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Post by rpalmer68 on Mar 9, 2010 19:25:12 GMT 7
Hi,
Before I setup my 5200pro I updated to the latest firmware at that time, which was 2.1.09 (hmmm).
Since then there has been numerous firmware betas out but the latest official version is only 2.00.16, which is a lower number than my current version, but I know is a later versoin... oh dear!
So I am VERY confused as to what version I should be running.
I want to add another 1TB seagate drive (currently have 3 under RAID-5) and expand my array, but read that newer firmware resolves an issue with hot plug Seagate drives. I'm not sure if this will affect me, but it makes me nervous when I read these things relating to drives I'm using so would obviously like to ensure I'm runngin the latest/best firmware to support the seagate drives.
My system has been up for over 200 days and runs fine.
So my question is, what firmware should I be running on my system given I am currently on 2.1.09 which seems to not have the fix for hot plugging seagate drives?
Do I need to downgrade somehow to 2.0.16? I also see there were beta 2.01.10.17 versions out there too, but they are only betas, along with the 2.0.18 beta versions.
So can somebody please advise what I should be running and how to get it on to my 5200pro, and also if I am able to retain my RAID data during this upgrade/downgrade
Many thanks Richard
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Post by treogen on Mar 10, 2010 3:42:03 GMT 7
If you plan to expand your RAID volume, FW 2.01.09 seems to be a bad choice. I've described my experience here.My experience with 2.00.16 is positive so far but I'm using Samsung F1 drives. In the release notes to FW 2.00.18.2 the following is mentioned: "Fixed RAID migration issue while using Seagate 1.5TB drives" So, perhaps 2.00.18.2 better suits your needs than 2.00.16.
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Post by rpalmer68 on Mar 19, 2010 19:37:00 GMT 7
I got this response from Thecus support when I asked the same question..
I'm sure 2.00.16 was released well after 2.01.09.
So is there a 2.01.x stream of the firmware that is still being deleloped or what??
Cheers
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Post by treogen on Mar 20, 2010 4:09:58 GMT 7
2.01.09 was available for some time as stable version via the official Thecus website. Then it got replaced with 2.00.16 all of a sudden.
I had no problems with 2.01.09 until I had to expand the RAID volume. Well, I miss the bad block scan in 2.00.16 but that's a minor inconvenience. On the other side, the units boots faster with 2.00.16 compared to 2.01.09.
Personally, I'd try to stay away from beta versions but honestly I believe any software is beta these days even when declared as stable.
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Post by tankslappa on Mar 21, 2010 3:45:14 GMT 7
Thecus' version control would be hysterical if it wasn't such a pain in the arse! I remember having problems with mine when I first got it, it wasn't recognising all the Samsung F1s at bootup. I contacted Thecus, they sent me a beta firmware. This fixed the problem. A few months later a new firmware release came out, with a higher number than the beta I had... Being from an IT background I would much prefer to be using a full release than a beta, so I installed it. I think it was 2.00.10... Guess what, 2.00.10 didn't have the Samsung F1 fix from the earlier beta! *bangs head against wall* By this point I had discovered it's quicker to come to places like this for a solution than battle through Thecus' "support", so I got hold of 2.00.11.2 (beta) which worked with the F1 drives. And there I stayed remembering the old moto of "if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it" and adding "even if it means you're running live with a beta!" I'm just in the process of upgrading my drives, and can confirm that beta even works with the new Samsung 2TB drives, although I have just upgraded to 2.00.16 (to try to get my 2Ghz P4M to run at 2Ghz!). Luckily 2.00.16 still seems to support the 2TB drives... Not sure if I want to try putting the F1s back in just to "see"... ;D And yes I did check this site and the intarweb thoroughly before "risking" 2.00.16! I'm not surprised Thecus are in a mess with their versions, having the live 2.00 family, the 2.01 betas and a version 3 firmware that appeared and then vanished again, I honestly think there are several gangs of coders all working on different versions and never talking to each other! Personally, I'd try to stay away from beta versions but honestly I believe any software is beta these days even when declared as stable. I've actually had a better experience with the betas than the full releases! The full releases always cause my problems, and the betas have the fixes for them! To my mind the beta is correctly named, but the live version should be called an Alpha!
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bengt
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by bengt on Mar 30, 2010 2:40:09 GMT 7
Hi,
I am new on the Thecus forum. This is the first post I have done here, but I have had a lot of help by reading on the forum, since I have own first a Thecus 5200 and then since about two years, I have a Thecus 5200Pro.
The firmware 2.01.09 was withdrawn and was replaced by FW 2.00.16, after the problem I (and possible other) have had with RAID5 expansion/migration (added a new disk to my RAID). With 2.00.16 and earlier FW, both replacing with new disks and migration/expand worked fine. But with 2.01.09 it was impossible to migrate/expand the RAID, when I upgraded from 3 to 4 disks. I had contact with a technician at Thecus for about two weeks, before we decided to use FW 2.00.16 instead. When the expansion and migration worked fine. The new disk was detected automatically and expansion/migration started. I have also tested the 2.01.10.17 Beta. I liked the HMI for both the 2.01.09 and especially the 2.01.10.17, better than than current FW. But since the main reason for me to use the N5200Pro, is as a NAS, not for working in the HMI, the current FW does it's work and that's good enough for me.
Currently I have 4 Seagate ES2 1 TB, in a RAID5.
I hope that this give you some clue to why Thecus for the moment has 2.00.16 as the FW for the 5200Pro. I think that you can use newer FW, but it may cause some problem if you want to expand/migrate your RAID.
/Bengt
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Post by tankslappa on Apr 1, 2010 20:10:42 GMT 7
I've never risked a migrate/expand, there are just too many horror stories.
So I backup the NAS, delete the array, add the new drive, create a new array, leave it for several days to build, then restore the data.
I think that actually completes faster than an expand too! lol!
I'm lucky that I have other storage to take all the data and provide the online storage for the network whilst the Thecus is building.
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Post by treogen on Apr 1, 2010 22:42:43 GMT 7
I think that actually completes faster than an expand too! lol! 33 hrs for the migration + 30 minutes for the expansion. 4 x 1TB -> 5 x 1TB
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Post by tankslappa on Apr 3, 2010 17:43:01 GMT 7
That's about the same time it took mine to build the empty 5 x 2TB RAID5 array, so it sounds like a build runs at twice the speed of a migrate/expand... ;D
Your 4 drive to 5 drive is actually one of the easier expansions, but if you already have a full 5 drive array and want to replace them with larger drives, the build from scratch is way faster.
I was changing from a 5 x 1TB array to a 5 x 2TB array, which if I'd gone the expand route, would have involved 5 x swapping single drives and waiting for the rebuild each time before I could even get to the expand... So about a week!
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