N7700 Problems with 1.5TB Seagate

[Chrisjsherwood]

i would remove that and pm it due to spam bots getting hold of it m8

Thanks for that, how do I tell him my email?

regards Chris

[GoNz0]

ahh neither of you have enough posts to pm each other, might be best to upload it to a free file host site and post the link ?

http://www.sendspace.com/

[tristratos]

Could you please upload that seagate firmware update with all the instructions as to how to do that, so that everyone can test it out ?

I just wonder why seagate didn't do that already though ? Is that still in beta ?

Yvon, could you please advise ?

[Raboo]

[Notes for Seagate 1.5 TB HDD]
1. Some desktop computer users said they experienced the Seagate 1.5 TB drive locked up issue in
Windows, Linux, and MAC OSX. Seagate said they are checking the issue right now. So, currently we could
not make sure whether the Seagate 1.5 TB drives will be 100% stable in NAS server or not.
2. N5200 Standard (non PRO) does not recommend to use 1.5TB and larger hard disk drive.

Ok, I'm wondering how it's going. Cause I would like to buy a Thecus N5200 Standard (non PRO) with a couple of ST31500341AS

Does the firmware upgrade solve the freezing and stability problem?

How come the N5200B non PRO is not recommended to use 1.5TB disks? Is there really such a big hardware difference between PRO and non-PRO?
I cannot afford a Pro version....

[GoNz0]

the pro's just got less ram and a slower CPU, i already have a 1gb ram stick in my 5200 rouster.

why not get 3 1tb and raid 5 them ?

it wont cost any more than 2 1.5's

[Funkstar]

the non pro's just got less ram and a slower CPU, i already have a 1gb ram stick in my 5200 rouster.

Fixed for you mate

The firmware image is exactly the same for all the N5200 versions, although different features are enabled depending on what is detected. In theory the N5200Pro may have an updated SATA controller that would make a difference, but I doubt this, the system board should be identical.

perhaps Yvone can comment why the non-Pro has different drive recommendations.

[Raboo]

why not get 3 1tb and raid 5 them ?

Well I'm thinking a couple years ahead.
5x1.5TB RAID5 will be 6TB
5x1TB RAID5 will be 4TB
But for now 2 1.5 TB in a Mirror RAID will be sufficient, that's why. It's best to get the latest technology... tomorrow 1.5TB will be standard and the day after tomorrow 1.5TB will be obsolete.

[Chrisjsherwood]

Here is uptodate situation here.

I have 8x1.5TB Seagate Hd's Barracuda 7200.11
P/N :9JU138-300
Firmware:SD17
Datecode :09147
Site Code:TK

They failed to work in Thecus Product:N7700 V1.0844306, purchased from Scan in the UK. 5th November 2008 :Firmware 2.01.04

They failed in two ways, Raid Construction was unreliable, if successful, copying files would hang after about 35GB transferred, also any files(video) that were played from raid would hang raid.

I have now upgraded the firmware in the Seagate drives to SD1A, using Brinks-4D8H-SD1A.iso (thanks R).

Firmware update used:- SD1A, for Seagate Hd ST31500341AS pP/N 9JU138-300 or 336, SD15 thru SD19 ONLY

I have installed 2x drives back into Thecus N7700, and constructed a Raid1 array, to test the system.

The array had completed construction in about 15mins reporting a total capacity of 2970.7GB.

I am now transferring files to test if it hangs or not.

The transfer has gone way past where it kept failing last time, and I am able to play video files without a hang so far.

I will add to this post over the next few hours.

[Raboo]

Nice to hear that it seems to be working for you... looking forward for your next post with the final results of your tests.
Lets hope Yvone/Thecus can answer my question if it will work with the N5200 (non-pro)... It would be sad if the NAS isn't equipped for 1.5TB disks :S

[Edward]

Can you tell me where I can get the firmware update for the 1.5 terabyte drives? I have five installed 5200 pro. Four drives are showing errors. I have them set up as raid 5

[Raboo]

I can't post links cause I don't have 5 posts yet.
but google Brinks-4D8H-SD1A.iso and you will find it on avsforum.
I don't think seagate has it on their page. Only those who call or e-mail customer service get it or something like that.

[Raboo]

Hmm, I just read that there is 2 different firmwares. Perhaps it's better that you contact seagate customer service so you get the right firmware

[Funkstar]

To help you and otehrs out, here is a link to the AVforums: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...php?p=15126603

And here are the direct download links posted there:
http://www.bigupload.com/files/WKT7A...h15tb.rar.html

*edit*
The RapidShare link was dead so I removed it, just downloaded from the BigUpload site though.

[Chrisjsherwood]

N7700 still working and now with raid 5, consisting of 6x1.5tb drives and one active spare.

The reported size is now 6976.9GB.(disappointing). Stripe size 128k.

I have a question about Raid in general, perhaps somebody could enlighten me? The capacity using raid 5 reduces by 80%, and using an N5200 with its 5 drives means that if you have drive fail, 1/5th of the drives, ie 1 drive, can be replaced. All fine and dandy.

Now what happens if you create a raid of 6 drives using raid 5? 80% would be larger than 1 drive!
I beginning to wonder how best to use the 7 drive ports in the N7700 to best advantage, I thought it would be straightforward, but perhaps not?

Incidentally, streaming hd files seems to work without a hitch

Looking good here

Regards Chris

[Funkstar]

With RAID-5 the usable storage capacity is N-1. So if you have 5 drives in there you will have the capacity of 4, if you have 7 drives you have the capacity of 6 (making 85.7% of the total space)

This might be a bit long winded, and have more information that you need, but this is a really good article on the various types of RAID out there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

[candymanlux]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for your extensive testing ... I upgraded the firmware of my 14 SD17 Seagate to SD1A also this weekend and am now just waiting for my N7700 to arrive. I was wondering if you used the EXT3 or the ZFS filesystem when you initialized the RAID? I'm kinda interested in using the Snapshot feature (and 7 discs in RAID6) but I couldn't find anywhere detailed info on this. Also the user guide is quite limited on informations so first hand information is always helpful :-).

Cheers,
Pascal