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Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Bains
Guide

Older DUO (sparc) Questions

We have a number of older Ready NAS Duo systems. These devices were put into service in 2008 and have been working well. Disk replacement for failing drives works and they keep chugging along.
Firmware level is 4.1.13

As we replace them with newer Ready NAS units we would like to re-purpose them. One application that has been tested is using them for FTP servers for capturing picture files sent from internal surveillance cameras. Works fine except…


Defragment Question

They have been working almost non-stop for six years – lots of files stored and deleted. On an average month there are 40,000 plus new image files created. We use a PowerShell script to periodically delete older files. Over time, there is undoubtedly the need for some form of defragmentation. All of the forum answers for this class of device seem to indicate there in no defragmentation capability available.

Some posts indicate that the system should be ‘wiped’ and then restarted – has the effect of a defragmentation approach.

Is there some other approach to defragmentation like the newer ReadyNAS products offer? Any other suggestions?

Alert Email Setup
All of our locations have email setup that requires SSL connection. In attempting to configure the email alert the only option is the use of TILS which results in a “Failed to contact SMTP Server” error message.

Any suggestions on how to configure the email to work?
Message 1 of 20
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

A factory reset would give you a clean setup on the latest firmware? Have you seen a performance drop over time possibly due to fragmentation?

Perhaps setup a Gmail account and forward the emails on from that to your location's email addresses?
Message 2 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Two answers

Email
Tried a gmail account that works well. No better result -- same error message.

Tried to do a microcode check and got "Error connecting to remote server" error message.

Default gateway is set to the current LAN Default LAN for the rest of the network that seems to work.
At the time these devices were installed email would not work and support said it would be fixed in future. I was hopping that it was fixed.
Microcode updates have been downloaded manually and applied.

System works well internally and had a reasonable FTP server capability. Just external connections seem to fail.

Puzzling

Performance
I think there is a performance hit but after six years it is hard to tell with any real metrics.
Message 3 of 20
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

With gmail are you using port 587? If not, can you try using this port?

Does your gmail account have two-factor authentication? If so, you will need to create an application specific password and allow less secure apps.
Message 4 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Using port 587.

I do not use two factor authentication -- been using the account for for years to receive mail but have never sent an email through Gmail directly but instead always sent through our ISP relationship. Gmail in turn forwards to our 'normal' email. Use it for Amazon and Microsoft accounts.
Message 5 of 20
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

If you go to System > Update in Frontview and check to see if there is a new firmware available are you prompted to update to 4.1.14?
Message 6 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

mdgm wrote:
Does your gmail account have two-factor authentication? If so, you will need to create an application specific password and allow less secure apps.
You need to allow less secure apps even if you don't use two-factor authentication. However, even if that setting is wrong, you will still reach the smtp server.

Normal settings for google mail are
smtp.googlemail.com
smtp port 465
use TLS checked.

If all outbound internet connections seem to be failing, then you should also check the settings on your IP address. A wrong gateway, subnet mask, or DNS server can all create that symptom.
Message 7 of 20
aks
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

A note to say I use gmail to send from an old Sparc based Duo v1, and it works fine (no issues), so my assumption this is something else with your set up, or something external to your Duo blocking SMTP (which I believe my corporate organisation does).
Message 8 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

aks wrote:
A note to say I use gmail to send from an old Sparc based Duo v1, and it works fine (no issues), so my assumption this is something else with your set up, or something external to your Duo blocking SMTP (which I believe my corporate organisation does).
I agree it is a set up or firewall/network issue.

I also use gmail on all my NAS, including my duo v1.
Message 9 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Thanks to everyone who tried to help -- much appreciated.

Well, everyone says I look like a duck so...

It is probably a network issue since I could not contact Netgear for an update. I had to download to a local workstation and do a local install. During the process I did a volume check as well.

I have checked/rechecked the system settings and and it must be a firewall/network issue but I am puzzled since this is essentially a flat LAN and everything else seems to work. Will have to dig deeper into that situation.

My assumption is that defragmentation is not part of the Duo firmware -- true?

Thanks again folks.
Message 10 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

If you configured a static address, then check the DNS servers, gateway and subnet masks. If you have ssh enabled, you can test connectivity with ping.
Message 11 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

It is configured with a static address. I did not input any actual DNS server addresses but instead pointed to the Netgear router gateway device -- 192.168.0.150 on this LAN. Subnet mask is OK.

As you may remember Lunix is a foreign language for this Windows centric shop so SSH is not enabled. Very puzzling.
Message 12 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Try using 8.8.8.8 for the DNS (one of google's open DNS servers).
Message 13 of 20
aks
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

That's awkward - I just got to my boxes and it turns out that I use my ISP SMTP servers these days (I must have changed the settings when I changed ISPs a few months ago) :oops:
Message 14 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

aks wrote:
That's awkward - I just got to my boxes and it turns out that I use my ISP SMTP servers these days (I must have changed the settings when I changed ISPs a few months ago) :oops:
Well, gmail does work with the duo v1, and it looks like he has a general internet connectivity problem.
Message 15 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Fiddled with DNS address. Microcode check works fine. My sense is that Internet connectivity is not an issue.
Email alerts on a ReadyNAS 312 on same LAN works fine.

Is there a way to save the configuration and then reset system to a 'fresh' image with the latest firmware. I can loose the data but would rather not have to reconfigure from scratch.
Message 16 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Bains wrote:
Is there a way to save the configuration and then reset system to a 'fresh' image with the latest firmware. I can loose the data but would rather not have to reconfigure from scratch.
You can.

You save the configuration via system->config backup in frontview. Check everything accept data volume (e.g. don't choose the "everything" button either). Make a note of any add-ons you have installed for later.

Then
(a) do a factory default. You can do this via system->update in frontview. Upgrade firmware as desired.
(b) reinstall any add-ons you had installed before (do this BEFORE restoring the configuration)
(c) then restore the config backup you saved earlier.
(d) reload your data.
Message 17 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Thanks. Looks like a weekend project.
Message 18 of 20
Bains
Guide

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Thanks again for everyone's help -- especially StephenB.

Rebuilding the NAS was straight forward and thanks to the instructions provided did not involve paperclips, step ladders and foul language. Stuff just worked.
Performance seems to be considerably improved -- whether that is fragmentation or some other factor, my notion is that six years worth of usage left some file/disk disorganization.

The email issue was related to Google -- apparently they have enabled some new methods and I needed to disable some new security feature.
Message 19 of 20
StephenB
Guru

Re: Older DUO (sparc) Questions

Bains wrote:
The email issue was related to Google -- apparently they have enabled some new methods and I needed to disable some new security feature.
There's information on that on other threads here - for instance viewtopic.php?f=23&t=78462

Though I believe the correct smtp server name is smtp.googlemail.com

However, smtp.gmail.com goes to the same place.
Message 20 of 20
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