NAS Disk Test - 3rd test extremely slow.

Have you updated firmware since the last tests?

There was a bug earlier on when the firmware mistakenly declared the test completed before it actually was.

Also the test will pause if spindown is enabled on the drive (resuming when the drive spins up again).

StephenB wrote:
Have you updated firmware since the last tests? There was a bug earlier on when the firmware mistakenly declared the test completed before it actually was. Also the test will pause if spindown is enabled on the drive (resuming when the drive spins up again).

Thanks - This is like counting eels in a bucket with your bare hands. :shock:

StephenB wrote:
Have you updated firmware since the last tests?

Yes

StephenB wrote:
There was a bug earlier on when the firmware mistakenly declared the test completed before it actually was.

That's useful. So earlier timings were/MAY be incorrect.

StephenB wrote:
Also the test will pause if spindown is enabled on the drive (resuming when the drive spins up again).

Could you elaborate please? Having enabled spindown does not mean the disc is not spinning (at normal speed).
My logs show the spindown was enabled before the start of the test and disabled in the middle.

BaJohn wrote:
StephenB wrote: Also the test will pause if spindown is enabled on the drive (resuming when the drive spins up again). Could you elaborate please? Having enabled spindown does not mean the disc is not spinning (at normal speed). My logs show the spindown was enabled before the start of the test and disabled in the middle.

The drive can/will spin down in the middle of the test. In that case, the test pauses, and then resumes when the drive spins up for other reasons. So it will take longer if a spin down occurs.

The fix for the false completion messages was made in April (6.2.3-T1817 - beta 12).
[quote="http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=154&t=78866#p443001":1y10kv4c]54. [Beta 12] Fix invalid scheduled disk test result reporting.[/quote:1y10kv4c]

StephenB wrote:

BaJohn wrote: StephenB wrote: Also the test will pause if spindown is enabled on the drive (resuming when the drive spins up again). Could you elaborate please? Having enabled spindown does not mean the disc is not spinning (at normal speed). My logs show the spindown was enabled before the start of the test and disabled in the middle. The drive can/will spin down in the middle of the test. In that case, the test pauses, and then resumes when the drive spins up for other reasons. So it will take longer if a spin down occurs.

So when spindown is enabled the disk will spin down EVEN IF IN THE MIDDLE OF A DISK TEST. I am surprised.
Perhaps a different question is required :?
When spindown is enabled, under what circumstances would the disks NOT spindown?

In my case above, the order was spindown enabled, test started followed by spindown disabled. Presumably the test actually started when the spindown was disabled?

BaJohn wrote:
So when spindown is enabled the disk will spin down EVEN IF IN THE MIDDLE OF A DISK TEST. I am surprised.

Yes, that is the case (at least with the WDC red drives).

BaJohn wrote:
Perhaps a different question is required :? When spindown is enabled, under what circumstances would the disks NOT spindown?

My understanding is that the drives spin up on their own when they receive a disk-read command from the NAS. There might be other circumstances (and to some degree it might depend on the specific drive model). The NAS initiates the spindown, but the drive chooses when to spin-up.

BaJohn wrote:
In my case above, the order was spindown enabled, test started followed by spindown disabled. Presumably the test actually started when the spindown was disabled?

What matters of course is when the drive actually spins up/down (not the time that spindown is enabled/disabled). You should be able to see the actual spindown/spinup times in the log.

Netgear should probably disable spindown when the test is running.

The NAS will store some things in cache in the memory so the disks should only need to spin up if the NAS can't access what it asks for in the cache.

Thanks guys
As my system is very lightly loaded (at the moment) and my disks seem to be bobbing up and down like an albatross in a wild sea, I decided a day or so ago to completely turn the spindown functionality OFF. As the only objective to do with spindown was to save wear and tear it seems like a no brainer (for me) to leave the disks permanently running 24 x 7.

BaJohn wrote:
Thanks guys As my system is very lightly loaded (at the moment) and my disks seem to be bobbing up and down like an albatross in a wild sea, I decided a day or so ago to completely turn the spindown functionality OFF.

About how many times a day were the disks spinning up?
About how many hours per day were they spun down?

StephenB wrote:
About how many times a day were the disks spinning up?

A quick sampled analysis of the spindown log indicates between 3 and 6 times per day, most of which would be spun back up after 30 - 60 minutes, some after just a few seconds. Sometimes not all the disks would spindown (presumably OS activity). It is extremely varied.

StephenB wrote:
About how many hours per day were they spun down?

Between 5 and 9 hrs.
It would take a lot of analysis (In April I was going to write a script to do it, but life intervened) to plan a sensible spindown regime linked to known activities on the NAS box, and now I am involved in Win 10 preparations.
So it seemed easier to turn off the spindown functionality until I can sensible revisit it.

Personally I'd have kept it turned on with those stats, but of course there is no right (or wrong) answer on this.