Tag: upgrade

Synology Hybrid RAID Expansion Begins…

Synology upgrade begins

This is actually my first go at using this little trick. I only noticed it a few years ago.  i haven’t had a need to use it.  Until now.  i am so delighted that Synology continues to innovate.  Every time i deploy a Synology, it has even more functionality. i am not getting paid for this, honest endorsement.   I only wish they made direct attached storage or SANs.  I do not mean to imply that i have a problem with NAS.

I am not only upgrading the capacity, but the throughput and seek times as well.  With dual drive protection, it will be a few redundancy passes before i see any additional storage and probably even longer before i will see much more performance.  it will be an interesting project. The process so far has been simple. i just deactivated the outgoing drive and replaced it with the new bigger faster drive.  Once that is done, you repair the volume with the new disk and wait.  And wait.  Eventually do it all again. And again.

Status update:

Backup Begins Again

For the first time in i don’t know how long, i have enough backup storage to backup ALL my critical data and even some less critical data.  This also marks the end of my OS X Server.  From a graphite G4 through so many minis, I have always had an OS X Server on my network. . . until now.  I left the label from its previous installation while it was in operation.  This mini i inherited the way i acquire so much equipment, it’s previous owner thought it was broken.  I tried to explain, but i wasn’t going to say no to this lovely unit.

Bad Server

hardware, Media, technology

2019 Storage upgrade phase 2 begins!

| be3n

Drobo 5c - Rebuild

Now the waiting truly begins.  fingers crossed against additional failures.  On the next upgrade i’ll be able to test to see if the Drobo Pro (the original Drobo 8 bay) supports disks greater than 4TB.  Apparently, no one has tested that. I honestly wonder how many of these are still in use? I have now replaced every drive in my Pro.

Update: I have been informed by @mistacabage that the Drobo Pro will not accept drives larger then 4TB. The official documentation just said it was untested.

Drobo Pro - Rebuild

Software, technology

Sometimes I feel like the cobbler with no shoes

| be3n

High Sierra InstallI upgraded my Mac Pro to High Sierra.  For the most part it was seamless.  The installer automatically migrated the HFS+ file system to AFPS and everything appeared to be working great.  As it turns out. . . I have a new intermittent problem that causes the computer to become unresponsive while idle.

It presents primarily as a failure to wake from sleep (backlit black screens instead).  Display sleep is actually all that is required to present and of course it is not every time.  It is often enough for me to return to the 90s habit of shutting down my computer after I finish using it lest I cause irreparable harm to my mounted file systems.  Here are some things i have discovered while trying to resolve.  Sometimes i can access the computer remotely, other times not, never graphically.  Sometimes the system hangs as soon as it goes idle, sometimes it continues to operate.  Sometimes it restarts from “sudo reboot” from an ssh session, other times it just hangs completely when i try.  The console logs are useless.  Nothing at all before the reboot.  When unresponsive, there is nothing to do but hold the power button.

The difficulty i am having at discovering the core of the issue combined with the fact that my remote backup has gotten stale is driving me crazy.  There seems to be people complaining about this on every Apple forum there is.  I am not alone:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8085995
https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/300199/mac-pro-on-high-sierra-doesnt-wake-up
https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/73094p/mac_pro_2013_high_sierra_wont_wake…
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/high-sierra-causing-blank-screen-macpro.2073218/

UPDATE:  It’s finally fixed!

iPhone, Software, technology

iOS 11! installed!

| be3n

looking good with exciting new Control Center and loads of other features. my favorite is 5x sleep to disable touch ID (instantly and temporarily). I am looking forward to the new Augmented Reality features built into ARkit. I cannot wait to see what developers do with it.

There are a few sticky wickets (i.e. Apple changed the bluetooth and wifi toggle functionality in Control Center). For example, if you “turn off” wifi it actually just disassociates you from your current network leaving your wifi radio on and functioning. i don’t mind because i wanted exactly this feature. if you actually want to turn off a radio, you need to go to your Settings app or turn on Airplane mode.

Apple maps is stepping up their game with indoor maps of malls, airports and others allowing navigation without GPS or even a view of the sky. Easy trick to share your complex wifi password with other apple devices and of course native animated GIF support!

Continue reading “iOS 11! installed!” →

hardware, Internet, Software, technology

Finally upgraded firmware of a critical piece of my network!

| be3n

network infrastructure For years now I have been terrified of one particular network device. This high end device requires a service contract from it’s manufacturer to be eligible for software upgrades and as such had been neglected for some time. I couldn’t use it the way I wanted or hardly at all for fear that it would be compromised via the Heartbleed vulnerability. Forced to relegate this amazing appliance to be firewalled far from the prying packets of the Internet at large.

Finally, with some licensing help from a friend, it’s firmware is finally current! It can once again take it’s place as the core of my network without the fear of being instantly owned. Thank you Adam once again for all your help.  Let this be a lesson to hardware venders.  Don’t force people to pay service contracts just for security upgrades.  Your bugs, your job to fix.

hardware, technology

Did you know that 2011 iMacs have space for an extra 2.5″ HD?

| be3n

iMacApparently, apple offered optional SSDs at the time of purchase, but the space and sata ports are available in all 2011 iMacs.  You will need some custom cables and a bracket (or double stick tape) to complete the install.  It is also a pain in the ass (requires a full Logic Board removal) to run the cable to the board.  Not recommended for novices, but its incredibly cool to have both the speed of SSD and the capacity of a mechanical drive, all inside the iMac.