The DSS200i and CAT745 combo is indeed still available, but with the ongoing acquisition of Doremi and the integration of their servers, I expect some rather drastic changes in the product lineup in the not so near future.
Posted by Peter Maddock (Member # 7652) on 11-21-2014, 07:09 PM:
Just clarifying again. We have a DSS220 which on the front panel has 2 USB 2.0 ports and 1 eSata port for cable ingestion from attached drives.
We also have a 2U CRU Datport (4 Bay) which is connected to the rear of the server by sata cable. Only the top left bay is operative.
Most of our distributors use Deluxe who deliver on DX115DC drive carriers. Ingesting these drives via the CRU drive bay is proving unreliable. About 50% fail but will ingest when the drive is placed in a DX115 Move Dock which provides USB 2.0 and eSata cable connection to the front of the server. The Move Dock, using the eSata connection is our most reliable and speedy ingestion method. So we wonder why we have the 4U CRU Dataport.
This single bay 1U Data port from CRU appears to be a better option for the DSS220, http://www.cru-inc.com/products/digital-cinema/digital-cinema-215dc-1u-rackmount/. Note that the link says the unit was designed for the DSS220. However we might still get unreliable ingestion using this unit.
The DSS220 often gets stuck during many operations and must be rebooted to overcome the problems. We are only a small cinema so it is being rebooted daily. And we find it must be rebooted occasionally during show setup operations to overcome problems. We find the drive icons at the top right of the screen are slow to reflect changes to the system. Rebooting the system is often the best way to refresh to mount state of an external drive.
Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-22-2014, 07:21 AM:
Peter,
The CRU unit linked is just CRU bays with a SATA cable which links to the back. A single unit or a 8-unit will give you the same result.
What the difference could be, IMHO, is that when you use the rack-mounted unit you are introducing an extra joint in the SATA cable. If not mistaken the DSS220 has an eSATA connector on the back. Does the CRU rackmounted unit has an eSATA as well? If you use SATA, those are not really designed for that and I've seen before failures because the cable does not really fit in properly.
If you are using an eSATA, you may want to try a better cable, and make sure it's the shortest possible. You also may want to use a different bay, you have 3 unused, move the cable to the second one.
You shouldn't need to reboot the Dolby daily to overcome problems. Make sure you wait till the SATA icon turns white again before TURNING OFF the bay and remove the disk. If you remove the disk when it's being used and (maybe) before turning it off, the disk will stay mounted in Linux and a reboot would be required.
Also, please note the latest Dolby sw has a little issue with drives which stay mounted even though the transfer has completed. I've seen this with USB drives, not sure whether it happens with SATA as well. Dolby are aware of that.
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-22-2014, 08:33 AM:
In general, I've found that most external eSATA/SATA cables to be of questionable quality. The connector itself is such that it doesn't really have the friction needed to keep it reliable.
Don't use a cheap cable (quality). For what its worth, I've found Tripplite's cables to be pretty darn reliable...I've changed out other brand cables for those and CRU problems have disappeared (this has mainly been in Cinedigm racks where the CRU is feeding a Dell or IBM server). I have found a DSS220 where the INTERNAL cable was the faulty one! (that is much more rare...only had that once).
I will say that bad CRU response is not intrinsic to the DSS220 or we would have heard about it by now. We have multiple sites with the external CRU (1U single bay) and they are not reporting ingest problems with them.
I would have your DSS220 on System 4.8.1.19 at least...4.8.1.19 has many, many fixes for the CAT745...System 4.8.2.23 is current and brings yet another fix for NTP, if that has ever been an issue for you.
I really think that your problem may be one of poor connectivity.
Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 11-22-2014, 08:40 AM:
"So we wonder why we have the 4U CRU Dataport"
Simple. The 4U one costs more. Your supplier got more profit by selling it to you.
Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-22-2014, 11:34 AM:
well, that's a stupid way of making money since the customer soon realises they cannot use three of them!
Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 11-22-2014, 05:32 PM:
The cheque has already been cashed by then.
Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-22-2014, 05:56 PM:
yes but they won't cash another one.
You can make more money by selling bigger speakers, larger storage, bigger projectors. They all may be useful somehow.
Something you cannot use will never be useful and even the dumbest customer will eventually realise that!
Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 11-22-2014, 09:27 PM:
Well.. you have 3 spares for when they break...
Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-23-2014, 04:53 AM:
![[Cool]](cool.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Posted by Peter Maddock (Member # 7652) on 02-06-2015, 04:32 AM:
Its been a while but we finally established there is a problem with the rear eSata input on the DSS220. We now have a single drive bay unit from our installer and it ingests fine from the front eSata but will not connect via the rear eSata.
The cost of getting it repaired will be another thing. Although still under warranty the unit has to be freighted at our expense from Melbourne to Asia for repairs.
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-06-2015, 06:39 AM:
Yeah...screw that. I've had one that also did that. My quick/immediate solution was to take one of the card covers off and run the cable straight to the Motherboard...problem solved. The problem was with the Card Coverplate with the eSATA connector and short red cable. Either change that (for just a few dollars..they are not pricey) or do as I did and just run it to the main board. Changing an entire unit out, at considerable expense, due to a cheap cable is silly.
On the DSS220 software front...4.8.2.24 is now current...the latest build addresses a CAT745 issue with KDMs expiring during the performance...normally just a screening room concern.
Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 02-06-2015, 08:40 AM:
If the issue really is just the eSATA/SATA extender (the red SATA wire and eSATA plug), then the fix is indeed easy. Order a replacement for a few bucks from a nearby electronics retailer (just Google a bit for SATA to eSATA). If it is the SATA port itself, you could still internally swap the SATA ports used for the front and back eSATA connectors as an alternative.
The stupid thing is, this could potentially void your warranty, so maybe you best keep the components you swapped, so you can swap them back in, in case you really need to make use of the warranty services...
Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 01-15-2019, 04:46 PM:
It has been 1439 days since the last post.
Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 01-15-2019, 04:46 PM:
Does anyone know what the model of the eSATA card in a DSS220 is? We have a customer with one on which the back panel jack has been physically damaged, who wants it replaced. I'm guessing that there's no point in asking Dolby, as they've discontinued support for the DSS line, but was wondering if, like the 3Ware RAID cards in 200s, it's a generic card that is still readily available from third party vendors.
I guess it could be a motherboard header that just goes to one of the SATA jacks on the motherboard - it's so long since I've opened up a 220 that I can't remember. Any pointers would be gratefully received.
Posted by Mike Renlund (Member # 4675) on 01-15-2019, 05:59 PM:
Hi Leo,
Even though we can no longer provide parts for these systems, we will happily answer questions about any of our products and try and help you find the parts you need.
We still answer questions for systems made decades ago and try to help as much as we can. CinemaSupport@dolby.com will reach us.
In this case, it is a motherboard connection and not a specific card for this Sata port.
The cable we used was: Startech SATA2ESATA6 or PAN-INTERNATIONAL DLB8320270-LF
If you need the metal PCI slot blank that has 2 eSATA size holes, that is SIIG INC CB-BR0011-S1 or Startech ESATAPLATE1
Mike Renlund
Dolby
Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 01-15-2019, 06:30 PM:
Many thanks - very much appreciated. It seems that someone tried to pull a connector out at an awkward angle, and destroyed one of the jacks. Will get a dual PCI eSATA to SATA assembly.
Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 01-24-2019, 12:01 PM:
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
. I guess not many did upgrade their existing DSS200s with the IMB option though. And with the advancement of the "fully integrated" IMBs, not only being offered by the former server suppliers, but also by the projector manufacturers themselves, the function of the traditional server becomes far less important in the future.
![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)