2mm Hex Key for side panel removal.
The following items are included:
The MediaVault is shipped with the disks packaged separately to prevent damage. The disks need to be installed following the procedure below.
Important: If you need to ship the MediaVault between locations the disks should be removed and boxed separately, in the same way as the system was originally received. This is critically important to prevent damage to the system during shipping.
The MediaVault should not be installed laid on its side panels as this may cause hardware issues or not allow for correct cooling.
There should be sufficient space at the front and rear of the MediaVault to allow for air intake and exhaust for cooling purposes.
The MediaVault should not be in direct sunlight, or in ambient temperatures outside of the operating temperature range of 0-40 degrees Celsius.
Left
The left side of the MediaVault should only be removed by qualified personnel for hardware service.
The MediaVault can be connected either directly to client computers or via a network switch. Additionally, ports on the MediaVault can be bonded if required. Some examples of network cabling configurations are shown below:
Clients will share the bandwidth available between the MediaVault and the switch.
Enter the following information:
User name = storageadmin
Password = storageadmin
Click ‘Log In’ and the Overview screen will be shown:
From the Users area you can set a new password for the storageadmin user*. Be sure to keep a secure record of the password that you set. This will be the password for subsequent logins as storageadmin to perform administration on the MediaVault.
*For security reasons, we would strongly advise to change the password of both of the default Users (storageadmin and storageuser).
Click the Networking option on the left of the screen:
This will show the different network ports and IP addresses - the ‘eno1’ port is the 1 GbE LAN connection, and the remaining ports are the 10 GbE connections. Note the network IP address of a 10 GbE connection. If you need to manually set the address for a 10 GbE port follow the instructions in the later section Admin Web Interface > Editing the network configuration.
Click Connect and in the next window enter the username and password for your MediaVault user account, and click Connect again. The share should now be mounted. If you want your computer to automount the share after a restart then open System Preferences > Users & Groups and under the Login Items add the share to the list.
Please Note: If you are attempting to connect using one of the default user accounts (storageadmin or storageuser), then you will need to ensure you have changed the default password first.
Select the tickbox for ‘Connect using different credentials’ and click Finish and in the next window enter the username and password for your MediaVault user account and click Connect, and the share should be mounted. Select the tickbox for ‘Reconnect at sign-in’ if you want your computer to automount the share after a restart.
Please Note: If you are attempting to connect using one of the default user accounts (storageadmin or storageuser), then you will need to ensure you have changed the default password first.
The diagram below demonstrates how Users, Groups, Shares and Pools are related on the MediaVault:
Enter the following information:
User name = storageadmin
Password = storageadmin
Click ‘Log In’.
From the Users area you can set a new password for the storageadmin user if required. Be sure to keep a secure record of the password that you set. This will be the password for subsequent logins as storageadmin to perform administration on the MediaVault.
IMPORTANT!
When a MediaVault leaves the factory, it will be set up with two default user accounts. These accounts can access the Admin Web UI, but cannot be used to mount storage or connect into the MediaVault in any other way until the default password has been changed.
The default users and passwords are:
An alert will also be displayed next to the user in the Users section:
Click on the user in the User section to change the password.
Once the default password has been changed for either account, you will be able to mount shares using that account. See the Users, Groups and Shares sections below for more information.
| Overview | Provides a useful overview of system information and resource use, as well as disk and network activity (View Graphs). |
| Logs | For Service/Support use only. |
| Storage | For Service/Support use only. This screen does not provide information or configuration options for the MediaVault network shares. |
| Networking | Use this screen to view and configure the network ports of the MediaVault as required. |
| Containers | For Service/Support use only. |
| Services | For Service/Support use only. |
| Users | Use this screen to view and configure the User accounts on the MediaVault as required. |
| Groups | Use this screen to view and configure the Groups of Users on the MediaVault as required. Access permissions for Shares are set at the Group level. |
| Shares | Use this screen to view and configure the Shares on the MediaVault as required. |
| Pools | Use this screen to view and configure the Pools on the MediaVault as required. |
| Diagnostic Reports | For Service/Support use only. |
| Kernel Dump | For Service/Support use only. |
| SELinux | For Service/Support use only. |
| Software Updates | Use this screen to install Software Updates on the MediaVault as required. |
| Terminal | For Service/Support use only. |
In the table named Interfaces the port named eno1 (physically located next to the power supply on the rear of the R1200) is 1 GbE and typically used for administration. By default it is configured with the IP address 192.168.2.2 and Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
(The port named docker0 relates to the Containers screen, and is therefore for Service/Support use only.)
