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Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

Blues11
Luminary

Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

I have an old ReadyNAS Pro Business 6310 (I think that's the correct model number) running 6.10.1 firmware. I have a few questions. Perhaps someone can offer some advice.

 

1. Whenever I try to check for updates I get this message:

"Cannot connect. Communication error. Check your internet connection, DNS settings or proxy settings."

I think I've checked everything and all seems to be in order, but I keep getting this message.

 

2. I've also tried downloading the latest firmware and installing it manually. But I've never gotten it to install.

 

3. This old server is used solely as a backup server for a newer ReadyNAS using Rsync at night. So this question is really a tech question: Is it better to leave it run 24/7 or to have it power down until midnight, have the other server perform its backups, and then power down each night?

 

Thank you for any help or suggestions you have.

Model: RNDP6310|ReadyNAS Pro 6 3TB (3 x 1TB Enterprise)
Message 1 of 10
StephenB
Guru

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version


@Blues11 wrote:

I have an old ReadyNAS Pro Business 6310 (I think that's the correct model number) running 6.10.1 firmware.


Is it still running the stock 1 GB of RAM, or have you upgraded it?

 


@Blues11 wrote:

 

1. Whenever I try to check for updates I get this message:

"Cannot connect. Communication error. Check your internet connection, DNS settings or proxy settings."

I think I've checked everything and all seems to be in order, but I keep getting this message.

 

Can you check to see if the NAS can reach the internet generally?  Here are two ways:

  • If ssh is enabled, try
# ping www.google.com
  • Enable "synchronize clock with an internet server" on the device time settings wheel (if it isn't already).  Then download the log zip file, and look in connman.log for NTP time adjustments.  If these are present, the NAS is reaching the internet.
Aug 02 05:06:05 NAS connmand[5608]: ntp: adjust (slew): +0.001275 sec
Aug 02 05:23:09 NAS connmand[5608]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.001228 sec
Aug 02 05:40:13 NAS connmand[5608]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.000581 sec
Aug 02 05:57:17 NAS connmand[5608]: ntp: adjust (slew): +0.000937 sec

@Blues11 wrote:

 

2. I've also tried downloading the latest firmware and installing it manually. But I've never gotten it to install.

 


  • Are you getting an error?  If so, which one?
  • Have you checked the log zip for errors at the time the update didn't work?
  • Have you checked for a full OS partition?

@Blues11 wrote:

 

3. This old server is used solely as a backup server for a newer ReadyNAS using Rsync at night. So this question is really a tech question: Is it better to leave it run 24/7 or to have it power down until midnight, have the other server perform its backups, and then power down each night?

 


My own pro6 is also used for rsync backups, and I do have it on a power schedule. I do this in order to save power (and because I see no reason to leave my backup NAS running 24x7). It's powered up from 11 pm to 1 am, with backups scheduled for midnight. Snapshot pruning/deletion happens at midnight, and the NAS needs to be running at midnight for that to happen. 

 

There are some disadvantages though:

  • you can easily miss issues with your NAS if you don't log into it periodically.
  • Some maintenance functions (disk test and scrub) won't block the automatic power shutdown.  Very annoying (and fixing this was requested long ago in the idea exchange).  So you need to periodically disable the power-down schedule in order to run those functions.

 In your case, you should resolve your current issues before you put it on a power schedule.

 

Message 2 of 10
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

FYI, my backup NASes (RN4200V2's running OS6) turn on at 2am and snapshot pruning takes place just fine, though pruning because it's hovering just over 70% full and scheduled custom deletions are different things.

 

And the most recent scrub did hold off the shut-down.

Message 3 of 10
StephenB
Guru

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version


@Sandshark wrote:

 

And the most recent scrub did hold off the shut-down.


Looking again, my last scrub failed to start (back in May).  That might be because a disk test was actively running.

 

The disk tests definitely don't hold off the shutdowns.

 


@Sandshark wrote:

FYI, my backup NASes (RN4200V2's running OS6) turn on at 2am and snapshot pruning takes place just fine, though pruning because it's hovering just over 70% full and scheduled custom deletions are different things.


As you know, I use custom snapshots.  I was talking about the deletion of snapshots that were older than the retention period.  I also want the custom snapshots to be taken before the backup begins. After would be fine too, but I don't want them taken during the backup.

 

There were some constraints on pruning and maintenance task launching when I first set up the power schedule, but that was quite some time ago. 

 

In any event, 11 pm - 1 am is working out ok for me.

 

Message 4 of 10
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

I haven't moved to custom snapshots on my backup NAS, and I don't doubt that custom deletions act differently than automatic pruning.  I just wanted to add the info on pruning hoping to aid anyone who might confuse the two.

