What is the recommended way to copy files to the NAS and internally? These are my concerns:
Copying files using USB-NAS backup job takes a day to copy 1.2 GB. Seems like it starts copying at a faster rate but eventually slows to a crawl. So far, all usb-nas backups have left the NAS in a unusable state (internal server 500 error) requiring a reboot.
I need to copy a folder containing over 200 GB of data to the NAS. At the transfer rates that I’ve experience so far, if I start this type of job, it may not finish for months. I could copy subfolders, but since the current implementation of usb-nas backup does not allow multi-select of folders or queuing of jobs, I would manually have to set up each job to copy every folder and run them myself sequentially. Probably would take all my time and months to do.
I don’t understand why internal backups take so long. I attempted to copy 650 MB from 1 disk/volume to another disk, and it took nearly 5 minutes.
USB-NAS backups create a timestamp folder where the source folder is copied to. I can not just copy source folder to destination without the NAS creating the timestamp folder, so I always have to go back and move my files out of the timestamp folder and then delete it.
Maybe to compensate for (4) above since the NAS creates a folder I don’t want, when doing an internal backup, the source folder IS NOT created on the destination and only the contents under the folder are copied to the destination which requires me to manually create the destination folder.
All of these concerns may be moot now given that while I was writing this up, I got my 3rd Internal Server 500 error, and the NAS was just idling. I will review the internal server 500 thread where this appears to be an issue, and unfortunately, a deal breaker.
Hello - Thanks for the link. The concerns re: transfer rates have all been excluding the LAN either from USB to NAS or transfers to one location on the NAS to another location on the NAS. The USB transfers have been dismally slow. I expected the internal copy to be fast, but for some reason, it was extremely slow as well.
I am just hitting a brick wall trying to move my data onto and around the NAS without my network even coming into play. Unfortunately, along with the slow transfer speeds, the NAS eventually bogs down and then crashes on every transfer I’ve done so far. At least these issues are happening right up front and not months later after I don’t have the option to keep looking for a working solution.
I am really at a loss on how to transfer data from a USB drive to the NAS using the backup option on the WD EX4 (item 2 in the first post). What is the maximum amount of data that I should attempt to transfer in one job without running into a situation where the transfer bogs down and ultimately fails or takes forever to complete? If I could select more than one folder to transfer from the USB, I could control the size of the transfer job. As is, I can only select one source folder which means it’s all or nothing. Furthermore, I can not queue or schedule these transfers so that when one transfer succeeds, the next one starts.
I am finding that if I keep the transfer jobs small, things work much better. Not only is the data transfer rate much faster than if I tried to transfer a large chunk of data at once, I avoid dealing with not having access to the NAS when it crashes during a large transfer. My experience has been that with any large transfers, the NAS eventually gives me a internal server error at which point the only indication that it is doing something is the flashing lights on the drive bays. I just have to wait (days) until the unit goes into standby mode, and then I have to reboot to get back in. Then I have to analyze my data and fix the issues that occur due to the crash. Seriously, at this rate, it would take months to transfer my data to the NAS and consume way too much of my time.
I am just running out of time trying to utilize this NAS. Are my expectations too high. What should the expected transfer rates be for USB 2.0 to NAS transfers? I understand that it can vary based on file size and other factors. And internal transfer jobs take a long time as well. I do have encryption turned on. Is this slow transfer rate just a limitation of the hardware? Do I need to spend twice the money to get adequate performance?
What system are you using? I thought plugging the USB directly in to the ex 4 would be faster, but it was way slow. So I used my mac to transfer 800GB from my USB pass port that was connected to my mac, to the ex 4, and it completed in less than 4 hours. I also tried it on my windows machine. And I moved 1TB of files in less than a day. I know there are FTP apps for this unit, but don’t know how good they work. So try connecting your USB drive to your computer, and copying and moving them that way.
The computer is a PC running XP. One of the features that I liked about this NAS it the alleged feature that it can transfer files directly from USB devices. I should not have to get my computer and network involved which should be much slower.
My goal is to manage my USB devices as backups and do it through the admin console on my mobile devices. If I have to log into my computer, connect the USB device to my computer, and copy files over the network, I already have a NAS that does that and it was a fraction of the cost of the WD EX4.
Thanks for the suggestion. I do need to copy some files across the network just to see what speeds I am getting there. I do not have a gigabit router, so I expect poor performance until I upgrade.
if you do not have gigabit router that would be too limitingfor gettingdecent transfer speeds. gigabit ethernet or at minimum a usb 3 device is what you should be looking at to get decent transfer rates.
A network upgrade is definitely planned in the near future. Right now, my focus is getting a backup process in place and using the NAS as part of the backup solution. I understand that the NAS is not a backup solution, but it can be an important component of the complete process.
Having said that, I have 20+ hard drives and USB drives that are approaching or are passed the point where they should be considered reliable. The data on all these drives are backed up in at least 3 different physical locations, but all these drives are getting old and older by the day.
Maybe I should stop the data migration to the NAS and do the network upgrade first so I can achieve some decent transfer rates and get my data safely transferred off these older drives. In fact, I am going to stop transferring data to the NAS due to the fact that the USB to NAS option on my WD EX4 has decided to stop working all together now (the option to create a backup job has become disabled in the UI).
I am off to upgrade my network. Have a feeling that I will be looking at some other NAS devices at the same time - Synology comes to mind. Apparently, $1K is not enough to acquire a reliable NAS these days. Will probably just need to bite the bullet and move on.
In fact, I am going to stop transferring data to the NAS due to the fact that the USB to NAS option on my WD EX4 has decided to stop working all together now (the option to create a backup job has become disabled in the UI).
did you try to reset the device to default settings and see if that helps?
Yes. I have tried resetting the device and updating the firmware (again). This problem still exists after nearly 2 weeks. I have an open case with WD support but seems that we are chasing other issues and hoping that the disabled feature eventually resolves itself, and it has not.
Unfortunately, I only have another week before I need to return the NAS for a refund within the 30 days.
I have resolved this issue by deleting all my backup jobs. I had 10 or more jobs that I had created earlier. When I first ran into this issue, the first thing I did was delete some of the old jobs, but the create was still disabled. I decided while out on my bike ride today that when I got home, I would try deleting all the jobs. That did the job.
BTW, the reason I had so many backup jobs is due to the inability to select multiple folders to backup, so I had to create a backup job for each folder which is a PITA. I hope that WD makes some rather minor changes in the UI which makes doing some tasks much, much easier instead of having to find a work-around and, in the process, uncovering bugs or limitations.