DHCP Server (software version 2.3.0 or above)
Port 1 ('eno1') can be used as a DHCP server to automatically assign an IP address to a host computer. In order to enable the DHCP server, you will need to ensure that 'eno1' is set to default settings (Manual mode, fixed IP address of 192.168.2.2 and Subnet Mask of 255.255.255.0). The host computer will need to have the connected network port set to DHCP mode in order to be assigned an IP address from the Media Vault. The assigned IP address will be in the range 192.168.2.100 to 192.168.2.200.
The other ports shown will depend on the Network Interface Cards (NIC) that are fitted in the MediaVault. The standard NIC provides four 10 GbE ports with the names enp101s0f0, enp101s0f1, enp101s0f2, enp101s0f3. These are the names of the ports from left to right, as viewed from the rear of the Media Vault. If any other network cards are fitted, such as a 25/40/50GbE card, these will be assigned a different number such as enp23s0f0:
Click on a port name to view and edit the setup:
Typically the items that would be edited are the IPv4 network address and the MTU setting:
Detailed configuration and optimisation of networking is beyond the scope of this guide, but in particular it is important to note that all machines on a network should have a unique IP Address, and they should all use the same MTU setting - typically on a 10GbE network the MTU of all machines is set to 9000 (sometimes called ‘Jumbo Frames’) for best performance.
If required set a Mac address for the bond, either based upon one of the selected ports or newly defined.
The following Modes are available:
| Mode | Description | Fault Tolerance | Load Balancing |
| Round Robin | Packets are sequentially transmitted/received through each interfaces one by one. | Yes | Yes |
| Active Backup | One network interface is active while another is asleep. If the active network interface goes down, another becomes active. | Yes | No |
| XOR | In this mode the MAC address of the network interface is matched up against the incoming request’s MAC and once this connection is established the same interface is used to transmit/receive for the destination MAC. | Yes | Yes |
| Broadcast | All transmissions are sent on all network interfaces. | Yes | No |
| 802.3ad (Dynamic Link Aggregation) | Aggregated network interfaces act as one which results in a higher throughput, but also provides failover in the case that an interface fails. Dynamic Link Aggregation requires a switch that supports IEEE 802.3ad. | Yes | Yes |
| Adaptive transmit load balancing | The outgoing traffic is distributed depending on the current load on each network interface. Incoming traffic is received by the current interface. If the receiving interface fails, another interface takes over the MAC address of the failed interface. | Yes | Yes |
| Adaptive load balancing | Unlike Dynamic Link Aggregation, Adaptive load balancing does not require any particular switch configuration. The receiving packets are load balanced through ARP negotiation. | Yes | Yes |
| Link Monitoring | Description |
| MII (Recommended)(Media Independent Interface) | This is the default, and recommended, link monitoring option. It monitors the carrier state of the local network interface. You can specify the monitoring frequency and the delay. Delay times allow you to account for switch initialization. |
| ARP | This sends ARP queries to peer systems on the network and uses the response as an indication that the link is up. You can specify the monitoring frequency and target addresses. |
The MediaVault ships by default with a single Pool called ‘cdxstore’ with equivalent of 2-disk redundancy. If this does not meet the user requirements the MediaVault storage can be reconfigured (within certain limitations and with assistance from CODEX).
The left column lists the Pools alphabetically, along with information about the overall % of Pool capacity used (by all Shares combined) and a status indication, such as ONLINE. When a Pool is selected the Pool Details, Shares and Structure information are shown in the right column.
The Status Ring colour depends on the system/Pool status:
Flashing Blue - system is starting up.
Blue - system is running, Pool in ONLINE.
Amber - system is running, Pool is DEGRADED.
Red - system is running, Pool has FAILED to load.
White - system is running an ’Integrity Check’ (periodic disk check) on the Pool.
If the Pool status is shown as ONLINE this means there are no disk or data integrity issues to attend to.
If the status is shown as DEGRADED this means there has been a disk issue (on 1 or 2 disks) but data is still accessible. In this case the disk issue should be investigated and remedied, and the Pool can then be returned to ONLINE with assistance from CODEX.
If the status is shown as FAILED this means that there has been a disk issue on 3 or more disks, and that data integrity has been comprimised. For this reason, it is critical to attend to any disk issues as soon as the status changes from ONLINE to DEGRADED.
It is not commonly required to create a New Pool. This can only be done if all disks are available and not used in another Pool.
Click the dots on the Pool Details card to access options for Start Integrity Check and Delete:
When deleting there is then a confirmation step:
Click ‘Delete Pool’ to proceed with deleting the Pool, or otherwise click Cancel. A Pool cannot be deleted if it contains any Shares.
