Standby mode on DS106 with swap file on USB stick [Archive]

mr_hyde

2006-10-02, 06:54

Hello,

i have moved the swapspace from the HDD to a USB Memory stick. I have installed SSODS r2b1 with SS6.5.0 on a DS106. Now the HDD sleep function is working fine. After at least 60 min the DS goes into standby mode without any disk or fan spinning.

The only thing you need is a card reader with memory card(>=512mb) or a USB memory stick (>=512MB) I bought one today for 15€ (1GB)

I will try to create a .pat file to patch the SSODS. Probably today i will post a short howto for the DS106.

mr_hyde

flipflip

2006-10-02, 07:20

Cool! Many thanks!

tommypeters

2006-10-02, 11:00

Very good idea! (and realization) :)

radish

2006-10-02, 11:16

Putting a swap partition on flash isn't usually considered a very good idea, due to the limited write-cycle nature of the medium. In a while (how long will depend on many factors) the cells in the flash module will start failing. If you're lucky, the system will notice and start marking them bad, until eventually there's not enough left and it all dies. If you're not lucky, nothing will notice until you start getting random crashes due to swapfile corruption.

See : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory#Limitations

Wear levelling can help, if the flash device in question supports it : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wear_levelling

tommypeters

2006-10-02, 13:05

OK, since we don't need non-volatile memory for a swap - is there any type of volatile memory that can be connected to USB (directly or through a card reader or similar), reasonably priced?

flipflip

2006-10-02, 13:50

But as USB memory sticks are rather cheap it can just be raplaced when its broken. The question is how long it would last.

Mr_hyde will tell us sooner or later :-)

What about a raid system made of two or more sticks? We could monitor for a defect stick and replace it before the system crashes. I'm sure I could get lots of small (64, 128 MB) USB sticks from friends and collegues for free.. hmm.. that's worth an email to all@.. tomorrow :-)

Mr_hyde: How much swap is needed?

flip

radish

2006-10-02, 14:15

What about a raid system made of two or more sticks? We could monitor for a defect stick and replace it before the system crashes. I'm sure I could get lots of small (64, 128 MB) USB sticks from friends and collegues for free.. hmm.. that's worth an email to all@.. tomorrow :-)

That's a very entertaining idea :)

flipflip

2006-10-03, 01:14

That's a very entertaining idea :)

It is.. it remembers me of the USB-Floppy Raid: http://phoenix.cc.edu/MegaFloppy.htm

mr_hyde

2006-10-03, 10:14

Putting a swap partition on flash isn't usually considered a very good idea, due to the limited write-cycle nature of the medium.

You are right, but up to now i got no other idea and as flip already mentioned, USB sticks are cheap.

@ Flip: The Slimserver uses about 90-100Mb of swapspace. The origin HDD space is about 400MB.

I have another idea to reduce the write cycles to the usb medium. One could use a similar 'prevent standby' plugin. As far as i know, this plugin monitors, if clients are connected to the server. If a client is connected to the server, the DS is usually not in Standby --> use of HDD swap file. If no client is connected to the Server, the plugin could activate the USB swapspace. One should use the swapon/off from debian, because it is possible to set the priority of the swap space (this is not possible with the binary that is included in the Synology system) .

Actually i won't have got the time for that, but when i've found a solution, i will post it.

mr_hyde

tommypeters

2006-10-03, 13:15

OK, so even a 128MB USB stick would be useful? That's things they throw at you if you try a 2-number subscription to some technical magazines...

mr_hyde

2006-10-04, 11:30

OK, so even a 128MB USB stick would be useful? That's things they throw at you if you try a 2-number subscription to some technical magazines...

Hello,

i reduced the size of the swap file to 128mb. It works for my setup.

I also tried to change the priority of the swapfile. I used hdd swap and added a usb swap with higher priority. The DS wrote a couple of bytes to the new swapfile, but the hdd went not in standby mode. The system will use the old swapspace, if it is already in use and write only additional bytes to the new one. As a consequence one had to add the usb swapspace to the system and after that one could remove the hdd swap space. Then the data will be transferred to the new swapspace. After that we could add the hdd swapspace again, because it will get a lower priority. A plugin that monitors the clients could solve this. Then the sytstem could use hdd swap while it is in use and if no client is connected, the system could switch to usb swapspace.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2006-11-11, 13:01

Hello,

i have written a patch file for the DS106 (Should also work on other ppc based Synology Products).

With this patch it is possible to generate a swapfile through the ssods web interface and switch between HDD and USB swapping. It works fine for me. Actually the size is set to 256MB, because sometimes my DS used up to 130mb swapspace.

Fell free to test it. You just have to install it via the firmware upgrade of the DS. The only thing you need is a USB memory stick with at least 256mb free space.

It seems to be that the Slimserver performance is a little bit lower compared to the swapfile on HDD, which is ok for me.

