SnapOs is no longer supported

[otoc]

FYI

I've found mention of the fact that that SnapOs is no longer supported according to several FAQs on the Adaptec site. Sorry if this is a repeat of general knowledge.

Please be aware that the SnapOS is End of Life and therefore this solution has not been internally tested and is being provided without any guarentee(sic).

SnapOS has been discontinued and is no longer offered for download. For GuardianOS powered Snap servers, please contact customer service to find out how you can upgrade to the current version.

I can't find anything on the Adaptec general support site and those quotes came from generic searches that offer answers to unrelated questions.

Regrettably Adaptec doesn't timestamp their FAQs and it's tough to tell if this means what it says it does.

Has anyone gotten the latest SnapOs from Adaptec recently?

[ben333]

I think Guardian has been out there for a while

[otoc]

Originally Posted by ben333

I think Guardian has been out there for a while

Yes it has. Some hardware doesn't support it.

I'm just looking for verification that Adaptec is or isn't offering SnapOS for a download.

If they aren't, well, no need to comment other than they have been pretty hard on the Beaver regarding their software.

[Phoenix32]

But the hardware that doesn't support it is very OLD...

Guardian OS is where Adaptec is, and has been for a while...

This may be a "duh" for most of you, but it seems some need to be told... Adaptec is not about the "home user" for most of it's Snap Server products. Sure there is the 110 and 220, but the fact is, even those are aimed at SOHO. Most businesses are not really interested in Servers powered with Pentium 233 MHz or below and PC100 SDRAM and 100baseT or less. Adaptec knows this. DUH!

Yes, I use my Snap Servers at home, and so a lot (if not most) of the people on this forum. BUT! You have to realize that Adaptec and the Snap Servers are aimed at enterprise environments. It is that simple.

Reality sucks, don't it... But that (among other things, like speed) is why I moved to Guardian units.

[otoc]

Originally Posted by Phoenix32

But the hardware that doesn't support it is very OLD...

Guardian OS is where Adaptec is, and has been for a while...

This may be a "duh" for most of you, but it seems some need to be told... Adaptec is not about the "home user" for most of it's Snap Server products. Sure there is the 110 and 220, but the fact is, even those are aimed at SOHO. Most businesses are not really interested in Servers powered with Pentium 233 MHz or below and PC100 SDRAM and 100baseT or less. Adaptec knows this. DUH!

Yes, I use my Snap Servers at home, and so a lot (if not most) of the people on this forum. BUT! You have to realize that Adaptec and the Snap Servers are aimed at enterprise environments. It is that simple.

Reality sucks, don't it... But that (among other things, like speed) is why I moved to Guardian units.

Thanks for your thoughts.

I'm understanding of where Adaptec might stand as well as the power of this hardware and product positioning.

As you say, there's a lot of the hardware out there and the most recent SnapOS makes it function slow but fine within it's limitations. Many posters come here for help and the community acts like it's a crack deal when it's discussed.

I'm not looking to debate what NAS is preferable to what market, or tell someone when they should trash hardware that works.

My question is simply to verify whether or not Adaptec has totally pulled the plug on the software.

[blue68f100]

Adaptec has stated publicly that they will do NO more development or patches for the SnapOS. This came about as soon as Vista was released. They have quit selling any hardware that has SnapOS on it. Hardware that was purchased and is still in warrant or any service contracts will be honored.

So there it is, you can draw you own conclusion. If your running XP (or older) or linux hardware you can pick up some good hardware cheap. It's not the fastest but is usable. For home users it may provide more than enough speed. For a power user NO.

[otoc]

Originally Posted by blue68f100

Adaptec has stated publicly that they will do NO more development or patches for the SnapOS. This came about as soon as Vista was released. They have quit selling any hardware that has SnapOS on it. Hardware that was purchased and is still in warrant or any service contracts will be honored.

