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[ojosch]

I'd like to see if they could add in the upsmon binary, and the etc/upsmon.conf file and some way to either manually edit it through the web GUI or auto-parse the detected driver and settings to correctly add in this line (just an example - in my case) to the upsmon.conf file: " MONITOR usbhid@localhost 1 root 123 master " so that DNS-323 auto-shutdown via UPS status monitoring will function. I don't get why they went through all the trouble to include basic UPS monitoring with upsd, and upsdrvctl, to get basic monitoring, but then didn't go the final step to put the cherry on top and include upsmon so you can get actual safe shutdown from all that monitoring that is already in place. I have to run a fun_plug to get upsmon to copy to the / ramdrive, and it is a hassle, as I wish I didn't have to run fun_plug because then you can't get safe shutdown without having to use raidstop.patch or Cleanboot or some other dealeybobber to get safe shutdown. Then if you need to run e2fsck to scan an unclean ext2 filesystem, you have to find some way to unmount your drive when those fun_plugs are all running on the mounted drives...A TOTAL HASSLE for me (don't worry dlink, I'm not mad). I am trying to do this total frame-off restoration on this DNS-323 just to get the following features:

1. UPS auto-shutdown of the DNS-323 with safe termination of apps, and safe unmounting of the filesystems before power-off. (auto-power-on would be cool to have too, if the hardware could support it).

2. The power button should also be capable of performing a safe shutdown of this same type. Also, any other shutdown or reboot command in the web GUI should support safe shutdown.

3. It would also be nice if they could eventually make the web GUI capable of supporting all of the other useful features in the upsmon.conf template like emailing when power goes down, etc. (this is not a super pressing request, as I am mainly after basic upsmon functionality)

4. The option to enable a telnet server without requiring fun_plug (I realize this request might be a little far fetched for a consumer electronic device but worth a try). Going hand in hand with this, it would be cool if you could save some settings and some files / folders to flash to persist after reboot using the telnet console.

But like I said, when you install fun_plug, it does give you a lot of cool adjustability, yes, but it introduces a whole slew of other issues that have to be dealt with. This was supposed to be a gift for X-mas to my mother to replace her other NAS which became corrupted in a power outage and lost all her data. So I am building a bullet-proof RAID-1 NAS setup to replace her other one that cannot fail and her data will be safe. I am now realizing that this is going to be a birthday gift instead, since UPS monitoring did not work as was implied by the release notes, which caused me to miss the X-mas deadline. I am either down to learning how to modify the firmware itself, by myself, or to make a bunch of scripts to load all of the utilities that I will use onto the ramdisk space, and make sure that I get the raidstop script all patched right so it can do a safe shutdown from the power button and from the shutdown script. I cannot deliver this product  to my mother if these features do not work. I was under the false impression that the auto-powerdown via UPS feature worked out of the box starting from FW ver 1.06 and beyond due to things I read in forums and other reviews and stuff. This was the reason I bought this thing, only later to find that it does not auto-shutdown. It only seems to be a monitoring feature.

If it had 2 USB ports on back, I'd just make fun_plug run off USB flash and then have the 2nd USB port to go to the UPS. So as an alternative, if I were to just hook up a USB hub say, to get my 2 ports I would need, then I have to find a way to explain to my mother over the phone how to plug all that in before she can boot it up (she lives 2 states away). WHAT A BIGGER HASSLE (don't worry dlink, I'm not mad). If I knew dlink might consider adding upsmon before the next official release, I might wait around. But if not, I may have to learn how to hack the firmware and do it myself, or continue to try and fumble around with fun_plug.

So how 'bout it, is this too much to ask for, to add into Beta 1.08 in a nearby build, upsmon, and upsmon.conf with the ability to save changes in the conf file to the permanent memory?

[gunrunnerjohn]

This was supposed to be a gift for X-mas to my mother to replace her other NAS which became corrupted in a power outage and lost all her data. So I am building a bullet-proof RAID-1 NAS setup to replace her other one that cannot fail and her data will be safe.

I'd rethink your "cannot fail" thinking!  RAID of any level is NOT backup, you still need to have at least two copies of any data that you feel is important.

[ojosch]

Yeah, I know... I DID put larger HDDs in her computers a while back, and so I was planning to just have her leave all her stuff on her normal computers in her regular document folders and I am just going to set up a VBScript file on each of those desktops for manual syncing (xcopy command), and run a Scheduled Task on each machine to make it automatically sync to a mapped network drive on the DNS.

I just want the RAID-1 NAS to add an extra layer of security in case either of their desktops have issues that they don't tell me about for a long time, and then maybe the NAS has something bad happen later on. You just can't be too safe when there are irreplaceable pictures of baby grandkids, sons, daughters, and other people who were only young once, on her computers. This data basically needs to be preserved for generations. I just don't like the idea of having power outages and it can blow all your stuff out the door in an instant, knowing that we have tools like 'nut' (Network UPS Tools) available to us TODAY, even for free. Why aren't we using them? I bet half the people who own these DNS-323 units out there today, probably already have unclean filesystems, and don't even know it.

Now if we can get back to the topic. Feature request. Would it be likely that Dlink could include upsmon, and upsmon.conf? Even if they just built it with a simple script that runs at boot to generate the correct line in the upsmon.conf file (In my case: MONITOR usbhid@localhost 1 root 123 master ) which is the line that allows upsmon to connect to upsd for monitoring,  and it could write that line to the ramdrive (after image has loaded) fresh on each reboot, and whenever you plug in a UPS sync cable to the USB port. It would be really easy to add this stuff in. Slightly more work would be to add some controls into the web GUI to control more features of the upsmon.conf file, and then they could just make the settings stick in the same way they do it already with all of the other config controls of the unit. I still don't get why they put in upsd and upsdrvctl in for basic monitoring but failed to see the advantage of putting upsmon in too. That's like building a car and putting a feature like air conditioning onto it, but then they don't put the freon in it so it doesn't have any advantage in the real world.

[player]

I'd rethink your "cannot fail" thinking!  RAID of any level is NOT backup, you still need to have at least two copies of any data that you feel is important.

Apart from the physical location aspect, isn't there two copies of data when using RAID-1?

[gunrunnerjohn]

Yes, there are two copies with RAID-1.  And, if either a Virus, our simply a slippery finger, deletes a folder or file, it's gone from both copies in a flash!  And, since the network has no recycle bin, it's really gone.

[player]

I see what you mean. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of discipline and effort to implement a "real" backup procedure.

- Copies should be at different locations (house, work, bank, ...)
- You should create checksums for all your files and periodically check the data.
- You should be very careful when synchronizing the copies.
- ...

[gunrunnerjohn]

I see what you mean. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of discipline and effort to implement a "real" backup procedure.

- Copies should be at different locations (house, work, bank, ...)
- You should create checksums for all your files and periodically check the data.
- You should be very careful when synchronizing the copies.
- ...

Well, you can have good backup without quite going over the top.    I have multiple copies of anything I care about, and some of the network drives are in a cinderblock box in my basement.  Not perfect, but a lot better than nothing.