But i have got another idea to solve this problem. Probably it works that a plugin controls if there are clients connected to the server (already avaliable) and switches from USB to HDD swap.

mr_hyde

tommypeters

2006-11-12, 11:25

mr_hyde

2006-11-12, 12:23

Nice work :)

Yes, the performance ought to be a little bit lower - while the seek time is faster and the flash memory is about the same speed as a HDD, the lower transfer rate of USB2 than SATA impacts swapping of larger memory blocks a lot.

Hello,

today i performed a couple of experiments with some plugins (shutdown.pl, Execute.pm). Both executed mit scripts, but Execute.pm seems to have a problem, because it executes the same script at power on and power off. Nevertheless it should be possible to shift the swapspace to hdd during operation and back to usb when the SB is switched off. Then the performance should increase. Flip told me that there will be a new release soon where it is possible to write patch files without touching the origin SSODS files. Hopefully till then i will have a solution for switching between HDD and USB swap automatically.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2006-11-15, 13:48

Hello,

the first version of usbswap for r2b8 is availiable. A deinstall and readme will hopefully be availiable next week.

mr_hyde

flipflip

2006-11-15, 16:30

bergek

2006-11-15, 16:38

If you creat a swap file when no USB memory is mounted (plugged in), the swap file will be created on the system disk instead which will lead to a 100% full system disk. This may be a problem.

Don't know if this works but can you create a small ramdisk on your dist? If so, could you mount a ramdisk, create a new folder on the ramdisk and mount the USB stick on that folder? That way, if you happen to remove the USB memory the RAM would get filled but it would just be a matter of reinserting a USB stick and rebooting.

flipflip

2006-11-15, 16:42

The right way would be to make sure that it does not happen. This can easily be implemented in the scripts. We'll do that. Just for now, be sure to have a stick plugged in.

:-)
flip

HarryPotter

2006-11-16, 03:10

mr_hyde

2006-11-16, 04:51

I installed the slimserver (v6.5.0)on my ds-106x. everything works fine (with a squeezebox v3), only *ape files are causing troubles.

And the HD is not going to sleep anymore (hibernation mode).

So I installed your patch to use an USB-stick for the swap-file.
The file is now there and the swapfile is directed to the stick.

But the HD is still not going to sleep :-(

I there anything I have to change or check out?

Thanks for help

Hello,

i set up the stanby mode to 10 min. But it needs at least 30-60 min to go into standby. I don't know why. Neverthelss it works stable on my DS106. By the way, the 106x should have 128MB and should go into standy without usbswap.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2006-11-16, 04:54

I just took a quick look at it and can say it looks very promising. Many thanks, Mr_Hyde.

I found one possible issue, though: If you creat a swap file when no USB memory is mounted (plugged in), the swap file will be created on the system disk instead which will lead to a 100% full system disk. This may be a problem.. Solution if that happens: delete the swap file manually (rm /volumeUSB1/usbshare/swapfile) via telnet (as root). Nothing bad should happen if you plug in a memory stick before using the routines.

flip

Actually the patch tells me that i have to plug in a usb stick if there is no usb device. It is controlled over a path which is only availiable, when the stick is plugged in. Nevertheless we will implement a check through '/proc/mounts'.

The swapspace is created on a image file that is limited to 128 or 256 MB. So the HDD should not be full if there is a problem.

mr_hyde

HarryPotter

2006-11-16, 05:50

It doesnt go into standby, not with swapfile on usb nor with Hd-Version, not after 10 not after 60 and not after 600 hours

tommypeters

2006-11-16, 06:58

It doesnt go into standby, not with swapfile on usb nor with Hd-Version, not after 10 not after 60 and not after 600 hours
Do you also have it mounted as a network disk on a computer?

hkfriends

2006-11-16, 07:08

First try:

"Swap to USB automatically" is not working

HarryPotter

2006-11-16, 07:24

At the moment its not connected by Network Drives, but it doesnt matter because even when my computer is off (during night for ex.) the HD on my Diskstation is not willing to go sleeping.

When I deinstall the SlimServer then hibernation works, but not with SS installed

HarryPotter

2006-11-17, 04:33

mr_hyde

2006-11-17, 06:08

So, new day, new result:

Last night I unpluged the power cable of the Squeezebox3.
--> This morning DS-106x was sleeping deep like a baby.

So this is fact: Just to turn off the Squeezebox3 by the red button of the remote control doesnt let the DS-106x go to sleep, you have to unplug the power cable.

Is there a possibility to change this?

Hello HarryPotter,

this could be the reason. I have connected the SB3 to my receiver. If i switch it of, the SB is automatically disconnected from the power. The the Diskstation goes into standby. When the DS is connected and the Date/Time Screensaver is active, i also think, that the DS goes not into standby.

Nevertheless when i hear internetradio via mplayer, after a certain time the SB goes into standby and the radio is still working. I think it could be related to the screensaver. Actualy i am not at home till monday. I have no real to my DS and i can't test something.

