Slow performance and file scanning applications on WD My Cloud

Can anyone shed some light on exactly how many file scanning software applications are running on WD My Cloud?  I am aware of one or possibly two?  I’ve also read posts referencing a couple daemons that sound like they are not Twonky or iTunes specific.  Why do I ask?  Because they are seriously impeding file transfer performance to the point where the WD My Cloud becomes unusable!

  1. DLNA server (Twonky)

  2. iTunes server

  3. ?

I noticed in the Dashboard Application there is a view that shows percentage of disk space used by different media/file types; this is for the entire disk.  Is there a global file or media database on My Cloud that scans ALL files on ALL volumes whether or not I have DLNA server enabled and/or iTunes server enabled?  Why do I ask?  Because I have noticed even when I perform large data transfers on a volume that does not have media serving enabled I see significant performance degredation especially over time.  Is all that just to support that file/media type graph?  I can definitely live without that feature - anything to improve file transfer performance.

Questions:

  1. What is iTunes server exactly?

  2. Is there any software running to support iTunes specifically?

  3. Is the iTunes server sofware (if it exists) accessible remotely like Twonky web admin?

  4. Are there any scanning applications I can disable that won’t affect DLNA/iTunes media serving?

  5. If I can do 4 above what do I give up by disabling that software?

  6. I can disable Twonky automatic file scanning and perform a manual rescan on demand.  Is there a way to do something similar for any other scanning applications that are running?

For more information on iTunes see the User Manual, http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705103.pdf P.82, Media.

When looking at the Dashboard hovering over a MyCloudcirclei.JPG icon will provide information too.

I tried the iTunes server and did not like it. I have it turned off at this time. I can play my music through my Sony media player and my cell phone when I want to listen to it.

As for your other questions maybe someone else here can answer those or the User Manual will help.

To see other discussions about iTunes go to the top of the page and next to search choose community then in the box type iTunes.

Posted by,
cat0w (USA)

The user manual doesn’t explain what the iTunes server does exactly.  From another post http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-My-Cloud/iTunes-Server/m-p/679339/highlight/true#M7442 it looks like that feature allows your music to show as a “Shared Library” inside of iTunes.  Well, if I have already updated my iTunes configuration to read/store music on my network mapped WD My Cloud share I guess I don’t need the iTunes server running on My Cloud.  Is this correct?  I’ll give it a try.  If that works that’s one less software application to run on My Cloud.

jdeviney wrote:

…if I have already updated my iTunes configuration to read/store music on my network mapped WD My Cloud share I guess I don’t need the iTunes server running on My Cloud.  Is this correct?

If that’s satisfying your need, then yes, you’re correct!  :)

Go to page 100 in the User Manual and maybe that will help you understand the iTunes Server. The User Manual is wrong when it says go to page 112 and see

Playing/Streaming Videos, Photos, & Music.

 

Posted by,
cat0w (USA)

 

jdeviney wrote:

The user manual doesn’t explain what the iTunes server does exactly.  From another post http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-My-Cloud/iTunes-Server/m-p/679339/highlight/true#M7442 it looks like that feature allows your music to show as a “Shared Library” inside of iTunes.  Well, if I have already updated my iTunes configuration to read/store music on my network mapped WD My Cloud share I guess I don’t need the iTunes server running on My Cloud.  Is this correct?  I’ll give it a try.  If that works that’s one less software application to run on My Cloud.

So, this works for me.  I have iTunes server disabled but I can access my WD My Cloud Public shared music tracks fine from iTunes on my Mac.  I have the Public share automounted to a local drive on my Mac and I have iTunes configured to use that folder, /mnt/Public/Shared Music/iTunes/iTunes Media, for my iTunes Media folder location.  Library Share under iTunes looks like an alternative way to make the media available to multiple iTunes clients.

For streaming to other devices like my Denon surround sound receiver I am using the DLNA Media Server (Twonky).

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/itunes-11

jdeviney wrote:

Questions:

 

  1. Are there any scanning applications I can disable that won’t affect DLNA/iTunes media serving?> 6) I can disable Twonky automatic file scanning and perform a manual rescan on demand.  Is there a way to do something similar for any other scanning applications that are running?

 

 

I should preface this with I want to do the above because it is adversely affecting my file transfer performance in a big way.  I have no plans to use the “Cloud” feature or any of the mobile applications that integrate with WD My Cloud.  What I do want is a NAS drive that performs reasonably well (file transfer speeds) and can act as a DNLA server.

I’m still waiting for some word form WD support on the above questions.  I am looking for a “supported” fix that does not void my warranty.  I’ve been on 4 support calls and I’ve personally spent 50+ hours on this issue and others. 

What say you WD support?

Well there are also the services wdmcserver and wdphotodbmergerd which you could prevent from running all the time. I have mine running only every 3 days at night. There are a couple of threads about this on this forum

joskevermeulen wrote:

Well there are also the services wdmcserver and wdphotodbmergerd which you could prevent from running all the time. I have mine running only every 3 days at night. There are a couple of threads about this on this forum

Yes, I am aware.  As a last resort I finally disabled those two daemons.  I was really looking for an answer from WD support. The WD support rep. that I spent 4 calls with is well aware of the problem and the solution.  He just was not able to officially advise me to do what needed to be done.  It is a sad day when WD support will not acknowledge that the REAL FIX involves totally disabling a large portion of their product offering. 

The only real fix can be found here:

http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-My-Cloud/before-you-pack-up-your-WD-and-return-it-let-s-talk-about/td-p/683307

To save people some time here is the process:

  1. Enable SSH in WD Dashboard

  2. SSH into your WD My Cloud

  • ssh root@192.168.1.xxx
  • password = welc0me
  1. Type the following commands:
  • /etc/init.d/wdmcserverd stop
  • /etc/init.d/wdphotodbmergerd stop
  • update-rc.d wdphotodbmergerd disable
  • update-rc.d wdmcserverd disable
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