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Hands On: Drive Bender Storage Pool Add-in For Windows Home Server 2011

By on October 31, 2011 in Apps & Add-in Reviews, News, Reviews, Windows Home Server

Introduction

When Microsoft removed Drive Extender from Windows Home Server 2011, a very deep chasm developed between those who “had to have DE” and those who were “happy to see it die”.  Obviously, those in the first group stayed with WHS v1 and quite a few in the second group probably went the RAID route and upgraded to WHS 2011 or simply upgraded to WHS 2011 sans RAID.

I was one of the few in a third group who mourned the loss the DE but upgraded to WHS 2011 anyway.  I really had no desire to resort to RAID and I figured someone would come up with a decent DE replacement.

Drive Bender from Division-M is one such replacement that recently came out of Beta as a publicly released product.

Even though I signed up for the original beta, I decided long ago that I would not participate as I felt it best to download, install, and review the fully released version. Why, you might ask?  I simply wanted to look at the add-in just as anyone else might look at it when trying it out for the first time:

  • How easy is to install?
  • How easy is it to use?
  • How does it compare to Drive Extender?

As such, I did want to have any preconceived notions of how it worked from any beta experience.  I did not want to unconsciously dismiss any idiosyncrasies that I had previously found workarounds during testing.

Perhaps I am wrong to think this way, but I would still like to consider Windows Home Server to be a home product that most anyone (with some basic computer savvy) could install and use.  As anyone with basic computer skills could make use of DE, the same ease of installation and use criteria should be applicable to add-ins like Drive Bender.  We’re looking for it to behave and perform much as DE should have performed.

It is time to check out Drive Bender.

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About Jim Clark

Hello. I’m from the heartland of the U.S. Lots of corn and beans, although Iowa is a lot more than just farmland. It also has a few computer enthusiasts (no, not me!). I’ve been around PCs since I got my 1st PC XT aloooong time ago. WGS is one of the first sites I found centered around WHS. And the best. Every once in awhile, I do get away from the KB and enjoy time with and my wife and our 4 kids. And I do have a day job.
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  • http://davepermen.net davepermen

    I guess you’re interested in StableBit DrivePool, then. The only thing bender does better is the integration into the disks page by adding a tab there. Other than that, DrivePool is much more simple, installs just as any other addon, and just works, even in the beta right now.

    • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

      Well, we’ve said along that we won’t review these storage pooling add-ins until they reach a public (non-beta) release. Once StableBit DrivePool reaches release, we’ll certainly review it as objectively as we have Drive Bender and share our experiences. We’ll certainly be looking for ease of installation, ease of use, feature set and security of data before digging into performance… if it delivers, all good. If not, then we’ll share our thoughts…

      • http://davepermen.net davepermen

        Oh, never said you should do otherwise. Wait till it’s there. I’m just suggesting there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Drive Bender wasn’t that bright of a light (in usability, I’m not knowing how stable it works, as I’ve dismissed it rather quickly). DrivePool is very similar to DE in simplicity.
        The one thing that would make it perfect is the one thing Drive Bender does well: Integrate into the disk tab.

        Hope to see a final version soon, and your article, then. From what I can see, well worth the wait.

        • http://www.facebook.com/steve.shelby Steve Shelby

          I’m moving away from DrivePool as we speak.  I may try Drive Bender.  We have a Windows Storage Server Essentials system with around 12 drives in it.  I created a pool of four or so spare drives, and loaded the share up with data, moved over data from other sources, and added the Client Backups folder + duplication.  Many hard resets and lockups.  The server runs just fine with spanned drives or RAID.  All backup systems and plugin system are crashing.  Plugin apparently is a timed beta and had stopped working without notification.   If there are only two pooling options for this stuff, I’ll have to put in a Drobo, or something.  I’m really dissapointed at the level of Windows non-RAID volume management.  I haven’t checked out the windows stuff in quite a while – and my WHS2003 machine with eight drives, that I had wanted to migrate  out of – seems to be the most stable of the bunch.

          • http://davepermen.net davepermen

            well, they state that it’s a timed beta. and you should take it as a beta: read the changes logs, update sometimes more than once a day, and expect bugs.
            if you don’t, you don’t understand what this is about, and made for.

            there are no hard resets and lockups here, though. with all performance gains enabled.

            but it’s a beta, what do you expect? especially if you got out of the timing, you definitely ran a VERY old version, and never did any of the bug fixing updates.

    • Jay

      I tried the FlexRAID briefly, but it wasn’t the “WHS” version yet. Then I tried Drive Bender and it not only was confusing but it hosed the server storage service so I got rid of that also. I then installed Stablebit Drive Pool and not only is it working well so far, it was very easy to use and installed as an “add-in”. DB was very confusing and I hope Drive Pool continues to work and improve. A lot of posters are more knowledgeable than the average joe. I am not an IT professional and that is why I loved WHS when it first came out. I turned a lot of my friends onto it and converted their older computers into WHS boxes. Now they are pissed that they can’t upgrade and I feel bad for turning them onto it. I have switched to all Mac except for WHS and have been following the Lion server with interest. If Apple does something like WHS, then I will be TOTAL Mac. That said, Drive Pool is the best and EASIEST for a “average joe” such as myself so far.