But then it seems also to work on your DS if you unplug the SB.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2006-11-17, 06:13

First try:

"Swap to USB automatically" is not working

Do you have created a swapfile via the webinterface? When i am back next week, i will try to add some logging to see what happens at startup. I have tested a couple of things and got a similar problem. Then i had to add 'sleep 5' in my startupscript to ensure that the USB device is already mounted when the script tries to swap to usb. Probably your system (for instance hdd) is a little bit faster and the sleep time had to be increased a little bit.

if you want to try it by yourself, you could increase the value behind sleep in the rc.50.usbswap script in /volume1/SSODS/etc

mr_hyde

hkfriends

2006-11-17, 08:41

yes, set sleep to 10 fix the problem

Do you have created a swapfile via the webinterface? When i am back next week, i will try to add some logging to see what happens at startup. I have tested a couple of things and got a similar problem. Then i had to add 'sleep 5' in my startupscript to ensure that the USB device is already mounted when the script tries to swap to usb. Probably your system (for instance hdd) is a little bit faster and the sleep time had to be increased a little bit.

if you want to try it by yourself, you could increase the value behind sleep in the rc.50.usbswap script in /volume1/SSODS/etc

mr_hyde

HarryPotter

2006-11-17, 09:53

The screensaver for "SB OFF" is set to "nothing", but it doesnt help the DS going to sleep.

I hope someone will find another solution than just unplug the power cable :-(

Have a nice weekend

hkfriends

2006-11-17, 21:11

2nd try:

SlimServer: 6.31
SWAP USB + HDD = HDD will not sleep
SWAP HDD only = HDD can sleep

????

mr_hyde

2006-11-18, 02:18

2nd try:

SlimServer: 6.31
SWAP USB + HDD = HDD will not sleep
SWAP HDD only = HDD can sleep

????

I tested the USBswap only with SS 6.5, because the standby problem occured not with SS 6.3

Do you switched off the Squeezebox or is it still on with a Screensaver?

mr_hyde

hkfriends

2006-11-18, 07:58

just soft switched-off the Squeezebox

My test want to test whether the sleep failure is due to memory swapping

I tested the USBswap only with SS 6.5, because the standby problem occured not with SS 6.3

Do you switched off the Squeezebox or is it still on with a Screensaver?

mr_hyde

tommypeters

2006-11-22, 06:00

I haven't really checked before... but I have a DS-106 and have kept 6.3.1 for not to miss HDD standby. I have added no extra plugins, the SB3's are now all without any screensaver when off (hade a clock initially) and the DS-106 isn't attached as a network disk to any computer.

But now, when I check, the HDD doesn't seem to spin down anyway... :(

HarryPotter

2006-11-22, 16:44

Thats what I say all the time: as long as there is a squeezebox with power cable plugged in, no chance for the HD to go sleeping. I am very disappointed about that fact :-((

kai

2006-11-22, 18:39

1. The HDD of my DS-106 reliably spun down with SS 6.2.2, 6.3.0, and 6.3.1.

2. After upgrading to 6.5.1 the HDD only fell asleep after
a) installing mr_hyde's USB swap
b) disconnecting Squeezebox from power OR unchecking all plugins in SS and restart SS.

Thus it seems as if at least one of the SS 6.5.x plugins (additionally to memory swap?) keeps the HDD alive. It is still to be found out which one. In my last test the HDD also fell to sleep with only Time/Date activated.

@tommypeters: Did you also go back to the old plugins when going back to SS 6.3.1? Otherwise the new plugin(s) might cause the continued HDD activity.

PS: Something that also needs to be tested is going back to HDD swap with all plugins deactivated. I only tested deactivating some plugins before I installed the USB swap patch, but never switched of e.g. CLI, RadioPlaylist, Rescan, TT, Date/Time, Scanner, Visualizer.

tommypeters

2006-11-23, 01:05

I haven't gone *back* to 6.3.1 - never installed 6.5 since "everyone" said that it made the HDD no longer spin down. So I don't have any newer plugins.

Right now my wife is on holiday so I can just turn off the DS-106, but the reason for buying it was that she should be able to listen to music when I'm not at home/the computer isn't on.

kai

2006-11-23, 01:36

Sorry, I thought I remembered you going back from 6.5.0, but probably confused you with someone else.

So something seems to be different with your installation if compared with mine.

I also had DS-106, WD5000KS, SSoDS r1b4, SS 6.3.0 and a wife which used the Squeezebox when I was not at home.

While I stayed with the hardware (especially because I like the wife a lot) HDD hibernation problems only emerged with upgrading to 6.5.0.

So where is the difference? SSoDS r1b4? But my HDD now hibernates even with SSoDS r2b8. My HDD being tightly fixed with all screws? Not really. Using Linn instead of Meridian? ;-)

I won't bother you with all the have you upgraded your firmware and have you switched on hibernation questions, since you probably did it all already.

tommypeters

2006-11-24, 01:12

I have done all that, but I will double-check since while doing something else a setting can be changed unknowingly.

mr_hyde

2006-11-24, 10:02

Hello,

attached you will find the new release r1b2 of usbswap.

