Hello Everyone, I started a manual "Balance" on my older ReadyNAS running the latest OS and 76TB of disk space. It has progressed to 10% completion after running for 7 hours, and NAS is barely accessible and slowed to a crawl. At this rate, it will take a week to complete. So I need to stop it. I can not find a way to terminate the Balance. For other function, like Scrub, an option is presented so you can just terminate the job. That option for Balance seems to be missing. I scoured the internet and OS 6.10.x owners manual, but can not find any reference on terminating a Scrub/Balance/Defrag jobs. Can anyone please tell me how to terminate this BALANCE job via the Web interface? Thanks.

Readynaspro wrote: So I found a way using the free downloaded PuTTY program and its SSH. BTW, windows also has ssh built in. Try entering ssh root@nas-ip-address from the windows search bar. Readynaspro wrote: So is there an easy way to do this via the web interface? Some button or togggle? Unfortunately, there isn't. As an aside: although I get the issue with NAS performance, the longer the balance takes, the more it is needed. I run them every 4 months as part of my maintenance schedule, and they complete in about 5 minutes.

In many cases, you will also see the estimated completion time reduced, often significantly, by more than the elapsed time as the balance progresses and the estimate gets better. Balances are mostly additive -- a new one takes over where the last left off, less any files changed since. So you can run one during less-used periods, abort it when you need to, and start over. It'll finally get to the point it doesn't need a lot of time to complete. But just putting up with it the first time is the best method.

Readynaspro wrote: Verdict. Do not run BALANCE, SCRUB, or DEFRAG on older machines like my ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer if you have upgraded it with OS6 and capacity (I am running 76TB) now. My machine has been a very dependable workhorse for over a decade. But these older machines are way too slow now. So time for a new NAS> would buy a NetGear NAS, but they do not make them anymore. FWIW, my volumes are smaller - about 30 TB But I think real problem is that you weren't regularly running balances along the way. As I indicated, they complete in less than 5 minutes on mine. Defrags take a similar amount of time (though I think are of questionable value). Scrubs take the same amount of time as a resync (because they basically are resyncs). I run them periodically mostly because I think they also serve as a good disk diagnostic. One benefit of the balance is that it consolidates and reallocates free space (allowing more of the free space to be actually used). Do you have file compression enabled for the file system? That might be part of the performance problem. You could start the balance using ssh, and set -dusage to reduce the amount of work needed. For instance, start with -dusage=5. That will only compact blocks that are less than 5% full. That should complete much faster than the NAS maintenance function. I believe the NAS setting is -dusage=70 (not sure) Once -dusage=5 completes, you can do another pass the next night with -dusage=10, etc. The work the night before won't be redone.

Readynaspro wrote: Not familiar with SSH commands or syntax. Would it be this?> btrfs -dusage=5 balance start /data Yes. Here's a test run from my own NAS. root@NAS:~# btrfs balance start -dusage=5 /data Done, had to relocate 0 out of 17255 chunks root@NAS:~# Readynaspro wrote: Last, could you please point me to where I may be able to find a list of SSH commands for the NetGear NAS? It would be good to finally learn this SSH stuff. Seems the older these machines get, the more I may need it. My unit is now 15 years old 🙂 and served me well (pardon the pun). Unfortunately I don't know of any targetted guide for the ReadyNAS. There are several sites that talk about linux generally that would be a good starting point. It'd be best to learn linux basics on a PC running linux (maybe booting it up from a flash drive), as mistakes made on the NAS itself can easily result in data loss. Readynaspro wrote: I understood that ReadyDR only copied snapshots (few GB), not some entire volume's data. Apparently not. Or it just barfed. It is based on snapshots, but the first backup will still be the same size what it is backing up. My own backups are all rsync - ReadyDR has some advantages, particularly for iSCSI Luns, but I prefer being able to access my backups without needing to restore them.

So I found a way using the free downloaded PuTTY program and its SSH. That worked to stop the Balance. But more risky to use for inexperienced line code users like me. So is there an easy way to do this via the web interface? Some button or togggle?

How do you STOP a ReadyNAS balance in progress with latest OS?

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Readynaspro
Aspirant
Apr 02, 2023
So I found a way using the free downloaded PuTTY program and its SSH. That worked to stop the Balance. But more risky to use for inexperienced line code users like me.

So is there an easy way to do this via the web interface? Some button or togggle?
- StephenB
  Guru - Experienced User
  Apr 02, 2023
  Readynaspro wrote:
  
  So I found a way using the free downloaded PuTTY program and its SSH.
  
  BTW, windows also has ssh built in. Try entering ssh root@nas-ip-address from the windows search bar.
  
  Readynaspro wrote:
  
  So is there an easy way to do this via the web interface? Some button or togggle?
  
  Unfortunately, there isn't.
  
  As an aside: although I get the issue with NAS performance, the longer the balance takes, the more it is needed. I run them every 4 months as part of my maintenance schedule, and they complete in about 5 minutes.
  - Sandshark
    Sensei
    Apr 02, 2023
    In many cases, you will also see the estimated completion time reduced, often significantly, by more than the elapsed time as the balance progresses and the estimate gets better. Balances are mostly additive -- a new one takes over where the last left off, less any files changed since. So you can run one during less-used periods, abort it when you need to, and start over. It'll finally get to the point it doesn't need a lot of time to complete. But just putting up with it the first time is the best method.