I still use my DS6100 as my small businesses server. I have a love/hate relationship with it.
I’d like to upgrade its OS to at least WS 2016 Essentials, and possibly upgrade the two sloooooow OS drives to SSDs.
Has anyone done a simple “upgrade” of the OS (2012R2–> 2016 Essentials) so I don’t have to figure out how to reload all those proprietary drivers for the various WD6100 box “features”.
Any luck with switching out OS drives for SSDs, I’m thinking Sandisk.
Many thanks for any replies!
Update: See my post below with guides I found on the Internet for the DS6100! (12/7/21)
I had used that unit34 blog previously but the information has all disappeared. Any chance you have saved the articles and or the instructions for installing server 2016 on the WD DS6100?
So Gramps I see you are still monitoring here. Wondering if you still tinker with 5100/6100 units? Curious as in the fresh install section of unit34’s old blog posts (for 2012 and 2016) they infer that once the Essentials experience is installed, and the WD components are installed, the boot drives will recreate their mirror? Does this happen after the drives are set to compatibility mode with the whitelist? This feature would be awesome if it worked, however, after edits on the .XML file and repeated restarts, the drives I’ve used (WD RED 500 SSD’s) still refuse to show up as compatible. Also, with the fresh instal of Windows Server 2016, re-installing components doesn’t work i.e., it appears to be a known issue that the tray app needs to be re-installed, however, none of the WD branded software .MSI components will re-install once the Essentials experience is completed.
Steps being:
1-Complete the fresh install of Windows Server
2-Add the Essentials Experience feature (with or without domain joining first)
3-Install the C:\WD components with the latest FW revs
4-Complete the Essentials Experience feature
Odd this.
Oh and one other oddity, with the Original SE 4TB storage drives plugged in, Windows setup simply cannot complete the format step prior to file copy on the SSD in Drive 0 slot. With the rusty spinners not connected it works just fine.
so the way I remember or understood which may be wrong is it basically shipped if it just had one OS drive it was a broken mirror and when you’ve added the second drive it automatically rebuilt there was no gooey or anything that you had control over. The other four bays when you first started setup was to pick either WD controls it automatically or you could select Windows storage pools. I never really fiddled with making it anything other than what it came with so I’m not 100% sure about the WD stuff on newer. that said I think I actually have in my Dropbox the WD files for it. but this Lincoln pasting link I am pasting should give you everything to put it back to 2012R2