New features:
- Now you can choose the size of the swapfile.
- It is possible to remove the swapfile
- Problems with automatic swapping to usb during boot should be solved
- A deinstall.pat is added to remove the patch without impact on ssods
- A Readme is added in the zip file and will be listed in the about section of ssods (>= r2b9)

Known limitations:
- You have to unplug the SB for standby of DS (probably switching to Squeezenetwork will also work)
- Slimserver Webinterface seems to be a little bit slower (probably dependent on USB device speed)
- Sticks mounted on /volumeUSB2/... actually not supported

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2006-11-25, 08:58

Known limitations:
- You have to unplug the SB for standby of DS (probably switching to Squeezenetwork will also work)

Hello,

good news. I removed a couple of Plugins and the Diskstation goes into standby while the Date/time Screensaver is on. This is reproducible. As a consequence you don't have to unplug the DS. I also tested this with swapping to hdd. Then the HDD was spinning the whole time. When i switched back to USBswap, the standby mode started after about 15 min.

It could be that it is the sum of plugins that are installed, but it could also be a problem with one plugin, for instance the 'Health' plugin.

Attached you will find a list of my installed plugins. I removed the others. It is not sufficient to unmark them in SS.

mr_hyde

HarryPotter

2006-11-26, 07:07

I dont know what has been changed now but I can confirm that also my DS-106x (SlimServer nightly 6.5.1) is going to sleep now, even with swapping on HD! Not after 10 minutes, but I dont mind.

Thanks!

hkfriends

2006-11-29, 21:09

confirm HDD sleep is working in DS-101g+ with USBSWAP + mr_hyde plugin list + WeatherTime

Hello,

good news. I removed a couple of Plugins and the Diskstation goes into standby while the Date/time Screensaver is on. This is reproducible. As a consequence you don't have to unplug the DS. I also tested this with swapping to hdd. Then the HDD was spinning the whole time. When i switched back to USBswap, the standby mode started after about 15 min.

It could be that it is the sum of plugins that are installed, but it could also be a problem with one plugin, for instance the 'Health' plugin.

Attached you will find a list of my installed plugins. I removed the others. It is not sufficient to unmark them in SS.

mr_hyde

toddel68

2006-12-05, 04:46

confirm HDD sleep is working in DS-101g+ with USBSWAP + mr_hyde plugin list + WeatherTime

I cannot confirm this. I have even less pugins than mrhyde and my DS106 won't suspend. However my amplifier has a power outlet which I use now for the SB3. Suspend works fine when the SB is off. Did like the weather/time screensaver though.

Thorsten

toddel68

2006-12-05, 05:23

I wonder if the new beta with USB disk hibernation support will affect SS usb-swapping and suspend:

>>
Major Changes
Items from 2.0.3 - 0418 to 2.0.3 - 0424

(1981) DMA support list updated
(2165) USB disk hibernation is supported.
(2365) Enhanced data copy stability for wireless environment
<<<

HarryPotter

2006-12-05, 06:18

Unfortunately it does: since I have FW 424 on my DS-106x the DS is going to sleep "forever" after a few hours. The lights are normal, but the D isnt accessible anymore, no ping, no shares no nothing.
The only thing to wake it up again is to unplug the power cable und plugin again to restart the DS.

I very hope flipflip will found a solution.

Thanks

johnny

2006-12-05, 10:54

@HarryPotter

I have the same problem with FW-424!

Johnny

mr_hyde

2006-12-05, 11:19

I have installed FW 417 and the process is working reliable. Additionally to my Plugin List i have installed the Dynamic Playlist, LastFM and the new MusicInfo Screensaver.

I also read the changes for 424 but i have not tested it since i see no improvement for SSODS.

Does anybody know, if USB Disk hibernation has an influence on the USB Stick. I thought that the USB Stick can not go in hibernation.

What 'native' services are enabled on the DS.
I have only enabled the web and photo service. And actually i have not enabled any DDNS client and i don't forward any ports to the DS.

mr_hyde

HarryPotter

2006-12-05, 11:55

@mr_hyde

Are you asking johnny or me about native services?

I have enabled web, photo, ftp, mysql, download and DynDNS

@johnny

good to know.....

probably there is really a problem with this new function USB hibernation, as this seems to be the major change beetween 417 and 424

johnny

2006-12-05, 12:12

All services on my DS are switched off. I need the 106er only as Musicserver.
I switch now the USB-Swap off, and continue to see...

Und übrigens, ich kann praktisch kein Englisch, auch wenn mein Vorname etwas anderes suggeriert. Also lacht ja nicht über mich, wenn Google falsch übersetzt ;o)

Greez Johnny

mr_hyde

2006-12-05, 12:31

Und übrigens, ich kann praktisch kein Englisch, auch wenn mein Vorname etwas anderes suggeriert. Also lacht ja nicht über mich, wenn Google falsch übersetzt ;o)

Greez Johnny

Hi Johnny, wir können auch gerne einen Punkt im Deutschen Forum aufmachen.

Ich habe das Swappen nach USB auch mal ausgestellt, aber dann ist die DS gar nicht mehr in den Standby gegangen.

mr_hyde

johnny

2006-12-05, 13:22

Ich habe im Deutschen Forum schon einen entsprechenden Thread eröffnet, als ich hier von HarryPotter's identischem Problem erfahren habe. Sozusagen als Warnung für die anderen User. Ich habe die Beta nur installiert, in der Hoffnung, mein schon beschriebenes Zeitproblem wäre damit behoben.

glem01

2006-12-09, 14:37

Hi,

The subject of how to get the DS-106 to change to standby mode (hibernation) again after installing additional software has been discussed quite a lot.

