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[fordem]

OK - after almost six years of service my DNS-323 no longer boots - just sits there with the power LED flashing - I've tried it with & without drives, same thing (if it has drives the drive lights flash) - any suggestions for a quick fix before I go shopping?

Oh - the data on the drives is a non-issue - it's a backup of a server that is chugging along.

[dosborne]

Have you tried a reset? Can the flash utility see the unit (reflash)?

[fordem]

I've tried a reset, I'm not certain what "flash utility" you're referring to.

[ivan]

I know this may sound stupid but have you checked the actual voltages from the power supply under load?

We had one where the 5v line was down to 3.9v under load that was causing some problems for the client - new power supply fixed everything, can't remember if the lights were blinking or not.

[fordem]

Let me do that right now - it did cross my mind, but I did not follow through.

[ivan]

Was that the problem or is it something more serious?

[fordem]

Voltages were 5.09 & 11.9? - within acceptable tolerance.

I'm currently backing up to an iMation Odyssey removable cartridge drive - faster but not as convenient, the DNS-323 because it was a NAS, could also function as a "backup" server and "share" the backup if necessary, so it was more than just backup storage.

[ivan]

Nothing to complain about with those voltages, so you have a bigger problem on the mother board and the only way of checking that is to use some special equipment and work back from the LEDs.

We too use our DNS-323 for both daily backup of our workstations and data from clients equipment that allows accounts - and myself - to keep track of what is going on.  In fact I'm thinking of trying to get some more units from dead stock and keep them as replacements.

[fordem]

Just stopped in to say farewell - picked up a Netgear ReadyNAS RN102 today - going to swap the old disks from the DNS-323 over, reformat them and move forward.

The ReadyNAS seems to be a nicely built unit, metal chassis, a nice big, quiet cooling fan and has a bunch of features the DNS-323 should have had and didn't, like multiple USB ports, the ability to expand storage through those USB ports, and (this was what spoilt the DNS-323 for me), the ability to back the unit up to external USB storage - these last two were features that D-Link could have added, but chose not to.

The ReadyNAS also has an eSATA port and can accommodate an optional 6 bay expansion chassis, and the icing on the cake, iSCSI support, all for the handsome price of $199.99, which I believe is exactly what I paid for my DNS-323 back in the day.

On paper, the ReadyNAS looks like something I can recommend to small business clients (I though the same thing about the DNS-323 also), we'll see how it works out in reality.

[ivan]

fordem, please let me know how things go with the change over, even if it is by PM.  I have an interest in this because we have one client that could use the extra USB ports but is otherwise very happy with his 323.

[fordem]

Will do - may take a couple of weeks though - I'm in the US at the moment, will be flying home this week, and then I'll spend some time "exploring" the ReadyNAS, before putting it to work.

So far I like it - I've discovered one "bug" in the NTP implementation, it supports Wake-on-LAN, can be made to turn itself off/on with a set schedule, and supports UPS monitoring via SNMP - this last is especially important because I use a rack mounted APC in my network to feed my servers - the DNS-323 UPS monitoring is extremely primitive, and requires it to have it's own UPS.

[JavaLawyer]

Just stopped in to say farewell - picked up a Netgear ReadyNAS RN102 today - going to swap the old disks from the DNS-323 over, reformat them and move forward.
. . .

Fordem, as perhaps the longest standing active member in the forum (or close to it), your absence will be felt on these boards. Your contributions to the community over the years were invaluable and continue to help new members reading old posts. Good luck in the future!

[fordem]

Thank you for those kind words - I'll still drop by from time-to-time.

[fordem]

ivan - what does your client need to do with the USB ports?  Shared read/write access?  Back up the NAS to USB?

I'm back at home and have the ReadyNAS sitting on my bench at the moment - I haven't done a lot with it, but it shows up on my network, and a USB stick plugged into a USB port shows up as a share, which at the moment I can't access because of security issues (I haven't created any users yet), I can also see the USB drive in the admin web pages and dismount it.