Hack a Snap Sever 1000?

[kozel]

I have a 1000 and it would not support dirves>120. Actually, it would but it would not see anything but 120gb. I did the drive upgrade under ver 3 os and then upgraded the os to ver 4, so I can't say for sure if it is hardware or an os limitation. I also found that my 1000 did not like Maxtor ata133 drives. That seemed to be a hardware limitation. I'm using a WD 120gb ata100 7200rpm drive and it works fine. BTW, I used the dolly method to copy the drive.

[TobyW]

Interesting. Thanks for that Kozel. If nobody else has managed above 120 with a 1000 then I will look around for the best deal on the WD ATA100.

Thanks again,

Toby.

[re3dyb0y]

I believe it should with Snap Os v4 from what i remember.

[cringer]

Greetings All,
I still need replacement bezels for the 4100 and any help doing that will be greatly appreciated.

Regarding the hard drive sleds (caddies) for the 4100, I got a local fab to make them for me.
I had them make a few extra and am willing to sell them at cost to anyone who needs them.

Let me know.

[andy497]

Originally Posted by kozel

I have a 1000 and it would not support dirves>120. Actually, it would but it would not see anything but 120gb. I did the drive upgrade under ver 3 os and then upgraded the os to ver 4, so I can't say for sure if it is hardware or an os limitation. I also found that my 1000 did not like Maxtor ata133 drives. That seemed to be a hardware limitation. I'm using a WD 120gb ata100 7200rpm drive and it works fine. BTW, I used the dolly method to copy the drive.

you will need an os kernel that supports lba48. this has been in linux since around 2.2. can you find out what version the 1000 is running?

[re3dyb0y]

Yes that may be true, but the snap server OS is based on BSD, which originates from unix??

However, the hardware can still be limiting - I had a Motherboard for a 1.2ghz athlon about 3 years ago, and it needed a bios update to use Hd's over 120gb....

[kozel]

For what it's worth, if you're interested in a cheap NAS device, check the Hawking Tech HNAS1 w/o drives. I got one for under $90. If you're just interested in hacking Snaps, well carry on. There's a flurry inexpensive nas devices on the horizon thanks to the Broadcom "NAS on a chip" product.

Read about it here... http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=500138

[nadiazipper]

TobyW

I had a Snap 1000 and had a seagate 200GB drive in it. It worked fine however I had os v4

[re3dyb0y]

Pete, I was just looking at my old PII 233Mhz, on what i believe is the southbridge it says:
Intel
PCI Set
FW82371AB
F801VA80
SL23P

Also on my spare 2200 Mobo, it has a intel 266mhz cpu, there are 2 other chips, both look like south bridges, but i assume one is the northbridge (one closest to the cpu)
Possible Northbridge:
Intel
PCIset
FW82439TX
F102IB94
SL28T

Southbridge:
Intel
PCIset
FW82371EB
L0310252
SL32M

Im then assuming the 4100 h/w is similar to the 2200.

[sbranin]

I just wanted to know if I tinker around with drive cloning and swapping and it doesn't go well will I have any problems with the system after putting the old drive back in? thanks for all your help.

[cringer]

As long as you DO NOT write anything to the original drives, you will have no problems returning your system to its original state.

Make sure to number your drives and keep a sketch of their locations in the chassis.
Make sure to record your drive jumper settings.

That being said, some SNAPs require the OS upgrade. Since this is a one-way process, you clearly will not be able to return your system to its original state. However, I have not experienced problems related to OS upgrading.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by sbranin

I just wanted to know if I tinker around with drive cloning and swapping and it doesn't go well will I have any problems with the system after putting the old drive back in? thanks for all your help.

[re3dyb0y]

I suppose also dont format - but that should be obvious. You can upgrade and downgrade between v4 and v3

[re3dyb0y]

How do i measure a fan? Is it the size from one side to another? Cos i want to replace the noisy fan on mine.

One thing i noticed today - Have the snap server on a hard surface so the air can get under it - otherwise it starts to get warm....

Luckily no damage was caused.

[Cosmos]

Hiya folks...

I'm new here, but I have been lurking for some time. With the information here I have taken an old Snap 1000 with a single 30 GB drive and turned it into two 80 GB drives (I made my own enclosure since 2 drives wouldn't fit in the original case.) I used "Dolly" to clone the original drive, following instructions I found here, also. Now to the point of this post...

