NASLite Network Attached Storage

I set up my very new Naslite server and eventually late last night all worked. Today however i can not connect. I have an ADDON 4-port router; does this need special tweeks? I have set the server 192.168.1.100 as a static IP address in the LAN settings. Is there something else to enter? What about disk checks on start-up; I have 2 x 200 GB; how long would that take?

Basically, I can not Ping, Telnet, Net View, ipconfig, http or 'my computer' to the NASLite. It boots up and gives the 'ok' beeps.

Any thoughts appreciated...jeffjohn

Do the computers you are using to ping etc the NASLite box also reside on the 192.168.1.xxx network? If not you won't be able to see it. Make sure the subnet masks are 255.255.255.0 on NASLite and your machine you are trying to connect with.

If you're using Windows you may have to set the workgroup name on NASLite to see it in my computer/my network places. For most home users this will be MSHOME.

Lastly, did you save the configuration changes before rebooting? If not, it will default back to 192.168.1.1 for an address when you reboot, which may conflict with other devices on your network. If you have a monitor attached you can see what the IP address is set to.

The disk checks only take a second or two unless there is a problem found. A file system error fix on a 200GB drive could take up to a couple hours. Use the shutdown command to avoid corrupting the file system. There is also ongoing SMART testing that occurs if your drives support it.

very many thanks for kind reply! My network addresses are ok unless a value of 192.168.1.100 is too 'high' for the router. Re workgroups, I used 'Workgroup'as the my-places uses that name. Could the problem lie with my switching off the computer-server directly on the power button, or would that self-correct by now. The floppy disk only gives a couple of revolutions on boot up which makes me wonder if I should start again; as I say it did work last night before disconnect! I have to move the server to a monitor and keyboard but will start again from scratch. can the floppy be changed in use; can I lock it?
One further question, does the case matter on the workgroup name; I type in mixed, but XP shows all uppercase. Where can I see it definitively? I think the NASLite concept is great and apologise for what is probably a minor mistake. Incidentally, do I leave the router alone; it works fine showing 3 PCs and a printer server fine. Regards Jeffjohn

The .100 address is fine.

To see your workgroup name in Windows XP, click Start->Control Panel->Performance and Maintenance->System. Then click on the "Computer Name" tab. About the middle of the box it will have a Workgroup line along with your workgroup name. The case is important.

You should use the shutdown command before turning off the server. This will clean up any pending disk read/writes and put the file system in a halted state where it is safe to turn off power. If you just shut off the power it may corrupt your file system which could take a few hours to correct the next time you boot. NASLite is very stable so you can leave your server on 24/7 without problems.

Sounds like you're going to have to connect a monitor to see what's going on.

After the server boots you can remove the floppy, but you need the floppy in to boot and when you change configuration information and save it. Once you've saved the configuration info you can write protect the floppy if you want. Also make sure your BIOS is set to boot from floppy. If the disk is only making a couple of revolutions your BIOS may be trying to boot from the hard drives and the beeping you hear is the BIOS telling you it couldn't find an operating system.

You shouldn't have to change anything on the router as long as the server and your 3 PC's are all using the 192.168.1.xxx network.

smeyer- thanks! Your reply led me to the solution, eventually. I'm most grateful; it all works seemlessly now. The problem was that without the monitor I did not see the Resume F1 request. I entered BIOS and defined all drives as not installed and the system worked infallibly on next boot. it is a terrific solution, though i might have to upgrade sometime.

On another point, now that all is well, I am advised to block ports 137,138 and 139. Do you know why?

thanks again - owe you a 'pint' Jeffjohn

Glad you got it working. Upgrading to NASLite+ will give you better transfer rates and allow files over 4GB.

Don't have any idea why you would block those ports.

fast reply smeyer; are you on vacation, or lunch!

the port blocking was advised during disk set-up procedure; those numbers don't mean anything to me and i don't see quite what the threat is so I'll ignore it!

Re NASLite+ is there an 'upgrade' route or only a purchase option. i've only had my Lite CD for a week!

thanks again, jeff

p.s.off to france tuesday until September.

I work at home so I can read the forums whenever I want.

If you purchased a product from Server Elements you get a discount on further purchases. See http://www.serverelements.com/upgrades.php

You will have to do a configuration again with the + version, but you won't have to format the drives again. (No loss of data)

bon voyage!

many thanks smeyer for your comments. I have 'upgraded' to NASLite plus and just run Ghost 10 to make a complete backup on the server; ran 6 hours instead of 20 on Netgear SAN SC101 product; seems faultless. I guess network speed is limited to 10MHz by the (possible) usb 1.1 on my ADDON Router; not too sure of this but shall check later. Can i run applications from the server, do you think? What do you use yours for, apart from backups and file storage, of couse.

By the way what is your 'at home' profession, may I inquire!

Well done, anyway Regards Jeffjohn

Hi smeyer - sorry to be a 'pest'! System up and running well but great difficulty to restart it, even with monitor. basically with floppy inserted, starts finds MBR and bleeps. message says take out disk; then reverts to unauthorised CD-ROM procedure. If I take out floppy and immediately re-insert, i get to 'proper' start up on the CR-ROM.

What is the authodox start-up procedure? Is this a consequence of floppies that have not been used for a long time? Should not be, I guess as MBR is found each time. Any similar experience? thanks Jeffjohn

orthodox! why does spelling go awry when typing at keyboard!

Your boot problems sound like you have "boot from floppy" enabled in the BIOS. The BIOS sees there is a floppy installed and tries to boot from it. When it can't find anything to boot it gives the error. When you remove the floppy the BIOS goes to the next thing on it's list (CD) and boots from that. You should be able to disable booting from floppy in the BIOS.

People generally report network transfer speeds of 9-11MB/sec. This is normal and limited mostly by how fast your NASLite system can read/write to the disks. If you have a 100Mbit ethernet network (fast ethernet) you are also limited to about 9-11MB/sec by the network.

Some applications will run fine over the network, some won't. If it let's you install on a network drive it will probably run over the network, but it will be slower to start up and may run slower. You will probably only be able to run the software from the computer you installed from since most programs write information in Windows registry when you install.

My home profession is actually 3 things - I am a programmer, I do photo restoration/retouching, and I trade the stock market.

I use my NAS box to store photos and backup copies of my code I write.

many thanks, again. I changed the BIOS Boot to 1st Boot Device CDROM 2,3 to DISABLED. and all is well. Thanks again good to know you are there!
I retired at age of 49 and set up as a consultant aiding bids into MoD and DoD for European companies. Now fully retired with farmhouse to renovate.

what sort of programming do you do?

Mostly C++ using Microsoft Visual Studio lately. I have also done low level device driver software in Windows and used VxWorks real time operating system software.