I've resumed some tips & tricks about this in a kind of very schematic Howto, downloadable from http://www.box.net/public/j7bqyec7va

Resumed: you can get a really good working harddisk-standby, even with SlimServer, a mail-server system, and monitoring tools, if you have some basic linux knowledge and don't mind hacking a little around in your DS. The procedure presented in the howto and tested in practice is not a cookbook recipe you can follow step by step: this would have given a much longer Howto. But you should figure out the missing details with these basic ideas and be able to apply them to your specific configuration.

Note: this doesn't cover standby mode of external USB-harddisks.

Very important: You definitely loose all rights for Synology support if you follow some or all of the described points. I decline any resbonsibility if your system gets screwed up or yourd harddisk crashes and you loose all your data. And I will not be able to give lots of support... but please notify me if you find errors or wrong statements.

It works for me, and perhaps it may be useable for someone else, that's all!

Regards, Manuel

lunkens

2006-12-11, 02:28

How can I change my plugins. Running DS-106 and slim 6.5.1

Hello,

good news. I removed a couple of Plugins and the Diskstation goes into standby while the Date/time Screensaver is on. This is reproducible. As a consequence you don't have to unplug the DS. I also tested this with swapping to hdd. Then the HDD was spinning the whole time. When i switched back to USBswap, the standby mode started after about 15 min.

It could be that it is the sum of plugins that are installed, but it could also be a problem with one plugin, for instance the 'Health' plugin.

Attached you will find a list of my installed plugins. I removed the others. It is not sufficient to unmark them in SS.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2006-12-11, 03:35

How can I change my plugins. Running DS-106 and slim 6.5.1

Hello,

you have to connect via telnet to the DS. Then change to /volume1/SlimServer/Plugins. There you can delete or add Plugins. After that you should change the owner of the files to admin.users or the user of SLimserver.

mr_hyde

tommypeters

2006-12-11, 03:44

glem01

2006-12-11, 05:54

Yes, I think so. The amount of used memory, as returned by the command 'free', rarely goes above 70 MB on my DS-106x, so you should be able to get below 64 MB. I assume you're only interested in the part concerning SlimServer, right? In this case:

a) don't use and forget all about the following services: DNS/DHCP (dnsmasq), mail (cyrus/postfix), and of course all the system monitoring stuff (net-snmp/rrdtool) and Twonky - they eat up some ressources you'd prefer to save
b) deactivate all Syno-services you don't need (mediaserver, ftp, photostation or whatever). If you're used to the linux command line, deactivate also some Syno-background processes (e.g. pgsql, synoindexd, synomktumbd and others) as described in the Howto.
c) if you want to use the Syno-Webserver (apache) with MySQL, deactivate the MySQL-server from SlimServer and use the one from the DS as described in http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?ExistingMySQLInstance
d) install and activate a swapfile on a USB2-Stick and deactivate the default swap partition. You can do it with the uswbswap-patch from mr_hide (look here around) or manually (some hints, but no complete description, are in the mentioned Howto)
e) and, very important, restart SlimServer with no plugins and extras (remove them also from the Plugins-directory), and re-add and activate only those really needed and not disturbing the standby functionality. Some Plugins which work fine are listed somewhere else in this thread I think, or in my Howto.
f) verify that the new configuration is maintained after a complete system restart. And if you still have some free memory to use, you could try to add again more SS-Plugins or other services.

Good luck! Manuel

tommypeters

2006-12-11, 06:21

Thanks, I'm Time-Challenged ATM but will try to get some time for fixing my DS-106 (and other computer-related stuff) in the near future.

I'm just about only interested in running ever-so-plain SlimServer with Custom Browse Plugin, Favourites & Date/Time Screen Saver...
...and right now I'm running 6.3.1 (for the smaller memory footprint), would of course be nice to be able to use the latest version... Would it be possible/easy to (maybe using a script) to selectively add a plugin that is only needed sometimes (like Custom Scan Plugin), use that plugin, and then remove it again...?

I worked with Unix computers (quite) some years ago, but I guess I haven't forgotten everything. There's no possibility in doing a "Backup Everything" before starting to mess around - or at least start all over with Synology firmware update, adding SSODS...? (read for instance, that if installing the Synology DS-106 beta, you couldn't revert to the latest stable version..)

lunkens

2006-12-12, 14:30

Hello,

you have to connect via telnet to the DS. Then change to /volume1/SlimServer/Plugins. There you can delete or add Plugins. After that you should change the owner of the files to admin.users or the user of SLimserver.

mr_hyde

Is there any simplified "howto" for doing this? I'm not used to this telnet :)

flipflip

2006-12-12, 15:14

Is there any simplified "howto" for doing this? I'm not used to this telnet :)

No, but there is an other way. Access the SlimServer folder (where all the SlimServer files lie) as you would access the "public" share or any other share you have on the DS:

\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\SlimServer

You have to connect as user "admin" and use the admin password in order to be able to delete/write the files there (see "Extras" -> "Map Network Drive" in the Windoze Exploder).

