Forum Discussion

Aspirant

Mar 18, 2018

Solved

Disk spin down or power down wakeup

I would like to set my RN424 and RN104 so that they sleep most of the time unless called up by windows explorer, a backup program attempt to access, an rsync routine, a streamer drive share access, o...

Other Discussions

StephenB
Mar 19, 2018
BJB wrote:

I hear you on proving if spin down helps disc longevity. If I used them even once or twice daily I would not spin down. But that is not the case.

Other than one backup a week, my use of my NAS is absolutely random and not that frequent (once I have them setup right). They could go a full 7 days without being accessed.

Well, at the end of the day I have have spin-down enabled on my NAS. I was just giving you my reason, which might not be the same as yours. Which is fine of course, there is room for more than one view on the pros and cons of spindown.

BJB wrote:

Reading all the input above.....it sounds like when I get my live-NAS to backup-NAS Rsync job setup (the Rsync one-time copy worked great, thanks) I can make sure that they are not spun down during those times so that one NAS to NAS share is copied.

There's no real need to disable spindown when the backups are scheduled. Even the 5-minute spindown is enough to keep the disks spinning while the backups are running. I only turn off spindown on the main NAS when we tend to use it. So media players won't have a big delay when we use them, etc. It's always on in the backup NAS.

BJB wrote:

If simply using windows file explorer triggers the WOL, turning on WOL on the NAS units might be good enough for me.

It doesn't (and your browser won't trigger it either). You need a utility that sends the WOL "magic packet". So it's a way I can remotely trigger the NAS power-up, but there's nothing automatic about it.

BJB wrote:

As far as my PC backup to the NAS using a PC backup imaging program that is another issue. Turns out unless the PC is on at that time it won't run.

My PC imaging software also runs on a power schedule (and windows has a way for the backup program to wake up the PC). So I coordinate the two schedules on my desktop PCs - setting the NAS to power on at (for example) 12:00, and telling the backup to start the image backup at 12:05.

I do the laptops manually, since I don't want them to power on automatically.

Marc_V

NETGEAR Employee Retired

Mar 18, 2018

Hi BJB

Both features has it's own Pros and Cons. Both let's you save power if the unit is not in use or idle, they are configured differently but guides are always available online. Both are reliable but at the same time might not work as intended when used or configured improperly or not compatible with your setup.

Here are available links for you to check on the features that will help you decide what to use.

WakeOnLAN

Disk Spin-down

Power timer

Other community members might be able to recommend other options or tips on using the features.

Hope this helps!

Regards

BJB

Aspirant

Mar 18, 2018

Thanks. Does it steer me in a particular direction if I note I am not trying to save power, just reduce wear and tear on drives if spinning for say 7 days or a month and used once?

Thanks,

BJB

Marc_V
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Mar 18, 2018
Hi BJB

Disk Spin-down can potentially extend disk life, also if your NAS is going to be idle for that long it would be wise to choose the Power timer as well.

As noted on the article: Allowing disks to slow or spin down when not being actively used can potentially save power and extend the life of the disks, but this can also slow effective read/write speeds and can make the disks appear to be off-line or cause time outs.

The new Power Timer setting is known as event-based Power Timer. Event-based Power Timer mandates a schedule for your ReadyNAS on when it should power on or off the device. Any time not selected will keep the device in the last known state. This provides a flexibility for between powering on and powering off the device for different days. Additionally, it allows you to keep the device powered off instead of turning back on.

Regards
- BJB
  Aspirant
  Mar 18, 2018
  Marc_Vwrote:
  Hi BJB
  
  The new Power Timer setting is known as event-based Power Timer. Event-based Power Timer mandates a schedule for your ReadyNAS on when it should power on or off the device. Any time not selected will keep the device in the last known state. This provides a flexibility for between powering on and powering off the device for different days. Additionally, it allows you to keep the device powered off instead of turning back on.
  
  Regards
  
  Thanks. I read the event based power timing KB a few times. Perhaps I am missing something but what "events" wake up the NAS when off in this events-based mode?
  BJB
  - Sandshark
    Sensei - Experienced User
    Mar 19, 2018
    BJBwrote:
    Marc_Vwrote:
    
    Thanks. I read the event based power timing KB a few times. Perhaps I am missing something but what "events" wake up the NAS when off in this events-based mode?
    BJB
    
    Typically, you would use Wake On LAN (WoL), a special packet sent by another device. Unfortunately, OS6 does not have the ability to send a WoL packet prior to a backup, so doing this from another ReadyNAS is not an option. I believe there is a suggestion in the Idea Exchange to add that, though.
    
    One problem with that, though, is that while a NAS will hold off a power-down for an outgoing backup, I don't believe it will for an incoming one (because it doesn't know it's a backup job). So if you don't know how long it will take, it could either turn off in mid-backup or stay on longer than necessary.