WHS 2011 and Cove-Cube Stablebit 2.x upgrade

[BonzaiDuck]

Just curious about the experience of others who were using WHS 2011 and Stablebit -- upgrading to version 2.x.

This could of course be posted in any of "Operating Systems," "Windows Software" -- even "Networking." But it involves the storage capabilities of Win Server 2008 R2 and later -- to include Win 7 and Win 8.

I had been concerned about these "add-in" upgrades for WHS 2011: Primarily, whether I needed to purchase a new license, or that there was an "upgrade price break," etc. So far, though, I find that the old license keys for versions 1.x of Stablebit and Andreas' Advanced Administrative Console are good for the version 2.x upgrades.

I was a bit concerned about upgrading Stablebit, since it requires complete de-installation of version 1.x and then re-installation of the 2.x version. I just about "had a cow" with my first re-installation attempt: All my WHS add-in installation "exe's" were on the pooled drive! So uninstalling v 1.x made them totally inaccessible. Not deterred, I downloaded the Stablebit v 2.x again, and proceeded to install it through the WHS desktop and "Run" command.

So I can say "I'm impressed." On the other hand, I'd like to confirm if the following is "normal."

1) There is no longer a "status" column specification of "duplicated" versus "unduplicated" on the native WHS "Server Folders and Hard Drives" tab of the Dashboard. Of course, your initial response is panic. Version 2.x is rebuilding the pool, balancing etc. And it reports the duplication you originally created. I soon find that "duplication" is handled through a slightly-obscure pop-up menu under "Protection" on the Stablebit page, giving full control over (a) duplicating the entire pool, (b) duplicating selected files and (c) changing individual items in either case from duplicated to unduplicated or vice-versa.

2) All other WHS add-ins appear in a table under the "add ins" tab of the Dashboard, and there had been no exception with Stablebit v.1.x. But suddenly -- Stablebit just doesn't appear there. I assume this was the programmer's choice: the add-in's instructions tell you to use "Control-Panel->Programs&Features" to uninstall the program if you desire. There is no capability to uninstall it from the "Add-ins" page of Dashboard.

It all seems to be working marvelously well. I just thought these were anomalous aspects of the installation and wanted to confirm everything is really A-OK and copacetic.

 

[DaveJ]

I tested an upgrade to DrivePool v2.x on my WHS2011 box and I believe what you're seeing is normal. From what I understand v2.x has more limited dashboard integration than v1.x did, but it offers remote management capability that 1.x does not.

Also, I believe you can freely uninstall Drivepool and reinstall an older or newer version as needed. Uninstallation does not delete the hidden "PoolPart" directory on your pool drives, and upon reinstallation Drivepool will automatically scan for those and rebuild your pool. v1.x Drivepool installs are also backward compatible with v2.x. On my box I installed v2.x but decided I wanted the dashboard integration instead of the extra features, so I went back to v1.x and my pool was rebuilt automatically.

Like you I am very impressed with the stability and flexibility of Drivepool, I prefer it to other pooling solutions, including Microsoft's Storage Spaces.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I tested an upgrade to DrivePool v2.x on my WHS2011 box and I believe what you're seeing is normal. From what I understand v2.x has more limited dashboard integration than v1.x did, but it offers remote management capability that 1.x does not.

Also, I believe you can freely uninstall Drivepool and reinstall an older or newer version as needed. Uninstallation does not delete the hidden "PoolPart" directory on your pool drives, and upon reinstallation Drivepool will automatically scan for those and rebuild your pool. v1.x Drivepool installs are also backward compatible with v2.x. On my box I installed v2.x but decided I wanted the dashboard integration instead of the extra features, so I went back to v1.x and my pool was rebuilt automatically.

Like you I am very impressed with the stability and flexibility of Drivepool, I prefer it to other pooling solutions, including Microsoft's Storage Spaces.

Good to hear from someone who had firsthand experience with it. I was going to e-mail Cove Cube. I also have Andreas Micelli's Advanced Admin Console running on the same rig. When I e-mailed to get confirmation that my current license was good for a similar upgrade of AAC, he wrote back with assurances, but noted that if I made some major system hardware change, for instance the system hard drive, I needed to send him a hash-code the software derives from the system so he could update his files. But -- all I could see for swapping a 60GB SSD for a 320GB HDD was "total license applicability." No change.

So to continue, I increased my drive pool with an additional WD Blue 1TB drive I had as a spare in the parts locker. With the SSD swap, I probably break even on power consumption. So I was also thinking of replacing the drives in the pool one at a time with 2TB units.

Started looking at the WD Red drives and a video at the Egg. There is a lot of customer dismay about the 4TB Red models, and it may extend to smaller ones. So I need to find something with the same power-ssaving and NAS/RAID/server applicability, but with as better reliability history.