× NETGEAR will be terminating ReadyCLOUD service by July 1st, 2023. For more details click here.
Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

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

Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

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.

 

Message 1 of 16
Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

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? 

Message 2 of 16
StephenB
Guru

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


@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.

Message 3 of 16
Sandshark
Sensei

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

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.

Message 4 of 16
Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

OK, thanks to both of you StephenB and Sandshark for your excellent replies.

 

I will start it up at night and shut it off in the morning. 

 

Good to know that SSH is built into Windows 7. So I can try using that. 

Message 5 of 16
Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

Few issues now:

1. I tried typing in ssh root@nas-ip-address via the Windows 7 Pro search bar. Did not work. 

I also tried via CMD (command box) and neither recognized the command.

So that does not seem to work in my version of Win7. 

 

2. Thus I have to use something like puTTY. But .......forgot to mention that puTTY downloaded a public key to my desktop.

(not sure what to do with it). Then ran once. Will not run again. Hangs on a blank black screen with green cursor. 

 

Then tried the X32 version, and that one hangs also.

Is there a better (more stable) free program to use SSH with? Any recommendations?  Thanks again. 

Message 6 of 16
Sandshark
Sensei

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

SSH is built into Windows 10 and 11, not Windows 7.  If you've checked the "Enable Password Protection" option in SSH, you shouldn't need the key.  A key exchange is used when you are automating a process that uses SSH and cannot provide user name and password.

Message 7 of 16
Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

I started running BALANCE 8 hours ago overnight (no NAS use during that time).

I used puTTY to check on the status this morning. 

 

Result: Completed 27 chunks out of about 5900 chunks (762 under consideration).

At this pace, to do all 5900 chunks would take approximately 318 days.

 

But I assume that the NAS is only considering doing 762? Not sure what that message means. 

So if that is true, then it would still take 28 days to complete. 

That is nuts. 

Terminated the BALANCE function. 

 

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. 

Message 8 of 16
StephenB
Guru

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


@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.

Message 9 of 16
Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

Great suggestions StephenB!

 

BTW: This is a new array. I factory reset the NAS a week ago, and loaded the data on it from backup. So there should be minimal work needed by BALANCE. Apparently that is not so. Maybe because I enabled ReadyDR this time ever, and it immediately overnight filled in 9TB of its own data. Something went wrong, so I disabled it and deleted its 9TB of snapshots (yes TB not GB). I understood that ReadyDR only copied snapshots (few GB), not some entire volume's data. Apparently not. Or it just barfed. 

 

I can certainly try to do the BALANCE in layers like you suggested. 

Not familiar with SSH commands or syntax. Would it be this?> 

btrfs -dusage=5 balance start /data

 

Also, is there a command that would make the NAS use less resources for the BALANCE, so that it could run 24/7 till it completes, but allow better user access during that time?

 

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). 

 

Thanks!

Message 10 of 16
Readynaspro
Aspirant

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

Forgot to add that COMPRESSION on the shares is NOT enabled. 

Message 11 of 16
StephenB
Guru

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


@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. 

Message 12 of 16
Sandshark
Sensei

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

ReadyDR is also very good for Virtual Machine "drive" files, Veracrypt containers, and other large files that have minimal changes within them.  Block-level files into which the ReadyNAS has no visibility, which is essentially what an iSCSI LUN is as well.  A standard backup will see that the file has changed and copy the whole thing anew.  ReadyDR will see only the portion that changed within the previous snapshot and only copy the changes.  I keep all such files in one share and use ReadyDR with it while I use Rsync for all others.

 

A snapshot on the same machine as the share being snapshot will typically be small unless the volume has a lot of "churn" (including by defrag).  But just coping the incremental files to another device serves no purpose, as they alone cannot be restored.  The first ReadyDR snapshot will be of the entire share at the time of the last snapshot.

 

I initially thought that having to restore (via clone) a usable share on the backup device before using it in place of the original because of the main one being down or to recover to the main one would be a lot of work.  It's really not, as I recently found out when I bit the bullet and destroyed and re-built my main NAS's volume so as to be back to XRAID and "cleaner" than the incremental vertical expansions I'd done manually in FlexRaid through three changes in drive sizes.  There is just onen thing I'll caution you about:  If you will ever need to be able to use your backup NAS in place of the primary because it went down, be sure the ReadyDR share on the backup is not named the same as the source.  The reason for that is that you'll want the clone you make to have that original name.  I just added DR to the share name.  So my Stuff share on my primary NAS back up via ReadyDR to StuffDR,  Then when I cloned it, I named the clone Stuff.  When I get to restoring it to the main NAS (it'll be one of the last, and I'm about 80% done with my 50+ TB of data restoration, I'll do the same in reverse: ReadyDR Stuff on backup to StuffDR on the main one, then clone to Stuff.  Finally, I can delete the StuffDR share on the main and Stuff on the backup.  BTW, the reason for using ReadyDR to move the data back to the main NAS is so I can then resume the ReadyDR backup without the first one after restoration being everything.  Other methods would be faster to get the data back, but the first snapshot would see everything as new and copy it all.  Netgear recommends the method I am using, and it took me a bit to recognize why. 

