Since applying the 6.9.0 firmware update last week, we have been noticing that when we are working on a file stored on the NAS and then save, it creates a second copy of the file with the file name in lower case in the same directory. If we try to delete the copy with the lower case file name it will delete the original instead, but retain the lower case copy. We are accessing via SMB due to mixed platform environment and this occurs both with Mac and Windows and multiple workstations, so we are left to believe it is the NAS behaving this way.
Accessing and saving a file that is already stored on the NAS is the only way we have been able to manifest this behavior. Copying/uploading files from workstations does not create the duplicates. Openning a file woithout saving does not create a duplicate. It occurs across multiple different applications/does not appear to be specific to one program or company (i.e. Adobe, Microsoft, etc.). We can see the duplicates on the NAS admin panel as well, and on other computers that weren't modifying the files that created the duplicates. Due to daily business use we are certain that this did not occur before we applied the latest firmware last week.
After a couple more days with this behavior, we have some additional notes. We have also now had files that save in lower case no matter how we input the file name when saving directly to the NAS. The behavior is intermittent in both this case and the previously mentioned duplicating of files but happens more frequently than not. Both copies of the file seem to be still related - trying to delete the duplicate file with lower case name instead deletes the original, but the copy is still a fully functional file once the duplicate is deleted. If one tries to open the file with original name it is accessible but causes application errors when trying to make changes and save. The lower case file also works and if modified and saved it removes the original (non-lower case) duplicate from the directory.
It's not causing loss of data from what we have so far seen, but it is really frustrating and annoying to work around. The duplicate files are also being backed up to both our local (NAS) and online (DropBox) mirrors as they are created, so it seems like the issue is strictly with the RN316.
It is also highly disruptive as we have databases with case-sensitive links that will no longer function when a file changes case like this. Having to go back and modify multiple databases when this shouldn't be occuring in the first place is not optimal. Only workaround for now is to copy from the NAS to a workstation, modify all files locally, delete the directory on the NAS, and then copy everything back.
Unsure if this is another 6.9.0 issue, but so far is anyone else seeing this behavior on their systems?
I hadn't seen talk of this elsewhere, but based on what you say Netgear has been notified but has not posted a response yet? I haven't seen anything specific to this in the beta notes yet either. Is there another way to report these to Netgear outside the forums (or paid support ticket)?
We have a ticket open with Netgear currently however they're very slow to respond and aren't really getting anywhere with it so I'm assuming there are only very few users with this issue and probably is only related to running in a hybrid Win/Mac environment. What all services are you running?
SMB, Rsync, UPnP, HTTP/HTTPS. The workstations are only using SMB for share access, Rsync is enabled because we have a local backup (another, older ReadyNAS) that is using Rsync to do daily backups. I can at least confirm the behavior occurs on both Windows and Mac and wasn't tied to a specfic OS/workstation.
We have not tinkered with the SMB versions/settings in any way, so it would be whatever the defaults are (RN 316) under the current firmware. Sorry I don't have a more definitive answer.
We have not tinkered with the SMB versions/settings in any way, so it would be whatever the defaults are (RN 316) under the current firmware. Sorry I don't have a more definitive answer.
The NAS will accept SMB1, SMB2, or SMB3. So this question really depends on your client devices (e.g., what version of windows your PCs are running).
I can echo that - Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Microsoft Word & Excel, FlexiSign, AccuZIP, also web browser downloads. Both Mac and Windows has the same issue, we're about 50/50 split between the two. Anytime a file is saved directly to the NAS, regardless of if it already existed on the NAS (Open and Save) or not (new file Save). It has to be a save to create the issue, copying files to or from the NAS does not trigger the behavior.
Most of these programs actually save the current file version and then delete the old one. File renaming has to take place in that process. They may also create a temporary working file (I know the Microsoft products do, but I'm not sure on the others). I'm not sure why these would trigger this behavior, but it's worth noting in the debugging.
Also, do the users open the files by double-clicking on them or using the Open dialog in the program? If it's by double-clicking, try using the Open dialog instead. It could be telling, and it may provide a temporary work-around while Netgear works on the issue.
The share folder which appears duplicate files , do you sync to Dropbox cloud? If it is , please change the files to another share folder(do not sync to Dropbox cloud), then perform normal operations. In this situation, is there a duplicate files?
Yes they're also syncing to dropbox, will disconnect dropbox from the Nas and see if the issue goes away. Thanks for the suggestion, it looks like dropbox has a long history of creating lowercase duplicates.
Thank you for this tip, it appears that Dropbox is the culprit.
I turned off Dropbox sync and we were able to save direct to the NAS without duplicates being created. I re-enabled sync on our smaller share for testing and the behavior began again.
I then changed the sync from bi-directional to one-way to Dropbox (we are using for backup purposes, so we don't need to make changes to files on Dropbox and have them sync back down). Now it will not create the "duplicate" copy when we save work directly to the NAS, and we can still see the sync appearing in Dropbox as the files are created, and we can delete files from the NAS and see them removed from DropBox in nearly real time.
While the saved file does not create a copy with changed case, the copy stored on Dropbox DOES change to all lower case. There is not a duplicate created on either end of the sync, but the case changes on DropBox only. The NAS file names remain as we originally set them. Looks to be the connection to Dropbox then is the culprit. We can work around by using one-way sync (since this is for backup purposes) and if we need to download and restore we'll just have some isolated work to do to repair case-sensitive links. Not 100% ideal, but it fixes the main issue of the duplicating files.
