SNAP 4400/4200/4500/15000 Support

[Phoenix32]

I feel kind of weird posting this, but after the PMs and e-mails I have received the last few weeks, I figure I better say something... Quite often, I get messages from people who sound like they are on their last nerve and can't find help, often not realizing help is available, at least to some extent.


For those of you having problems with your SNAP 4400, 4200, 4500, and 15000 units, there is help available beyond the red tape and high costs you get at Adaptec quite often. You are not alone out here. David (blue68f100) and I do have a fair amount of knowledge on these units now and will do our best to help out when and where we can.

Now, just so the messages go to the right place, I am a hardware, get it up and running kind of guy, and David is the IT and linux type guy. If you need help with hardware, ranging from parts like sleds to what goes where and what can and cannot be done. Or, how to install or upgrade your OS and reset things etc, I am the guy. In other words, I am the guy to get it up and running into a working OS. But if you want to know Linux stuff, networking security settings, and in general how to use the SNAP once it is up and running on a working OS, then David is your man. Simple huh?

With all that said, let me say a couple more things here. I won't speak for David, but a lot of what I say for myself here I am sure goes with him also. He can guide you as he wishes. But for me, I am not a business. I am not a salesman here trying to sell you stuff. I am not a huge eBay reseller. Etc etc etc. What I am is a fellow hobbiest who happens to be a retired hardware engineering technician who spends a lot of time working on these units. I do not do this stuff for profit or what not. I do this to try to be helpful to other users of these units.

However, I am also not here to be used and abused. I don't get my stuff for free, so if you need something from me, do not expect me to give it to you for free. I am not a charity. If you have one of these units, you know that they are not cheap. You may also know that support from Adaptec or technicians is also not cheap, not even close. So if you expect me to spend more than just a couple minutes trying to help you out, don't expect me to be your slave either. I have spent several hours online talking someone through something, and then when done, not even hardly got a thank you, much less anything else. With that said, though, I can tell you, I know what things cost, from parts to support, and I am a far cry from that. I do this to try to help, not make a profit. But just don't expect a lot of time or resources for nothing. Don't let this stop you from asking, just understand where I (we) are coming from if I (we) ask for something in return. There are many people on this forum who will tell you I (we) got them up and running and for far less (if anything at all) than it would have cost them anywhere else.

David (and others) can guide you better on their policies.

Back to the original intent of this message. Stop pulling your hair out and thinking there is no help out there. It is out there. And I do not mean just David and I either. Their are a lot of knowledgeable members here who, with a small thank you at the end, will help you out.

[blue68f100]

Andy, Well said.

Andy is the hardware guy, no douth about that. I know some, being one of the first to get a 4500 and do a setup. Plus I did extensive testing on how the unit recovers from a power outage. These are pretty roubust units. If you have the diaster recovery setup corectly they odds of loosing data is very low. SnapShots are uses in this process, without recovery can and may be very hard. The best solution is to have a UPS with the Network card to do a graceful shutdown and reboot when power returns. This works real good, besides it will shot down most Snap OS units to, but not reboot them.

As well as a linux man I'm not. I know just enough to be dangerious. I do know how to set the guardian units up for the best security. The unit defaults to giving everyone free acess to the complete share. Not very good security, but it make it easier for a novice to have access. I have also played with the AV service. This requires JAVA for it to work correctly. This is where most fail.

I will try to help any who ask for help. I would prefer you to post a new thread if you have questions. There are many users who routinely visit this site that may be able to help you beside me and andy.

[sgt.baker]

Originally Posted by blue68f100

..I do know how to set the guardian units up for the best security. The unit defaults to giving everyone free acess to the complete share. Not very good security, but it make it easier for a novice to have access.

So David, you bring up a good point regarding Security. Will you creating a How-To on Guardian Security soon? All joking aside, when it comes to security...I'm that "novice" you speak of. I dislike trying to guess on security settings.

As for the thread, you guy's have posted some great information and answered my private emails in the past without hesitation, and for both I say "Thank you". Having 'officially' supportied these in the past, I try to help out when I can, and have contributed to the FAQ as well. But by no means do I "know" these units in and out (i.e. Security), and still rely on information from this site and the members.

It's folks like you two that keep the forum going. Good job!

- Tom

[Phoenix32]

Thank you Tom. Very kind words... I/we try...

[blue68f100]

sgt baker, I have written a simple guide for giving users access but some key info is misisng in it. Like the Def share grants admin rights to all users. It was Adaptec/SnapAppiance way of helping new usres get them on line. One thing I do is create a share for FTP users limiting access. Then I add users shares to the FTP share.

One thing you must know on the Guardian OS is that if you have root access to the share you can freely roam. But if you create a mounting point and add users shares to it, users do not have root access. Inturn limiting the user to his share only, by default. It also makes it easy for backup.

I will get with andy and maybe we can put together a FAQ for the Guardian Units.

And Tom Thanks for the good words. Like Andy said, we try......

[bitor]

Greetings, I'm back:

I agree with sqt. baker 100% . It's the dedication and passion these two have for not only help others in need, but also problem solving and straight forwardness in finding the solution at hand. I hope I can help others as best I can who are in need too.

Great Job to everybody for helping others , BUT the majority of the thanks goes to David and Andy. I can never thank you enough for all your help and understanding.

GREAT JOB GUYS(David & Andy)!!!!

bitor