Message 5 of 10
Blues11
Luminary

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

StephenB,

1. I don't remember if I upped the memory or not. If I did, it was years ago. I am looking for a menu item to tell me how much memory is installed, but I can't find one.

 

I just enabled ssh and I used to be familiar with it, but I don't remember much about using it so I don't know how to log in to the server over ssh to try pinging google.

 

I checked and the Date & Time and Synchronize clock with the Internet server is checked. Then I downloaded the log file and I don't see anything that has ntp in the lines listed there.

 

2. I tried again to download and install the OS manually and I must have been doing something wrong in the past. Today, it worked and I'm running 6.10.3. But even after this latest install, when I click on "Check for Updates", I continue getting the "Cannot connect. Communication error...".

 

3. I'll hold off on the power-down question until I can get the communication error problem resolved.

 

So, after installing the latest OS, I'm still not communicating with the outside world. (What's strange is that I have Antivirus enabled and it seems to do a virus scan everyday because the date changes. But that's probably the daily scan date. So I guess the virus definitions are not getting updated.)

 

Thank you for your assistance. (You too, Sandshark.)

Message 6 of 10
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

Try checking connman.log for NTP entries similar to these:

Aug 01 20:35:56 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.000698 sec
Aug 01 20:53:00 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): +0.000686 sec
Aug 01 21:10:04 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.000223 sec
Aug 01 21:27:08 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): +0.000264 sec
Aug 01 21:44:12 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.000558 sec
Aug 01 22:01:16 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.002214 sec
Aug 01 22:18:20 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): +0.004130 sec
Aug 01 22:18:52 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): +0.004006 sec
Aug 01 22:35:56 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.000963 sec
Aug 01 22:53:00 NAS-IAN connmand[2929]: ntp: adjust (slew): -0.000607 sec

 

Check mem_info.log, the top entry will show what memory is installed

Message 7 of 10
Blues11
Luminary

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

I figured out the problem: Under the Network tab, I clicked on setting for the network card and under IPv4, the Router was set to 1.1.1.1. When I set it to the address of my router it seemed to connect to the Internet. When I click on "Check for Updates" on the main page, it tells me the proper answer, that I have the latest version of the OS.

 

It's peculiar that this happened, because it had been working fine. But this problem never affected anything else on my network that I didn't worry about it. Nightly backups were always working properly. So, unless the problem comes back, I think I'm going to forget about it.

 

Now that two of my three problems are resolved (Yay!), I'll circle back to the simple question of Power-down or not. As I said the server is simply a backup for a newer NAS and because the data on that changes infrequently, the nightly backups take less that 10 minutes usually.

 

This old server has five drives in it, with a variety of ages (between 34 and 67 hours on them). If I had the funds I'd probably swap them out for three 8TB drives, but it doesn't seem to be a high priority.

 

So, any thoughts on Powering down for 21 or 22 hours/day or just keeping it running 24/7?

 

Thank you so much for your assistance

Message 8 of 10
StephenB
Guru

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version


@Blues11 wrote:

I figured out the problem: Under the Network tab, I clicked on setting for the network card and under IPv4, the Router was set to 1.1.1.1.


Perhaps you tried to add cloudflare for dns - but did that in the wrong place????

 


@Blues11 wrote:

So, any thoughts on Powering down for 21 or 22 hours/day or just keeping it running 24/7?


My backup NAS are all on power schedules (have been for a while now).  One aspect is that doing that might help if there was a malware infection.

 

Message 9 of 10
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: Old ReadyNAS won't move to new OS version

Failure at power-on is more likely than failure while running, but in what percentages, I don't know.  And does it change with age?  I have my backup NASes on a schedule.  I have them set to run an hour, which is automatically extended if a "pull" backup is in progress or queued or a scrub or balance is in progress.  They are rack-mount units with enterprise drives, so are noisy and use a bit of power, which in turn requires more AC here in sunny Florida.  So, I think I'm better off keeping them powered off mostly.  I can WoL them (they are in a room dedicated to storage) if I need to access them.  Having them mostly off also extends the run time on the common UPS most of the time, especially in late afternoon when Florida summers become less sunny.

 

My remote backup NAS for critical items is on all the time, but only because my brother uses it as his primary NAS.  Otherwise, I'd do the same with it.

 

One other thing I do on the backup systems is run rnutil get_disk_info via cron.hourly and re-directed to a file, then rsync that to a share on my main NAS so I can check their drive health without having to power them on.  I could even send a whole set of logs, but I think that's overkill.

Message 10 of 10
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