When I added the second drive, I just used a standard dual connector IDE cable. Main drive as master and new second drive as slave. It works fine this way. On the motherboard there is what appears to be a second IDE connector. Since this device came with a single drive in it, what would that other connector be for? Power considerations aside, would the device support 4 drives? Anyone had any experience with this?

Thanks a lot!

[re3dyb0y]

Yes, i think.

If you go onto http://snapserver/config/debug and type ?

There is an option to view hardware option, ie minnie, mortie and stuff. So yes if you change that to whatever a 4100 is, it should work, but i think doing that has knackered others' peoples' snap servers.

I have a 2200 that i was happy with replacing the 2 80s with new ones.!!!

[re3dyb0y]

Hi,
I have some FreeBSD Guides if anyone is interested. They may help with alteration of the OS, as that is what the snap os is based on.

[Cosmos]

I was having trouble with my SNAP 1000 allowing me to read, write or delete files. I found this Information at snapappliance.com. Once I made the change below the problem went away...

"A security update ( KB885250) affecting numerous Windows OSes introduced compatibility issues between Windows clients and Snap Servers. This update from Microsoft changes the behavior of how a Windows client responds to previously working SMB (Server Message Block) calls. Affected functions may include copying, renaming, or deleting files."

"It is possible to work around this issue by deselecting the "Enable NT SMBs" on the Snap server. This option is displayed in the web administration tool under Network Settings -> Microsoft Networking -> Advanced. Reboot the server for the change to take effect. Note disabling this option limits the maximum file size allowable for Windows clients to 4GB. "

Apparently the only way to keep SMBs enabled is to back out of the MS security update on the affected PCs, or update to Snap OS 4. I cannot afford OS 4 so I disabled SMBs. Who needs files larger then 4 gigs anyway... (Darn all those 4.6 gig movie iso files!)

This information applies to the following Product(s):

- Snap Server 1000
- Snap Server 1100
- Snap Server 2000
- Snap Server 2200
- Snap Server 4000
- Snap Server 4100
- Snap Server 12000

This information applies to the following Operating System(s):

- Windows XP
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows 2000
- Windows 2000 Professional
- Windows 2000 Server
- Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Windows 2000 Datacenter

Sorry if this is a repeat of information, I didn't see anyone else had posted...

[Cosmos]

The saga continues...

I am considering upgrading to OS4, partly for reasons mentioned in my previous post. But as I was reading through the forum I see some folks that did upgrade lost their second drive, OS4 didn't see the second drive on a dual connector IDE cable, where version 3.x did...

Has anyone figured out that issue? Regards!

[re3dyb0y]

I think i have some ram for snap 4X00.

Check my post in network geek'n for more info

[Terry Kennedy]

Originally Posted by Peter

I'm working on solving 137Gb limitation on 4100 snap server.
At this stage I'm collecting informations about hardware.
More specificaly I'm looking for somebody who has knowledge about Intel 82371 PIIX4 PCI Set Chip. We are all aware that this unit is fully capable of utilizing larger drives (over 137GB) I belive that with my knowledge of hardware and a software Guru's knowledge we can simply enable LBA48 support. Look forward to your comments. Please respond to this thread or send me a PM.

As some background, I had independently perfected disk upgrades on the 1100 / 2000 / 4100 before the original article was posted here. I have email correspondence with Snap engineers if anyone demands proof. I've also done a bunch of other stuff that hasn't been discussed here at all, but that's not relevant to this discussion...

Anyway, the 4100 uses a pair of Promise dual-channel IDE controllers. That gives you 4 master/slave pairs, though the Snap OS ignores anything on the slave ports for performance reasons.

Promise never officially supported LBA48 on the chipset used in the 4100, though both FreeBSD and Linux have LBA48 support for that chipset, so it is definitely possible. I spent a few months exchanging email with Snap engineers and marketing people about getting LBA48 support added to the 4100 (I had been running 2 dozen or so 480GB 4100's, of which only one was purchased as a 480GB model). For various reasons, including it being a mature model and not wanting to encourage field upgrades, they decided not to add LBA48 support to the 4100. Given the way the OS is packaged and installed on the 4100, it is unlikely that users will be able to implement this themselves.

This is one of the reasons I stopped using 4100's and switched to homebuilt file servers (6TB in 3RU, much higher performance than a 4100) which I document here.

[Peter]

Originally Posted by Terry Kennedy

As some background, I had independently perfected disk upgrades on the 1100 / 2000 / 4100 before the original article was posted here. I have email correspondence with Snap engineers if anyone demands proof. I've also done a bunch of other stuff that hasn't been discussed here at all, but that's not relevant to this discussion...