The system will periodically (weekly) run an Integrity Check process to check for any errors that need to be corrected on the filesystem. If the Pool status is shown as DEGRADED then ‘Start Integrity Check’ can be used to manually start the process which, if it completes and no errors occur, will reset the Pool status to ONLINE. If the Integrity Check completes and the Pool status remains DEGRADED this indicates there is a problematic disk that needs to be replaced.
The Structure card gives details of any disks that have errors:
The State column for each disk may show:
| State | Description |
| Online | No errors or issues with the disk |
| Degraded | Errors have been detected. Run an Integrity Check to see if this clears errors and resets the status to ONLINE. If errors continue to occur then the disk should be replaced before it fails completely. |
| Failed | The disk needs to be replaced |
The MediaVault ships by default with a single Share called ‘mediavault’. The space for this Share is not reserved, which means if additional Shares are created that also do not have reserved space (as shown in the example above), then each of these Shares will have access to all unreserved space on the MediaVault. It is also possible to create Shares with reserved space (see ‘Reserve Quota’ below).
The left column lists the Shares alphabetically, along with information about the % of Share capacity used. Start typing in the search box at the top of the screen to filter the list and find a specific Share. When a Share is selected the Share Details and Group Access details are shown in the right column.
Click the ‘New Share’ button to create a new Share:
Type the Share Name (which must be unique), and select the Pool on which to create the Share. There are two further options you can use or leave disabled:
Compression
For Media Vault software up to version 2.3.0, the compression option will enable LZ4 compression. LZ4 is a type of lossless compression that improves the efficiency of data storage by around 10%, for no discernable reduction in read/write performance.
Reserve Quota (software version 2.3.0 and above)
Reserve Quota allows you to specify an amount of disk space to reserve for this Share. This quota can be increased at a later date provided there is enough unreserved and unused space remaining. The Reserve Quota cannot be made smaller than the amount of data the Share currently contains.
With Reserve Quota disabled, the default behaviour is to freely allocate disk space to any Share as data is written to it.
Click the ‘Create Share’ button to finish creating the Share.
To delete the Share click the dots in the Share Details card:
When deleting there is then a confirmation step:
Click ‘Delete Share’ to proceed with deleting the Share and all the data it contains, or otherwise click Cancel.
Once a Share has been deleted there is no ‘undo’ function to recover the Share or the data.
To edit which Groups can access the Share click the dots in the Group Access card:
On the Edit Group Access screen, click in the Permission column to cycle through the modes ‘Read/Write’, ‘Read Only’, and ‘None’:
After making changes click ‘Update Permissions’ to save the changes, or ‘Cancel’ to exit without saving.
The left column lists the Groups alphabetically. Start typing in the search box at the top of the screen to filter the list and find a specific Group. When a Group is selected the Group Details, information about the Share Access and Membership details are shown in the right column.
Click the ‘New Group’ button to create a new Group:
Type the Group Name and the Group Id will be completed automatically. The Group Id must be unique for each Group, and can be modified manually if necessary. Click the ‘Create Group’ button to finish creating the Group.
To edit or delete the Group click the dots in the User Details card:
When deleting there is a confirmation step:
Click ‘Delete Group’ to proceed with deleting the Group, or otherwise click Cancel. Deleting the Group does not delete the Users it contains, or Shares it has access to. Once a Group has been deleted there is no ‘undo’ function to recover the Group.
To edit which Shares the Group can access click the dots in the Share Access card:
On the Edit Share Access screen, click in the Permission column to cycle through the modes ‘Read/Write’, ‘Read Only’, and ‘None’:
After making changes click ‘Update Permissions’ to save the changes, or ‘Cancel’ to exit without saving.
To edit which Users are members of the Group click the dots in the Membership card:
On the Edit Group Membership screen the right panel shows which Users are members of the Group and the left panel shows Users that are not in the Group but could be added:
Select one or more Users and click the < or > arrows to move them left or right. Click the << or >> arrows to move ALL Users left or right.
The left column lists the User accounts alphabetically. Start typing in the search box at the top of the screen to filter the list and find a specific User. When a User is selected their User Details and information about their Group Membership are shown in the right column.
Click the ‘New User’ button to create a new User account:
Type the User Name and the User Id will be completed automatically. The User Id must be unique for each user, and can be modified manually if necessary. Type the User Email and User Password, and the Confirm Password.
If required select the Admin User checkbox. Admin Users are marked with a star symbol in the User list, and can modify the system configuration, for example:
When deleting there is a confirmation step:
Click ‘Delete User’ to proceed with deleting the User, or otherwise click Cancel. Once a User has been deleted there is no ‘undo’ function to recover the User.
