Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Putting a DCP2000 into long-term hibernation

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-08-2016, 12:27 PM:

We've recently acquired another DSS200, meaning that thankfully, we can retire the Doremi DCP2000 that we have been using in our little screen. While we were grateful to have it and it was certainly an improvement on no DCP capability at all, the restricted RAID space, not being allowed to upgrade it significantly because the software will only let you use Doremi-approved hard drive models, and the separate learning curve that the projectionists have to negotiate for the Cinelister/Ingest Manager/Content Manager front end are all reasons why my goal has been to replace it with another DSS200/cat862 combo.

Another one is that with a DSS200 in both booths at this site, if I can get them onto a theater network (easier said than done, because of the cable running involved, but should be possible), we can cross-ingest between the two over a wire, which will be very, very useful when it comes to festivals that like to move programs between screens at the last minute.

I feared that it might be a no go, because we're using it with an older series 1 projector (NEC iS8-2K). However, when I tested it yesterday, I found that the link encryption worked fine on Cinelink I (though not TLS) - I played an encrypted DCP successfully - and after updating the projector's TI software to 15.1, subtitles worked as well. That was a very welcome surprise.

So we're good to go with the swapout, which I plan to do next week. However, this leaves the issue of preparing the DCP2000 for long-term storage in a condition that gives us the best chance of being able to hook it up and power it up without problems in case either of the DSS200s suddenly croaks; i.e. keep it on standby as a backup server.

I was planning on doing the following.

1 - Delete all DCP content (apart from test DCPs) from the RAID
2 - Make a note of all logins, passwords, and settings that were changed from factory defaults (e.g. the IP addresses of the two ethernet controllers), and leave it taped to the case.
3 - Clean all fans, the hard drive air filter, and interior surfaces per the maintenance manual (version 1.8).
4 - Replace the motherboard and media block (Dolphin) CMOS batteries, and leave a note on the case, plus an Outlook reminder, that they need to be replaced again in a year's time. I know that this is a shorter time interval than Doremi suggest, but the server will be left without power, and obviously we don't want to lose the secure clock.

Can anyone think of anything else? Many thanks in advance.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-08-2016, 12:35 PM:

Sure, first thougth is to sell it and use the money to maintain all the DP-70!

Posted by Ian Freer (Member # 1940) on 07-11-2016, 04:37 PM:

Is it possible to leave it in a rack, easily accessible so it can be powered on for a day or two every few months?

That will help with the batteries and also, if one day it doesn't boot you'll know there's an issue to fix so it will be working if/when the actual emergency arises that you really need it...

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 07-11-2016, 05:01 PM:

Ian's is a very good suggestion. I've gone a bit further on one or two sites.

Put the 'spare' server on an unused IP address. Power it up at least once a month for 24 hours. That way it's all getting charged and importantly the RTC gets a chance to synchronise to NTP (you have got NTP setup, haven't you? )

Other than that, give it a good clean etc is good practice. You could use it as storage if you have a TMS which can work with Dolby & Doremi at the same time.

Curious about your comment that you can only use HDDs on the Doremi list. Whilst the software will grumble in the logs, it will actually work, providing the HDDs in question perform OK.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-11-2016, 05:25 PM:

Many thanks Ian and Pete.

Space in that rack is tight, but I've a hunch that by taking out a spacer panel and moving the power amps down, we'd be able to get both in there, and I'll certainly try.

Pete - I'd never personally tried to install non-Doremi approved HDDs into that server, but I'd read a thread here (sorry, can't find a link to it easily), the consensus of which seemed to be that you can use any drives you like in a DSS200 RAID - even different models, as long as all the drives of are exactly the same capacity - but with a Doremi server, they have to be specific models that the software approves of, or else welcome to a world of pain. So I'd left the 3x 1TB drives the thing came with in place, even though that didn't give us enough space to get through some festivals. If it's true that if necessary, I could replace them with, say, 3x WD Red 4TBs, and the worst that would happen is apocalyptic popup warnings, that's useful to know - thanks.

NTP wise, I've got the Doremi syncing to time.nist.gov and the DSS200s syncing to the IP of the nearest NIST server to us (La Grande, OR - 216.228.192.69), because they don't support DNS addresses.

Thanks again - will certainly power up and play test content once every few weeks.

BTW, I don't suppose anyone can tell me how to nuke that annoying "You must have this thing molested by a qualified Doremi service tech NOW or else I will spontaneously combust" popup that appears every time we boot it, by any chance?

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 07-11-2016, 09:31 PM:

Leo - you are free to put any WD RED or BLACK drive into the Doremi. Basically, any RAID certified drive will do. However, Doremis can only use max 2TB drives, so 3 or 4*2TB is the maximum currently.
It's a software restriction though, it may be that at one point Dolby will update the software to support larger drives.

The popup you seem to get is probably the maintenance manager scheduled warning. You simply need to create a dummy maintenance entry 'done that' using the supplied app. Dolby/Doremi have a simple technote explaining it.

- Carsten

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-11-2016, 10:19 PM:

Leo, you can throw ANYTHING at a Dolby DSS200 server in terms of hard drives. Throw 4 different brands, capacity and even speeds in there if you want. The server will make a raid out of the equivalent of the smallest drive, but it will chug right along happily like the bulletproof hardware raid that it is.

On the Doremi, you can put WD or HGST 2TB drives into them

These are the Western Digital drives you can use...
Western Digital part #WD2003FYYS-02W0B0 / WD model #WD2003FYYS
Western Digital part #WD2002FYPS-01U1B1 / WD model #WD2002FYPS
The newer version of those drives is model WD2000FYYZ. Doremi hasn't *officially* approved this drive, but admits it should be fine.

In HGST (Hitachi) land, which is my preference...
HGST part #0F14690 / HGST model #H3V20006472S

Doremi's insanely annoying popup nonsense will only go away if you make an entry. Just go to CONTROL PANEL > OPERATOR MAINTENANCE MONITORING, enter your Admin password and then in the comment box type "Shut the hell up and go away!" in the comment box, click the "record" button and then do a software reboot of the server.

After that don't forget to lodge an official complaint about it to Doremi. The fact they don't give a means to turn it off is infuriating. It's right up there with the nagging "update to Windows 10 now" update.

If your server should ever need diagnostics sent to Doremi, one can only hope they read the maintenance documents and get the point.