So there it is, you can draw you own conclusion. If your running XP (or older) or linux hardware you can pick up some good hardware cheap. It's not the fastest but is usable. For home users it may provide more than enough speed. For a power user NO.

I've never been one to assume, lol.

I sent a question to sales asking if the SnapOS was still available under a new service agreement considering the FAQ that states it is no longer available as a download as well as stated as an EOL product and non-supported.

If someone can verify that they did it recently (purchased support to download v4 SnapOS), it would still be helpful in case sales takes a while to answer.

So far the only indication of the software being unavailable as a download has occurred in one found FAQ.

[blue68f100]

We had a user through here last week said that sales gave him a link to download the v4 os. Had some remark that the OS was so old it wasn't worth much.

[otoc]

Originally Posted by blue68f100

We had a user through here last week said that sales gave him a link to download the v4 os. Had some remark that the OS was so old it wasn't worth much.

If "gave" is true, perhaps sales wouldn't mind the publishing of EOL software so they could focus on those SOHO users who should be utilizing more recent hardware.

[blue68f100]

Tech support will only release v3.4.807 to users that have relative newer 1100, 2200, or 4100 models. They go my serial number, they know when they were purchased. I think the cutoff date is 3 yrs.

[bitor]

Greetings David:

I have both my Snap4000 and Snap1000 registered at Adaptec and have not received anything concerning the SnapOS not being supported anymore. I would imagine that they would inform anybody that was registered with unit(s) with SnapOS that they would no longer be supporting it, but then again who know about Adaptec.

Happy Holidays & New Year,

bitor

[blue68f100]

They will not notify you unless you have a service contract, and maybe not even then.

[Phoenix32]

Originally Posted by otoc

I've found mention of the fact that that SnapOs is no longer supported according to several FAQs on the Adaptec site.

It seems you have answered your own question.

Originally Posted by otoc

Regrettably Adaptec doesn't timestamp their FAQs and it's tough to tell if this means what it says it does.

So let's get this right, a time stamp on the FAQ would make the plain language somehow clearer?

Please be aware that the SnapOS is End of Life and therefore this solution has not been internally tested and is being provided without any guarentee

Looks like plain american english to me and crystal clear.

SnapOS has been discontinued and is no longer offered for download. For GuardianOS powered Snap servers, please contact customer service to find out how you can upgrade to the current version.

Again, crystal clear to me.

Originally Posted by otoc

I'm just looking for verification that Adaptec is or isn't offering SnapOS for a download.

You either need to make your questions more clear or make up your mind what your question is. But in either case, okay, so why ask us? We don't work for Adaptec or make their policy. If you want to know for 100% sure what Adaptec is or is not doing, ASK THEM! Pick up a phone, dial their toll free number, and ASK THEM DIRECTLY. Is something we say here or don't say here really going to make it 100% clear for you or anyone else what Adaptec truly is or is not doing and what their policy is or is going to be?

Originally Posted by otoc

I've never been one to assume, lol.

Fine, but there does not appear to be much assuming going on here with clear statements from Adaptec like that. If there is a loophole or way around it, it won't be here. It will be with Adaptec themselves. You are barking up the wrong tree here.

Originally Posted by otoc

So far the only indication of the software being unavailable as a download has occurred in one found FAQ.

Earlier you said "several FAQs", but I digress. I would have to say anything you find on the Official Adaptec website from Adaptec would have to be pretty Official. Duh!

Originally Posted by otoc

perhaps sales wouldn't mind the publishing of EOL software so they could focus on those SOHO users who should be utilizing more recent hardware.

Perhaps you should suggest this to Adaptec board of executives rather than to a bunch of people who have no control over what is or is not done. Again, DUH!


My whole point? Simple. For good or bad, one of my personality traits is to become annoyed easily at people who ask questions and then refuse to hear the answers or ask people a question and then want to argue the answer with the person they asked. If you don't trust the person(s) you asked to answer correctly, then why did you ask them in the first place? You are just wasting theirs and your time.