Anyway, the 4100 uses a pair of Promise dual-channel IDE controllers. That gives you 4 master/slave pairs, though the Snap OS ignores anything on the slave ports for performance reasons.

Promise never officially supported LBA48 on the chipset used in the 4100, though both FreeBSD and Linux have LBA48 support for that chipset, so it is definitely possible. I spent a few months exchanging email with Snap engineers and marketing people about getting LBA48 support added to the 4100 (I had been running 2 dozen or so 480GB 4100's, of which only one was purchased as a 480GB model). For various reasons, including it being a mature model and not wanting to encourage field upgrades, they decided not to add LBA48 support to the 4100. Given the way the OS is packaged and installed on the 4100, it is unlikely that users will be able to implement this themselves.

This is one of the reasons I stopped using 4100's and switched to homebuilt file servers (6TB in 3RU, much higher performance than a 4100) which I document here.

Thanks Terry for your information.

Last week I did abandon this project for very simple reason.
I purchased BUFFALO TeraStation and it is working excellent.
Forget about this junky SnapServer from Snap Appliances.

Snap Appliances marketing strategy was to force all of us to purchase their overpriced “new” product with again some hidden limitations or expensive OS upgrade. What they missed is that there are other companies with progressive thinking and less greed.
I wish them to loose all market in Snap servers to Buffalo.
Their greed has downfall, too bad for them.
I encourage everybody who is looking for perfect replacement for this crappy SnapApliances server to go:
http://www.buffalotech.co.kr/product...rage/HD-H1.htm
to see for your self what you can get and not to be cheated.

[re3dyb0y]

Thanks for the info terry. We do believe you, others have also done it.

Any other info you can give us would help.

Luckily the snap server will meet my needs, as i aint trying to get loads of space on it, the 2 x80gb are enough for me, however, when that dies, i will probably move away from snap servers.

[Terry Kennedy]

Originally Posted by Peter

Last week I did abandon this project for very simple reason.
I purchased BUFFALO TeraStation and it is working excellent.
Forget about this junky SnapServer from Snap Appliances.

Snap Appliances marketing strategy was to force all of us to purchase their overpriced “new” product with again some hidden limitations or expensive OS upgrade. What they missed is that there are other companies with progressive thinking and less greed.

What you should realize is that the SnapOS-based servers are considered "legacy" products - after all, these date all the way back to Meridian Data (that's 3 owners of the Snap product line ago). Even the 4100 is a 5-year-old+ design at this point.

They were never intended to be field-upgradable. They were targeted at companies who would install it and forget about it. The fact that end users have figured out ways to expand the units and make them do new tricks is a tribute to the flexibility of the original design.

Comparing a 5- (or more) year-old design to a current product isn't really a fair comparison. Likewise, comapring any Adaptec product to an intentionally-open product isn't fair either - they're competing in very different market spaces.

I haven't looked at any of the GuardianOS-based Snap units, so I can't say if they are better performers (though I'd expect they are, simply because they're newer designs). I did look at some of Adaptec's offerings before I built my own servers from scratch, but the minute I saw they required special Adaptec drives (available in a limited number of sizes and at very high prices) I stopped looking.

[Terry Kennedy]

Originally Posted by poogles_uk

Thanks for the info terry. We do believe you, others have also done it.

Thanks. I just wanted to forestall any of the "you're one of the evil eBay people profiting from our ideas" comments.

Any other info you can give us would help.

I've done a lot of work with the ServerSync code and the Java engine. Those were added after the initial design of the 4100, and you can easily hit some limits with the memory Snap supplied in those units. Snap used a 64MB PC100 non-ECC DIMM in the earlier units, and a 128MB PC100 non-ECC DIMM in the newer ones. I replaced these with 256MB ones (ECC or not doesn't matter as the 4100 hardware doesn't support ECC - one reason to not use these in mission-critical environments). After that, I suggest issuing the debug commands "jvm stack 1024" (the default is 64KB, this raises it to 1MB) and "jvm ram 64" (the default is 24MB, this raises it to 64MB). The rest of the additional memory capacity will go to disk buffers, which always helps.

[Ron]

Originally Posted by Terry Kennedy

I've done a lot of work with the ServerSync code and the Java engine.

Hi Terry.

I'd love to know what you have done with the code, especially the Java engine. Is this something you would feel comfortable sharing or not? No problem if you don't want to. I would understand that you've probably put a lot of work into this...

Cheers!

Btw, I'm quite a n00b when it comes to SnapServers specifically, so please be gentle. Hehehe.