How I wish I’d never updated from OS3 to OS5 but it’s done now so not much I can do about it.
I upgraded 10 days ago and I’ve indexed 71% - it’s doing about 2% every 24 hours now.
What I want to know is if I decide to move any of my files around on the My Cloud drive (either between Shares or within the same Share but moving to a different folder), will it have to index those files all over again? I don’t think I could bear the wait but I would like to archive quite a number of my photographs to join the rest of my photographs on the drive. All photos are on the drive but currently reside in different Shares.
WD has several knowledgebase articles related to indexing but they don’t go into detail on what exactly happens if you move files during the indexing. Just that system activity will slow the indexing down.
System Activities: If there are ongoing system activities such as file transfer, active backup job, or apps that generates its own database (such as Plex, Twonky) will slow down the indexing process.
What amount of storage do you have on your device that needs to be indexed?
Yesterday when I went to do my weekly reboot of my device I had the below showing, Generating Previews. This morning I added some videos from my security cameras and just checked and it is showing now too. Click on, tap, or activate images to enlarge them.
I’m fairly certain mine is a 4Tb drive and I’m about half full. I get the Generating Previews for a while and then it finally gives me a percentage. The dashboard is painfully slow but that has always been the case, even on OS3. There have been periods where I haven’t been able to log in at all.
As indicated by the WD Knowledge Base Article(s) above, if one doesn’t need Remote Access and or Media Services they can disable both which should stop the indexing service (and sluggish/access issues that result from it).
If you need the remote access capability that WD includes with the product then your stuck with the indexing issues until WD decides (if ever) to fix the indexing issue in the firmware.
Or one can roll their own remote access method by setting up a VPN server on their network and bypass WD entirely. This way one could disable the problematic WD remote access that is causing indexing issues. Some consumer routers include a VPN server option. There are various VPN server software one can install to either their computer or SoC devices like Raspberry Pi’s. The downside to setting up your own VPN server is the additional knowledge one will need to properly set up and configure the VPN server and VPN client. There are plenty of “how-to” directions for setting up various VPN server(s) that can be found online.
Honestly, after playing a fair bit with WD and OS/5 last year. . . .I gave up completely on WD solutions.
The horrible Indexing process was a large factor in that decision.
OS/3 works fine on a local network. . . but that software is obsolete, and has security vulnerabilities. (that is an assumption). Honestly. . not clear how much better OS/5 is in terms of security.
My interim solution was to run a OS/3 NAS with VPN access only. Turn WD Cloud access “off”. The VPN software I used (openVPN) actually runs on my Router; so leaving a PC running on the network was unnecessary. With VPN software, I access the NAS pretty much identically to how I access it when I am on my home network (i.e. generally windows file explorer). The only hitch was I had to access it via IP address, as opposed to device name.
The only true limitation I found was related to ISP network speeds. .5mbs/upload. . . and that is an ISP issue that affects all methods of access. Solvable with money that I chose not to spend.
(Full disclosure: At the end of the day, the “vpn” method I used means that the device is sitting on a router that has WAN (internet) access. If you are truly nervous, OS/3 is no longer a secure product and should not be left online like that. As an “ultimate” security measure, I put the OS/3 NAS on separate router that does not have WAN access. This means that to access the NAS, from a PC or tablet, I have to switch which network to which I connect the device. Security. . .but no internet access.
Tradeoffs.)
(Recommendation: If you want a NAS that has internet access, I recommend a non-WD software solution (i.e. get a different NAS))
I don’t have the know-how to get in to VPNs so I’ll have to stick it out until this indexing is finished and see how I go from here. I can’t even log into the dashboard now so I don’t know how much longer I have to go.
@NAS_user
As for the security issues, this is what made me upgrade to OS5 but, as mentioned on another thread, this didn’t work for me and, when I was able to get into the dashboard, I could only do so with the non-secure URL. So annoying!