In this particular case, I have to wonder if american english is a second language for you. What Adaptec has said seems pretty crystal clear to me with no room for any doubts. But okay, a reality check here. I seriously doubt that when they decided to END OF LIFE the Snap OS that they deleted every copy of the OS or any of it's code they had. You can bet they have it and will have it for some time. If you want to buy it from them, I would guess that if you talk to the right salesman, he or she will be glad to sell it to you. If you have a service agreement, or otherwise get to tech support somehow, I would bet with the right situation or sob story, you could get the OS from just the right tech. But see, none of those things are going to happen on this forum. So I have to wonder what your motive is here.

You have modified your question and then tell us we are not answering it, argued the answers, and in general attempted to debate Adaptec policy on a forum that has no official ties to Adaptec. If you want to argue Adaptec policy, make suggestions to them, get direct 100% fact answers about their policies, then GO TO ADAPTEC. DUH! All of this could have been avoided with you doing as I said earlier. Pick up a telephone, call their Toll Free Number, and ASK THEM! Poof! Answer found... But again, not doing this makes me wonder about your motive. Maybe you are just going ona round about path to get somone to e-mail (read Pirate) you a copy. I don't know and don't want to know. But...

If you don't like or don't want to hear the answers from someone, then don't ask them questions.

As last side notes, directly between you and I.

Originally Posted by otoc

I'm understanding of where Adaptec might stand as well as the power of this hardware and product positioning.

If you understand Adaptec's stance so well, then why are you asking what you are asking? Nevermind, don't answer that...

Originally Posted by otoc

I'm not looking to debate what NAS is preferable to what market, or tell someone when they should trash hardware that works.

Hmmm, I wasn't looking to debate what NAS is preferable to what market either. It's you that seems to want to start useless debates.

And for the record, I have yet to tell anyone on this forum anywhere in the multitude of messages I have posted to trash good equipment or get rid of their older equipment if it was doing the job for them. In fact, it pisses me off that you insinuated that I said that. So let me be 100% clear here to you any anyone else reading this message or any of my other messages.

-IF- you have older Snap Servers with Snap OS and they are doing the job for you, I suggest you keep and use them. The older Snap Servers were/are great units, so why change them out if you don't have a need? DUH!

-BUT- if you need faster speeds, more functionality, more storage, compatibility with newer Networks and Operating Systems, etc, etc, etc, then upgrade to something better, like the Guardian OS Snap Servers. DUH!

When I have told people to get rid of their Snap OS units or poked a little fun at someone (it's called humor) with a Snap OS unit, it has been because thy have hit some wall with the older unit and it is no longer meeting their needs/desires. You can't make an old reliable and good work horse to run at 200MPH. For that, you might just need an airplane.

Originally Posted by otoc

My question is simply to verify whether or not Adaptec has totally pulled the plug on the software.

Fine, so pick up your telephone, dial the Adaptec toll free number, and ask them and have your answer in minutes. Then you can quit being an ass and maybe come back and tell others what you found out.

EOL

[otoc]

Originally Posted by Phoenix32

It seems you have answered your own question.



So let's get this right, a time stamp on the FAQ would make the plain language somehow clearer?



Looks like plain american english to me and crystal clear.



Again, crystal clear to me.



You either need to make your questions more clear or make up your mind what your question is. But in either case, okay, so why ask us? We don't work for Adaptec or make their policy. If you want to know for 100% sure what Adaptec is or is not doing, ASK THEM! Pick up a phone, dial their toll free number, and ASK THEM DIRECTLY. Is something we say here or don't say here really going to make it 100% clear for you or anyone else what Adaptec truly is or is not doing and what their policy is or is going to be?



Fine, but there does not appear to be much assuming going on here with clear statements from Adaptec like that. If there is a loophole or way around it, it won't be here. It will be with Adaptec themselves. You are barking up the wrong tree here.