You probably have to set access permissions to that share in the diskstation's web interface before it works.

See also the documentation of SSODS (README.ssods) which covers this.

Regards,
flipflip

tommypeters

2006-12-20, 00:25

Hopefully the new Synology models to be presented in Q1 '07, "with more RAM and a 2-drive model", will have a 256MB option... :)

kai

2006-12-20, 09:51

@lukens

Maybe you do not need to uninstall the plugins to put the DS to standby. At least my DS-106 goes reliably to standby with SSODS r2b9, SS 6.5.x, mr_hyde's USB-memory-patch and simply unchecking plugins in the SS web interface.

So before you delete files in the SlimServer directory you might want to check whether this less complicated option works for you as well.

Note: It seems still to be unclear which plugin keeps the HD awake. Thus an option is to uncheck all plugins, restart Slimserver, check whether the DS goes to standby and than check the plugins you need one after another.

lunkens

2006-12-21, 02:41

No, but there is an other way. Access the SlimServer folder (where all the SlimServer files lie) as you would access the "public" share or any other share you have on the DS:

\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx\SlimServer

You have to connect as user "admin" and use the admin password in order to be able to delete/write the files there (see "Extras" -> "Map Network Drive" in the Windoze Exploder).

You probably have to set access permissions to that share in the diskstation's web interface before it works.

See also the documentation of SSODS (README.ssods) which covers this.

Regards,
flipflip

Thanks alot. Everything is running smooth now. Standby/spindown workes! :)

hkfriends

2007-01-09, 07:37

Hi mr_hyde

Your "usbswap-r1b2" no longer supported for lastest SSODS v2.11
Please release a newer version !

mr_hyde

2007-01-09, 12:49

Hi mr_hyde

Your "usbswap-r1b2" no longer supported for lastest SSODS v2.11
Please release a newer version !

Hello, i have change my email and have not reactivated the account. Therefore i have not received your messages.

Today i have tested 2.11 and you are right. There are some 'minor' problems with the plugin due to some changes in the SSODS (some variables are not set anymore (grep, awk, swapon and swapoff)). I have changed some things in my patch and have to test it. It seems to work, but i have to test it. After the test i will provide a new version. I can't promise it before the weekend, but i will try.

Nevertheless it seems to be that this patch does only work till synology firmware 417 due to some changes in the usb standby (or hibernation <-- probably flip is right, when he says it is the standby). In the synology forum there is a point under feature request to solve this problem. Feel free to add your request in this thread.

mr_hyde

flipflip

2007-01-09, 14:29

You are right, mr_hyde. Sorry that I forgot to tell you. I dropped all the AWK, GREP, etc. variables. Just replace everything with gawk, grep, etc.

And you can put ssods-usbswap.cgi (or was it .sh?) in /volume1/SSODS/www instead of bin/.

flip

hkfriends

2007-01-09, 22:43

THANKS
up to now the USBSWAP + SSODS + only certain plugins
is the perfect solution from synology (with 64MB) with slimdevice...
at least it can make my HDD to STANDBY!

mr_hyde

2007-01-10, 11:29

Hello,

i just fixed some minor problems to get usbswap working with 2.11.

Attached you will find the new release.

Please note: This release will actually only work with synology beta firmware <=417

mr_hyde

flipflip

2007-01-10, 11:51

Cool, many thanks!

I am not sure why this "USB storage standby" thing is a problem with the swap file.

But I would expect that standby does not happen as long as there are write accesses to the usb storage on a regular basis. And I would expect the device to wake up on access (as normal harddisks do). And I don't know how hdd standby is implemented. I reckon one would configure the disk accordingly (harddisks have such a feature).

How about doing something like this in the background to keep the usb storage active?

while true; do echo "don't sleep" > /volumeUSB1/dummyfile; sleep 300; done

What firmware do you have, mr_hyde?

flip

mr_hyde

2007-01-10, 11:57

How about doing something like this in the background to keep the usb storage active?

while true; do echo "don't sleep" > /volumeUSB1/dummyfile; sleep 300; done

I thought about a similar solution. Nevertheless, this would be only a workaround. I hope, that synology will implement the option to switch off 'usb hibernation'. Probably they only switch off the usb port when hdd is going into standby.

What firmware do you have, mr_hyde?

--> beta 417 (when i've read the other post's regarding 424 and usbswap, i did not install the next beta)

mr_hyde

hkfriends

2007-01-11, 06:17

mr_hyde

2007-01-11, 10:43

the usbswap is working in SSODS 2.11,

but display of status will show 2 sections of
"USBSwap-Plugin" details

Also when clicking to create swap file (lower part of the screen)
it has the following error, but the file is created OK

/volume1/SSODS/bin/ssods-usbswap.cgi: line 96: { print $4 }: command not found /volume1/SSODS/bin/ssods-usbswap.cgi: line 96: {print int($1/1024)}: No such file or directory

Hello,

how do you have installed the patch? Just installed the new one over the old one?

