd need to pickup a few cases and then when I "wheel and deal" with small business network upgrades (I do often for extra cash) I'd need to start over or move equipment cases. Few small businesses seem to have rack equipment so... Just makes life easier for me.
Now upstairs, all you'll find is 46" Sharp to 75"Samsung LCD/LED TVs along with a few smaller ones in the bedrooms with Rokus, XB1s or running Sammy software by Orca. They of course are nice and tidy but here isn't to much to mess up. :)
Carlo
In what seems to be a previous life... I used to travel the world for SGI (Silicon Graphics) and demonstrate what they called the "Reality Centre," which was a semi-portable 20' wide, 8' tall, curved screen, lit up by three separate Electrohome 3-Gun projectors and some custom software that blended the overlap of the projectors into one huge Virtual Reality Theatre. We demo'ed high-end graphics software from a refrigerator sized three pipe Onyx Supercomputer that traveled with us.
You can probably imagine the cabling necessary for connecting this whole thing. By the time we were up and running at whatever event we took this production to, it was a total rat nest of wires, cables, and hoses (yes, hoses... we often brought in our own A/C units to keep the viewers comfortable).
For it's day... it was truly amazing. Today, you can get that graphics horsepower on a 1/2 length PCI card, for a few hundred bucks.
I think it was those days that caused me to be so OCD about my own cables.
I go through zip-ties like most fast-food restaurants go through napkins. :)
Zip Ties <> Computers :)
I never use them anywhere (work or home) for computers/networking (but you probably figured). They get in the way when you need to change ports or switch to a different patch panel. Same with cables that "just fit" length wise. A good cabinet will allow you to tuck the cables out of site.
I install switches backwards in racks with computers installed so the ports are on the back of the rack and near the backside of the computers. May not look great but is so much more functional.
If you can't unplug/replug a cable into any other switch port on a switch above/below it then it's to short. ;)
But then again that's when you have thousands of ports you work with...
From the web interface click the SETTING icon top right (wrench).
That will default you to the WEB info. It's a "tabbed" interface without the tabs (sounds stupid, but what it is). You can easily check the WEB bundle version here as well as the SERVER version by clicking on that "tab".
Carlo
Thanks. That worked great!
If you can't unplug/replug a cable into any other switch port on a switch above/below it then it's to short. ;)
If you can't unplug/replug a cable into any other switch port on a switch above/below it then that's exactly where it goes.
If you can't unplug/replug a cable into any other switch port on a switch above/below it then that's exactly where it goes.
Not when you run VLANs and the switch is segmented OR you use Link Aggregation and have to plug into certain ports. :)
It's far better to document ports 1-24 for one VLAN and 25-48 for VLAN2, etc.
If the network is "static" then you may get away with it but in an ever expanding network you have to give yourself "breathing room".
So how long were you running them with a USB2 cable? ;)
One was about 3 feet and the other about 8 feet. HAHAHhahaahaaaahaaaaa.......... ugh. Just kidding.
The boy-am-I-stupid part was that Windows would always tell me (when booting up), "This device can work faster if plugged into a USB 3.0 port."
I ignored this of course... because it was plugged into a USB 3.0 port.
Then... I got to thinkin'...
That lead to the "duh" moment.
One was about 3 feet and the other about 8 feet. HAHAHhahaahaaaahaaaaa.......... ugh. Just kidding.
The stupid part was that Windows would always tell me (when booting up), "This device can work faster if plugged into a USB 3.0 port."
I ignored this of course... because it was plugged into a USB 3.0 port.
Then... I got to thinkin'...
That lead to the "duh" moment.
Yea but that didn't answer the question.
How long were you running USB2 before the DOH moment?
Let's just say.... "weeks."
As in multiple = months perhaps?
Fess up and I'll do you one better one a serious DOH moment. :)
Let's just remember that there are 52 of them in a year...
Not really that long... when I bought the second unit a few months ago, I moved PMS from my laptop out to my HTPC, so technically it's been since then - the laptop never had 3.0 USB anyway.
Do share...