Earlier you said "several FAQs", but I digress. I would have to say anything you find on the Official Adaptec website from Adaptec would have to be pretty Official. Duh!



Perhaps you should suggest this to Adaptec board of executives rather than to a bunch of people who have no control over what is or is not done. Again, DUH!


My whole point? Simple. For good or bad, one of my personality traits is to become annoyed easily at people who ask questions and then refuse to hear the answers or ask people a question and then want to argue the answer with the person they asked. If you don't trust the person(s) you asked to answer correctly, then why did you ask them in the first place? You are just wasting theirs and your time.

In this particular case, I have to wonder if american english is a second language for you. What Adaptec has said seems pretty crystal clear to me with no room for any doubts. But okay, a reality check here. I seriously doubt that when they decided to END OF LIFE the Snap OS that they deleted every copy of the OS or any of it's code they had. You can bet they have it and will have it for some time. If you want to buy it from them, I would guess that if you talk to the right salesman, he or she will be glad to sell it to you. If you have a service agreement, or otherwise get to tech support somehow, I would bet with the right situation or sob story, you could get the OS from just the right tech. But see, none of those things are going to happen on this forum. So I have to wonder what your motive is here.

You have modified your question and then tell us we are not answering it, argued the answers, and in general attempted to debate Adaptec policy on a forum that has no official ties to Adaptec. If you want to argue Adaptec policy, make suggestions to them, get direct 100% fact answers about their policies, then GO TO ADAPTEC. DUH! All of this could have been avoided with you doing as I said earlier. Pick up a telephone, call their Toll Free Number, and ASK THEM! Poof! Answer found... But again, not doing this makes me wonder about your motive. Maybe you are just going ona round about path to get somone to e-mail (read Pirate) you a copy. I don't know and don't want to know. But...

If you don't like or don't want to hear the answers from someone, then don't ask them questions.

As last side notes, directly between you and I.



If you understand Adaptec's stance so well, then why are you asking what you are asking? Nevermind, don't answer that...



Hmmm, I wasn't looking to debate what NAS is preferable to what market either. It's you that seems to want to start useless debates.

And for the record, I have yet to tell anyone on this forum anywhere in the multitude of messages I have posted to trash good equipment or get rid of their older equipment if it was doing the job for them. In fact, it pisses me off that you insinuated that I said that. So let me be 100% clear here to you any anyone else reading this message or any of my other messages.

-IF- you have older Snap Servers with Snap OS and they are doing the job for you, I suggest you keep and use them. The older Snap Servers were/are great units, so why change them out if you don't have a need? DUH!

-BUT- if you need faster speeds, more functionality, more storage, compatibility with newer Networks and Operating Systems, etc, etc, etc, then upgrade to something better, like the Guardian OS Snap Servers. DUH!

When I have told people to get rid of their Snap OS units or poked a little fun at someone (it's called humor) with a Snap OS unit, it has been because thy have hit some wall with the older unit and it is no longer meeting their needs/desires. You can't make an old reliable and good work horse to run at 200MPH. For that, you might just need an airplane.



Fine, so pick up your telephone, dial the Adaptec toll free number, and ask them and have your answer in minutes. Then you can quit being an ass and maybe come back and tell others what you found out.

EOL

You're right.

There's no reason to come here.

All I was attempting was a reality check of user experiences because of something I read (not mentioned here) and was contrary to the availability of a download link asking for money to get it still existing on the Adaptec site. It's not perfectly clear to me, lol.

When I get the answer to the question I sent Adaptec days ago, there's no need to post it here so that readers might learn if we can openly exchange software without fear of a three year old legal threat from Adaptec that was designed to prevent financial loss. That's because you already know the answer, understand US English, and possess a much better sense of humor.

EOM for EOLDUH

[blue68f100]

This is an open fourm, everyone is entitled to their opion. Just NO Person Attacks Please. I generally let everyone speak their mind, and have removed very few post.