The location of the .cgi file has changed and the old one is probably not deleted. So please try to uninstall the patch and simply re-install it.

mr_hyde

flipflip

2007-01-11, 11:29

Likely so. Because ssods.cgi still loads the plugins in the old location as well as the new one.

flip

hkfriends

2007-01-11, 20:28

Yes, I Just installed the new one over the old one?

So am I need to unstall from b3 and re-install b3 again?
or need to unstall from b2?

Hello,

how do you have installed the patch? Just installed the new one over the old one?

The location of the .cgi file has changed and the old one is probably not deleted. So please try to uninstall the patch and simply re-install it.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2007-01-11, 23:42

So am I need to unstall from b3 and re-install b3 again?

Yes, the deinstall will also remove the old cgi file.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2007-06-25, 12:18

Hello,

i just made a minor change in the startup configuration. The usbswap works with FW 462. Nevertheless, my DS goes only reliable in standby, when i switch the SB off. Probably it is due to the photostation 2 that is enabled on my DS.

mr_hyde

Bergowitz

2007-07-01, 03:27

Hi

My hardware DS107+ .128mb, firmware 2.0.3 - 0456
SSODS 2.16
SS 6.5.1

I have tried to make an USBswap because I can´t make my DS go to sleep. I don´t know whats keeping it alive.

But when I try to install the patch via the firmware upgrade I get this message :

Checking for SSODS.
Checking architecture and machine.
--> arch=armv5tejl, machine=synology_88f5281_107+
Checking availability of binaries for this architecture.
--> Panic, I do not have swapusb-armv5tejl.tar.gz.

Is it because my DS uses the armv5tejl ? Or what am I doing wrong.

Should it even be neccessary with USBswapping on a 128mb DS ? Any ideas what´s keeping it awake ?

I have theese plugins turned on :
CLI (dunno what it does)
Digital Input
Random Mix
Rescan library
Save playlist
Visualizer screensaver
XML (dunno what it does)
XPL (dunno what it does)

Regards

Lars

dc11ab

2007-07-02, 06:40

CLI = Command Line Interface
XML = eXtended Markup Language (like html, but a lot more to it)
XPL = XML Pipeline Definition Language

As for your other question, I don't know and wouldn't want to recommend something that potentially could destroy your setup (like trying to rename the package :) )

mr_hyde

2007-07-02, 09:31

Checking for SSODS.
Checking architecture and machine.
--> arch=armv5tejl, machine=synology_88f5281_107+
Checking availability of binaries for this architecture.
--> Panic, I do not have swapusb-armv5tejl.tar.gz.

Is it because my DS uses the armv5tejl ? Or what am I doing wrong.

Hello,

i just checked the sytem due to some binaries that were included in the first releases. Actually i don't use them and i could remove the check during install. Nevertheless i don't know, if flipflip included 'swapon' for arm in his distribution.

I will post the new version asap.

By the way,

how is the performance of the DS107+.128 with SS. It would be an option for me, if the standy would work and if there would be a performance increase compared to the DS106.

mr_hyde

mr_hyde

2007-07-02, 11:21

Hello,

i can't promise anything. But you could try it on the DS107+. If there is already a swapon binary in /volume1/SSODS/bin, then it should work.

mr_hyde

flipflip

2007-07-02, 12:38

Hello,
If there is already a swapon binary in /volume1/SSODS/bin, then it should work.

There is swapon, swapoff and mkswap from util-linux 2.13p7. I didn't these these but they looked O.K.

flip

Ikke

2007-07-02, 12:52

Hello,

My hardware DS106, firmware v.0462
SSODS 2.16
SS 6.5.2

The released version r1b3b works very good. It goes into sleep. I have a 256mb USB stick attached to the DS, but i can't use the full capacity of the USB stick. After formatting the USB stick there is a less then 256mb available. How do i get the full 256mb?

mr_hyde

2007-07-02, 23:52

I have a 256mb USB stick attached to the DS, but i can't use the full capacity of the USB stick. After formatting the USB stick there is a less then 256mb available. How do i get the full 256mb?

What size is available? ~240 MB? Usually there is less memory. 256000000 bytes are about 244 MB. That is the way how the manufacturer calculates the capacity.

Nevertheless, it should be possible to use this space (240 MB) with usbswap, which is sufficient.

mr_hyde

Bergowitz

2007-07-05, 12:18

Hello,

i can't promise anything. But you could try it on the DS107+. If there is already a swapon binary in /volume1/SSODS/bin, then it should work.

mr_hyde

Hi mr_hyde

I´ve been away for a couple of days. Thanks a lot for the release. I will give it a go tommorow, and be back with some feedback.

About the performance of the DS107+ .128. I haven´t tried other DS´s so I have nothing to compare with. But it runs ok. It´s almost as fast as if I was using my pc. But I have probs getting it to sleep. Also with my SB3 unplugged. The fan is still on. Is the DS106 totally silent when in hibernation ?

mr_hyde

2007-07-05, 23:01

But I have probs getting it to sleep. Also with my SB3 unplugged. The fan is still on. Is the DS106 totally silent when in hibernation ?