To edit which Groups the User is a member of click the dots in the Group Membership card:
Groups and permissions will be detailed further in the section on Groups.
The MediaVault is configured with two user accounts as standard:
Updating MediaVault Software
The Media Vault software can be updated in the Software Updates screen, which can be accessed in the left panel menu in the Admin Web Interface.
You will need to ensure the following in order to update the software:
Connect the Media Vault to the internet (for example your office network router) and configure your network settings in the Networking screen in the Admin Web Interface.
Click on Software Updates in the Admin Web Interface left-hand menu and ensure Repository is set to mediavault-updates and Branch is set to mediavaultos/standard.
The currently Running software version will be shown.
Click on the blue text ‘mediavault-updates’ and click the pencil icon to edit the settings. Untick the box for Use trusted GPG key and click Apply. Then close the Change Repository box, and click Check for Updates.
Click Check for Updates
The latest version of software will be listed at the top. If it is a newer version than is currently running, it will be marked as Available with an option to Rebase and Reboot.
4. On clicking Rebase and Reboot, the version will change from Available to Updating while the Media Vault downloads the new software version.
When the download has completed the software will be automatically installed and the system will reboot, at which point the Admin Web Interface will disconnect. When the Media Vault reboots, the new software version will be running. Depending on the download speed available this process may take up to 1 hour.
We recommend to use the latest available version of Media Vault software, but if you require an earlier version, you will see them lower down in the list. To install an earlier version, scroll down to it and click Rebase and Reboot next to the required version.
Modifying MediaVault Software Repository to allow Updates from build 2.3 (and earlier)
The repository (storage location) for MediaVault Software Updates was changed when software version 2.4 was released. MediaVault systems running version 2.4 and above will automatically use the correct settings. For any MediaVault systems running version 2.3 or earlier, the settings will need to be updated manually in order to use the new repository and download software updates.
If there is an error when attempting to run a software update then click the name of the repository ‘mediavault-updates’:
Click on the Edit (pencil) icon, and if the URL is shown as ‘http://mediavault.ndx.at:8000’ then click the Delete option to remove the current settings:
Then click Add New Repository. For the new repository enter the name ‘mediavault-updates’ and the URL http://mediavault-updates.ndx.at and leave the Use trusted GPG key box unchecked, and click Add.
Click on the new repository name in the pop up, and click Change Repository. These settings will now be used by default, and the correct location will be used when Check for Updates is selected.
If a data disk has developed a fault, it may need replacing. To replace a data disk use the 'Replace Disk' option in the Admin Web Interface > Pools > ... > Replace Disk.
If a disk is Failed or Offline, it will be available to select for replacement. If for some reason you wish to replace a disk which is not in a Failed or Offline state, you can click Show all disks to allow selection of any disk.
Rules for Disk Replacement:
You cannot replace a disk with the same disk.
The replacement disk has to be of equal or greater capacity to the original disk.
Only 1 x disk in the Media Vault can be replaced with one of greater capacity. *
(*We recommend to use disks or the same model and capacity, but if you need to replace one in an emergency, it is possible to use 1 x disk of greater capacity as a replacement).
Once you have selected the disk to replace, please follow the on-screen instructions to Remove Disk, Load Disk and then Start Rebuild.
The Rebuild can take several hours to complete. The Media Vault performance may be reduced during this time. Progress will be shown in Pool Details card.
PLEASE NOTE: The Disk Replacement feature is only available in Media Vault software version 2.3.0 or above.
echo "[default]" | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.confecho "dir_cache_off=yes" | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.confecho "[default]" | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.confecho "dir_cache_off=yes" | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.confsudo sysctl debug.lowpri_throttle_enabled=0debug.lowpri_throttle_enabled=0| Saturday 23rd | 9am - 5pm GMT |
| Sunday 24th | 9am - 5pm GMT |
| Monday 25th | CLOSED - Merry Christmas! |
| Tuesday 26th | 8:30am - 5:30pm PST |
| Wednesday 27th | 9am - 5pm GMT | 8:30am - 5:30pm PST |
| Thursday 28th | 9am - 5pm GMT | 8:30am - 5:30pm PST |
| Friday 29th | 9am - 5pm GMT | 8:30am - 5:30pm PST |
| Saturday 30th | 9am - 5pm GMT |
| Sunday 31st | 9am - 5pm GMT |
| Monday 1st | CLOSED - Happy New Year! |
| Tuesday 2nd | Normal hours resume |
Effective date: May 25, 2018
Last updated: November 9, 2020