David
moderator

otoc: You will have to contact sales on the OS. Adaptec is not a company to turn down money. The last users that came heer looking for the OS, contacted sales and they gave him v4 for FREE. Go Figure. Must have caught them weak in the knees. Contacting Tech support will only get you v3.4.807 free. But I have said this many times now in this thread.

As far as making it a free download, I dought it. They have done it with the last v3, but only on request and it was not released to all users. They have been screening request based on HW age. SnapAppliance use to allow registered users access to old software, not Adpatec, as of yet anyway. If Adaptec wants to make it free they will provide a link in the support section. Like they did with v4 wanting $$$. I dought we will ever be contacted here. Were NOT in the bussiness of providing software, just free support for users who want our help. Most users are not persons working on company hardware. Even though we do get quite a few. Most are users who purchased the hardware on eBay needing help with there new Snap. Snap is still about the only NAS that supports all OS's. But for that support now you must have a guardian unit with the latest OS (v4). The only down side of the SnapOS units is it's CPU power, Low Ram (some models), and the os is stored in flashram. Limiting it's upgrade ability. Besides the file system having a 1T limit. From a bussiness stand point these are not suitable for most.

Now for some news you may not know. Adaptec anounced several months ago that the new units are being design where you must buy the Hard Drive through them. They want to beable to charge you $400+ for a 250gi HD that yoiu can pickup for <$100. They want to force you to buy parts from them. The bad side is that they are using MAXTOR harddrives that have the Highest failure rate in the industry. This may change since Seagate bought them, but only time will fail. I know if I shelled out the big $$$ for a new unit, I would not want MAXTOR HD's. They may piss off a lot of their big clints with this one. Several years from now when these units show up on ebay, un expecting buyers are going to be in a rude awakening. Something to look forward to.

Over the past 6 mo we have started getting more request for help on the Guardian OS units. I expect this trend to continue. We are by no means experts on these units, and never claim to be. We help were we can, and new users keep adding to our knowledge base.

[otoc]

Originally Posted by blue68f100

This is an open fourm, everyone is entitled to their opion. Just NO Person Attacks Please. I generally let everyone speak their mind, and have removed very few post.

David
moderator

otoc: You will have to contact sales on the OS. Adaptec is not a company to turn down money. The last users that came heer looking for the OS, contacted sales and they gave him v4 for FREE. Go Figure. Must have caught them weak in the knees. Contacting Tech support will only get you v3.4.807 free. But I have said this many times now in this thread.

As far as making it a free download, I dought it. They have done it with the last v3, but only on request and it was not released to all users. They have been screening request based on HW age. SnapAppliance use to allow registered users access to old software, not Adpatec, as of yet anyway. If Adaptec wants to make it free they will provide a link in the support section. Like they did with v4 wanting $$$. I dought we will ever be contacted here. Were NOT in the bussiness of providing software, just free support for users who want our help. Most users are not persons working on company hardware. Even though we do get quite a few. Most are users who purchased the hardware on eBay needing help with there new Snap. Snap is still about the only NAS that supports all OS's. But for that support now you must have a guardian unit with the latest OS (v4). The only down side of the SnapOS units is it's CPU power, Low Ram (some models), and the os is stored in flashram. Limiting it's upgrade ability. Besides the file system having a 1T limit. From a bussiness stand point these are not suitable for most.

Now for some news you may not know. Adaptec anounced several months ago that the new units are being design where you must buy the Hard Drive through them. They want to beable to charge you $400+ for a 250gi HD that yoiu can pickup for <$100. They want to force you to buy parts from them. The bad side is that they are using MAXTOR harddrives that have the Highest failure rate in the industry. This may change since Seagate bought them, but only time will fail. I know if I shelled out the big $$$ for a new unit, I would not want MAXTOR HD's. They may piss off a lot of their big clints with this one. Several years from now when these units show up on ebay, un expecting buyers are going to be in a rude awakening. Something to look forward to.