Hello,

actually my DS106 goes completely into sleep, when i disconnect the SB3 from power supply. Then the DS is completely silent.

Just test the patch and respond if there are any probs. Since i have a ppc DS, i was not able to test this release.

mr_hyde

kai

2007-07-06, 04:03

@ Bergowitz

Up to my knowledge the fan of the 107 never turns off completely, even if the HDD is in hibernation. If also your HDD is not turning off, you might try to disable all/unnecessary plugins. That worked in my case (SS 6.5.1).

@ mr_hyde

Surprisingly USBswap seems to work with FAT32 formatted USB sticks only and not with EXT3 (for swap files above 4GB ;-)).

Bergowitz

2007-07-07, 15:50

Hello,

actually my DS106 goes completely into sleep, when i disconnect the SB3 from power supply. Then the DS is completely silent.

Just test the patch and respond if there are any probs. Since i have a ppc DS, i was not able to test this release.

mr_hyde

Hi

I haven´t tested it yet. We have a jazz festival here in CPH at the moment. So I´ve been away again.But I promise to test it tommerow :-)

As KAI says. It might be possible that the fan doesn´t turn off. It´s on even if I unplug the SB3. So maybe it´s suppose to be like that. I have turned of almost every plugin.

I am only using : AlienBBc, Random Mix, Rescan, and they are the only ones turned on in the SS.

But I´ll be back tommorow

I have attached a doc from ho wthe status is when the SB3 is just turned off after playing music

tegandrew

2007-07-07, 22:49

A big thank you to flip and mr_hyde for your fantastic work.
I had been without Pandora for a couple of months because I didn't want to lose hibernation by upgrading to 6.5.

Now with your instructions everything is working perfectly.

Details:
DS101g+
Firmware Version: 2.0.3 - 0460
SSODS Release 2.16
USB swap r1b3b using a 512MB stick
tuned SS mysql to the tiny settings
runing web station with mysql and ftp service

*** System ***
Hard-/Firmware : Disk Station 1hd / 2.0.3 - 0460 (2007/04/18)
Memory / Swap : 60/61 MB used, 1+16 MB buf+shr / 104/640 MB used

*** SlimServer ***
Version : 6.5.2-12047
Memory usage : 60800 kb total, 25112 kb (41%) RSS

*** MySQL ***
Version : 4.1.15
Database size : 37 MB
Memory usage : 42672 kb total, 5548 kb (13%) RSS

-----USB Swap -----
Auto start: enabled.
Swapfile is located on USB
*** /proc/swaps ***
Filename Type Size Used Priority
/dev/hda2 partition 393584 0 -2
/volumeUSB1/usbshare/swapfile file 262136 106020 0

Danam

2007-11-26, 02:44

Hello everybody !

First of all, thanks to yall for the work that is done here, it's amazing !
So I recently bought a SqueezeBox 3 and a DS-107+ 128 Mo.
I tried to install the USBSwap R1B3 but it wasn't applied.
the DS107 is in 4.56 firmware version (delivered like this)
SSOD 2.19
SS 6.54 (or maybe 6.53 not sure)

I don't see the SwapUSB options, any idea of what went wrong ?
Should I apply a beta firmware ?

Thanks for your help !

Danam

2007-11-26, 03:00

up for the flag

flipflip

2007-11-26, 04:56

USBswap is for PPC-based diskstations and it was made for SSODS 2.2 or so. It doesn't work with newer SSODS and/or DS. However, you may be able to set up a USB swap space manually. The necessary tools (mkswap, swapon) are available on the DS.

Btw, the "official" recommended solution for the drive spinning "issue" is: let it spin and turn of the DS when you don't use it.

flip

Danam

2007-11-26, 06:08

kai

2007-11-26, 06:09

Danam,

USBswap was intended to make the HDD hibernate. If you cannot turn of your DS, which is of course even more energy saving than making the HDD spin down, you might try the following procedure which should work on 128 MB DiskStations with SSODS 2.19 and SS 6.5.x:

Uncheck all plugins in SS's web interface and restart Slimserver (e.g. by restarting the DS). Your HDD should now spin down after a given time span, unless your DS is very fresh and it is still indexing your media files (which might take some days depending on your library).

Now you can reactivate the plugins you need and see whether it still spins down.

flipflip

2007-11-26, 07:22

This may give you some hints on how to setup swap space: http://oinkzwurgl.org/dsusbswap

And it also seems that SC 7.0 allows the HDD to spin down even with all plugins enabled.

flip

mr_hyde

2007-11-26, 12:15

Hello,

i've moved from Synology to QNAP. I have no possibility to adapt the patch for the newer releases of SSODS. Sorry.

Nevertheless both systems have their (dis-) and advantages. On QNAP there are nearly the same problems with HDD standby, but it works reliable on my TS109 pro when i unplug my SB3. If the SB is in Date/Time screensaver mode, the nas does not go into HDD standby. This is similar to the situation, i observed woth my DS106.