 

As for learning SSH, you really need to learn the Linux command line commands.  SSH is just a method of accessing the command line (a remote console).  A virtual machine is a good way to do that.  Keep backing up your "drive" file and you can always just restore it if you mess up completely.  I still use a ReadyNAS virtual machine for testing some things before I do them on a real NAS, and I have a couple "sandbox" NAS I can tinker with and factory default if needed.  But a plain Debian VM is fine for basic learning.  There are a few ReadyNAS-specific executable "commands", but their only documentation is the --help option.  Once you get to know Linux a bit, you'll probably be able to figure out the Netgear ones in usr/bin.

Message 13 of 16
StephenB
Guru

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


@Sandshark wrote:

ReadyDR is also very good for Virtual Machine "drive" files, Veracrypt containers, and other large files that have minimal changes within them.  Block-level files into which the ReadyNAS has no visibility, which is essentially what an iSCSI LUN is as well.  A standard backup will see that the file has changed and copy the whole thing anew. 


Yes, I over-simplified when I only mentioned iSCSI LUNs.  Any large file that is updated in place is backed up more efficiently with ReadyDR than with Rsync or other backup protocols. That includes containers and live databases.

 

I currently don't have many files like that on the NAS (the only one that I think qualifies is a tibx backup file from one laptop).  So I've just stayed with rsync.  The benefit for me is that if my main NAS were to fail, I can immediately switch to a backup, with no need to restore anything.

 

 

Message 14 of 16
Retired_Member
Not applicable

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

Hey Guys, 

 

So I have 2 incredibly bad problems now:

 

1) NetGear Community will not let me log into my "ReadyNASPro" user account. I can not reach it in any manner I have tried.

Going to community , the landing page comes up as a registration page and it wants me to register.  
So I had to go and make up another user name you see here. Stupid Sh*t.

I can not reach anyone at NetGear to help, without doing paid support, even to launch a ticket. 

 

So somehow NetGear dis-associated my Community account from my login credentials (email address). No way to reset credentials, as everytime I open Community, it wants me to register again. Not sure how I actually managed to get here for the reply. Or how to fix this. Can not find a way to log in using my User Name instead of email address, if that option exists. Looks like my email is now associated with the user account I am writing from. 

 

Do you guys have any direct email or access to NetGear tech or anyone who could restore my community account? Or since you are the experts on this forum, any idea on how I may attempt this? 

 

2. Used the btrfs balance start -dusage=5 /data

For the Balance procedure. It ultimately crashed the NAS. 

Went thru 20% complete after many hours. Then I tried to terminate it via SSH, but SSH was completely unresponsive. 

Tried shutting off the machine via FrontView. No response. Machine frozen. 

Forced shutoff on machine via front button. 

Machine hung on boot at 45%. Waited a long time. 

Forced shutoff again. Did a Hail Mary, and prayed to the NAS Gods. 

Machine hung on boot at 45% again. Depondent, I waited about 1/2 hour and machine completed reboot and Balance procedure was OFF. 

I can not ever risk running Balance again. The machine can not handle it, maybe due to the volumes being too large, since it seems to work on your machine @StephenB with a smaller volume without issues. Are you running X-RAID or FlexRAID? That may have something to do with it?

 

At least I have NAS access again, so this one is solved for now.

 

Message 15 of 16
StephenB
Guru

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


@Retired_Member wrote:

Are you running X-RAID or FlexRAID? That may have something to do with it?

 

 


I am running XRAID

 

Just wondering - how much RAM is in your Pro 6?

 


@Retired_Member wrote:

 

Do you guys have any direct email or access to NetGear tech or anyone who could restore my community account?

 


Try PMing @ChristineT (forum administrator).

Message 16 of 16
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
  • 15 replies
  • 1474 views
  • 5 kudos
  • 4 in conversation
Announcements