Over the past 6 mo we have started getting more request for help on the Guardian OS units. I expect this trend to continue. We are by no means experts on these units, and never claim to be. We help were we can, and new users keep adding to our knowledge base.

I'm sorry if I sounded insulting. Never did I want the good work that people have posted here for years to be maligned.

I did contact sales (not tech support).

Personally, I gave up on Adaptec products some time ago. I bought my snaps when they were Quantum. Adaptec has been shifting towards enterprise accounts for some time with their file servers. Too bad, for I don't think they have the product to compute with Apple, HP, IBM or others.

When I sell off my snap 2000s, I'm just going with an open source ile server that runs off the shelf components. I'm testing one I picked up for $30 bucks designed for a standard PC. It does more than SnapOS (except for pre OSX AFP) and runs standard PCI raid cards.

[blue68f100]

A lot of users are going that way, using FreeNAS. It's still in beta but looks promising. I was testing it with a old pc when I bought my 4500. And their pc's are moving to linux. Away from MS Bloat ware. You don't realize how much computing power is required to run a Software Raid. And I could not see purchasing a card that was more expensive than my whole pc. My big concern was noise, all for that with the 4500 jet engines. My PC would have been quieter.

Most of us who have picked up the Guardian units have been selling off our older units. The Guardian OS units actually run on RedHat Enterprise. But like all of Snap hardware it looks for a special ID so you can't export it to other hardware. Which is shame, the Guardian OS is really nice.

I still have an old Apple and need the APF the main reason I bought it in the first place.

Adaptec was having problems with their hardware getting into the enterprise bussiness the reason they bought SnapAppliance. SnapAppliance was a very friendly company to deal with. Adaptec was jerks. I still think there attitude toward the small guy will kill them in th elong run. They did not realise that person buying their old eqipment was users in the IT fields working for large corp. Putting a bad taste in their mouth definaltely hurt them when it came time to buy new hardware.

[otoc]

Originally Posted by blue68f100

A lot of users are going that way, using FreeNAS. It's still in beta but looks promising. I was testing it with a old pc when I bought my 4500. And their pc's are moving to linux. Away from MS Bloat ware. You don't realize how much computing power is required to run a Software Raid. And I could not see purchasing a card that was more expensive than my whole pc. My big concern was noise, all for that with the 4500 jet engines. My PC would have been quieter.

I'm testing NASLITE2-HDD and plan on adding in a 4 drive Raid5 sata card for it's still cheaper to build your own with off the shelf.

Originally Posted by blue68f100

Most of us who have picked up the Guardian units have been selling off our older units. The Guardian OS units actually run on RedHat Enterprise. But like all of Snap hardware it looks for a special ID so you can't export it to other hardware. Which is shame, the Guardian OS is really nice.

As I am with the snap2000s. The test to make a 2000 into a raid5 4000 was to archive the old info in one spot. I'm not going to spend more on locked hardware.

Originally Posted by blue68f100

I still have an old Apple and need the APF the main reason I bought it in the first place.

There's always Dave for OS9 if that's what you are running.

Originally Posted by blue68f100

Adaptec was having problems with their hardware getting into the enterprise bussiness the reason they bought SnapAppliance. SnapAppliance was a very friendly company to deal with. Adaptec was jerks. I still think there attitude toward the small guy will kill them in th elong run. They did not realise that person buying their old eqipment was users in the IT fields working for large corp. Putting a bad taste in their mouth definaltely hurt them when it came time to buy new hardware.

Which gets me to the end of this story.

The first response I got to my question from sales was to buy a service contract to get the most recent snapos and an offer to discount new guardian units to make up the cost.

Of course I asked why I should buy service for an eol software/hardware product that wouldn't be supported.

To which the answer came complete with a link to the password protected file with the offer to discount new hardware still intact.

I hope this helps anyone who is hoping to keep the snapos at least up to date with pre vista ms networks.