Mac mini M1 as file server dropping SMB connections (SoftRAID + USB enclosures) — anyone seen this?

[Hro1980]

Hi, trying to fix some problems at work even though I am not a server dude.

We are running a Mac mini M1 as a small studio file server for 4 designers. Storage is two RAID-1 sets made with SoftRAID (4× 3.5" HDDs in four separate powered USB3 enclosures, each disk on its own USB port). Only one RAID set is active daily; the other is archive.

Our problem:
Several times a week SMB connections drop, either mid-transfer (during a 2–3 GB file copy and I try to avoid 50-100gb copy) or just during a simple save in Illustrator, which are often smaller file sizes. All users get kicked off at once and machine needs a restart. The Mac sometimes takes a very long time to reboot afterward. macOS Sequoia is fully updated. SoftRAID monitoring shows zero disk errors going back months. I don´t really have any error messages to show.

Network seems fine, UniFi dream machine router and matching switch, stable 1 Gb LAN on all machines other that this).

After talking to chatgpt I think perhaps the usb enclosures plus soft raid is a weak link and has a potential lag in communications that the smb protocol does not like.
ChatGPT recommended buying a thunderbolt enclosure that would minimize lag in communication so smb should be happier (from OWL like SoftRaid). That in itself sound logical but I don´t trust him

So before I replace hardware, has anyone successfully run a stable multi-user file share on M1 Mac + USB enclosures?

Perhaps try some kind of logging to see if there are errors?

Would moving to a NAS be an even better move?

Any advice or similar experience would help a lot. Thanks!

Regards, Hroi

 

[chrfr]

Hi, trying to fix some problems at work even though I am not a server dude.

We are running a Mac mini M1 as a small studio file server for 4 designers. Storage is two RAID-1 sets made with SoftRAID (4× 3.5" HDDs in four separate powered USB3 enclosures, each disk on its own USB port). Only one RAID set is active daily; the other is archive.

Our problem:
Several times a week SMB connections drop, either mid-transfer (during a 2–3 GB file copy and I try to avoid 50-100gb copy) or just during a simple save in Illustrator, which are often smaller file sizes. All users get kicked off at once and machine needs a restart. The Mac sometimes takes a very long time to reboot afterward. macOS Sequoia is fully updated. SoftRAID monitoring shows zero disk errors going back months. I don´t really have any error messages to show.

Network seems fine, UniFi dream machine router and matching switch, stable 1 Gb LAN on all machines other that this).

After talking to chatgpt I think perhaps the usb enclosures plus soft raid is a weak link and has a potential lag in communications that the smb protocol does not like.
ChatGPT recommended buying a thunderbolt enclosure that would minimize lag in communication so smb should be happier (from OWL like SoftRaid). That in itself sound logical but I don´t trust him

So before I replace hardware, has anyone successfully run a stable multi-user file share on M1 Mac + USB enclosures?

Perhaps try some kind of logging to see if there are errors?

Would moving to a NAS be an even better move?

Any advice or similar experience would help a lot. Thanks!

Regards, Hroi

Have you checked the enclosures for any applicable firmware updates?
What happens if you try a large file copy to the internal storage on the mini?

 

[Hro1980]

Have you checked the enclosures for any applicable firmware updates?
What happens if you try a large file copy to the internal storage on the mini?

Good suggestions, will check. Thanks!

 

[Bigwaff]

Network seems fine, UniFi dream machine router and matching switch, stable 1 Gb LAN on all machines other that this).

If not already configured, suggest setting your Mac mini file server to a static IP rather than DHCP. Don't know if this will specifically help the current issue, but it might depending on DHCP expiration settings on your router.

 

[hobowankenobi]

While it was years ago on an Intel Mac, had the same setup for a department file server with SoftRAID and had zero issues over years of use, outside of permission inheritance SNAFUs. Differences:

• Connection was thunderbolt, not USB
• Single RAID 5 volume with multiple share points

Nearly all of the (occasional) issues were SMB or AFP (back in the day) related, never hardware or SoftRAID.

Eventrually switched to Synology when it was time for new hardware, and their SMB implementation and configuration tools were better, and never had any mysterious issues again.


Have not run actual Macs as servers for about 5 years, so this is old news (Synologies are still chugging away with no real drama). I do recall lots of chatter and teeth gnashing about Apples's SMB implementation... Going way, way back...some USB chipsets could be finicky, with random unmounts and no graceful unmouting or mounting if a box was idle or sleeping. Hopefully that issue is long gone.