  • http://twitter.com/Leod_UK Lee

    It’s such a shame you encountered so many issues, Drive Bender installed nice and cleanly on my server and is currently hosting an 8TB drive pool which has been working flawlessly.

    I still believe you should review it but add the caveat that it may be aimed at the more technically adept right now, which to be fair is probably the vast majority of Home Server 2011 users anyway….

  • http://twitter.com/Leod_UK Lee

    It’s such a shame you encountered so many issues, Drive Bender installed nice and cleanly on my server and is currently hosting an 8TB drive pool which has been working flawlessly.

    I still believe you should review it but add the caveat that it may be aimed at the more technically adept right now, which to be fair is probably the vast majority of Home Server 2011 users anyway….

    • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

      Useful to hear that you’re getting on well with it, Lee. 

      • CBers

        You have to bear in mind that Drive Bender works on all Windows OS, whereas Drive Pool only works under WHS.

        This adds a lot of complexity to the DB coding.

        I’ve been using DB under W7 since early releases, and it works OK, but there are still a few issues to sort out, as it does not work well with Media Browser or Media Center Master under certain circumstances.

      • http://twitter.com/Leod_UK Lee

        Yeah, it’s been working well, replicating data without issue and streaming etc etc. 

        I did notice an error in this guide in that an attempt is made to create a Drive pool after install when in fact the client auto creates a pool during install on Windows Home Server (Hence the green tick). Is that down to poor documentation or poor reading of it? :-D

        • Ajumple

          If it’s a task the user doesn’t need to complete, then it shouldn’t be shown as a task.  I also clicked on it and that seemed to be what made the whole installation implode and I could never get DB to work after that…  for something that should be simple, DB is rather frustrating and I’ve never had the time to poor over the documentation to try and figure out how to make it work. 

          DrivePool?  Simple, stable (for a beta), reliable, and, well, just works! 

          I still bought a license of DB in the event they actually get a usable product, but for the time being, I have to agree with Terry’s assessment.

          Glad it’s working for some, however!

          • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

            I’m passing the credit to one Mr. J. Clark for the review… he has the byline :)

        • http://www.facebook.com/powderburned Andrew Hoover

          Drive Bender definitely lacks in the setup interface. I made the exact same mistake when setting up DB on my home server. It completely fell apart within a day – missing pool folders, unreadable user rights, etc, etc.

          I then started over and assumed that the system had already created a pool and didn’t tell me. From there I converted my shared folder drive to the pool and everything since then has been fine. I’ve been able to add drives to the pool, change and update permissions at will without issue. I’ve elected to backup my server at this time rather than use duplication just to see what breaks without it. Duplication is next though.

          I completely agree with this article that it should come down to such a basic issue at the beginning. At the very least, the prompts should spell out what the option does which DB does NOT do in the interface.

  • http://twitter.com/Leod_UK Lee

    It’s such a shame you encountered so many issues, Drive Bender installed nice and cleanly on my server and is currently hosting an 8TB drive pool which has been working flawlessly.

    I still believe you should review it but add the caveat that it may be aimed at the more technically adept right now, which to be fair is probably the vast majority of Home Server 2011 users anyway….

  • Wittgenfrog

    I’ve been running various betas and the curent final release on WHS 2011 with a 3TB drive pool.

    I have to agree that the UI is not as clear as it could be, and the options are confusing.  Having said that I managed to get it all running pretty smoothly (I am an IT Pro, so I’m happy to fiddle!) , and it has proven very reliable so far.  I have not lost any data in the time I’ve been running with it.

    This is a complex piece of software, and the most likely current users are ‘early adopters’ like myself.  So far the support from the Publisher has been excellent, and the user forums very helpful. 

     I think we’ll all have to accept that as far as MS are concerned WHS is now an ‘orphaned’ product, surviving largely becuase of of its Server 2008 code-base.  We need developers who are prepared to do complex low-level software like this if WHS is to remain viable.

    • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

      Agree with the view, although Ease of use is critical in an application that’s designed to differentiate from the complexities of RAID management.

  • phaze

    Jim, thanks for the impartial review.

    This is exactly what I was worried about: Drive Bender and Stable Bit have been on each others tails for the last few months: at every new beta version release from one company, you could bet there would be an announcement from the other almost immediately after..

    All good having competition, and i understand that they are both under pressure to supply a DE solution quickly, as they are pressed from the community and from the (dwindiling) WHS 2011 market share / target market.

    I just hope they can get their act together and supply a stable and user-friendly release.
    It seems to be crunch time all of the time ;-)

    • Matt

      I’ve been waiting for these two projects to prove themselves since my WHS v1 box died. I have a bare bones of 2011 installed, and now it looks like I’m waiting for a final from Stable Bit. It’s been a long year.

  • Bernard

      Thanks! This is exactly the kind of review I have been waiting for since these products were first announced.  I fall into the first category – I still use WHS v1.  If I upgrade, it will only be after both of these products have been out for six months or so and then I have already decided to just build a new machine and keep v1 as a standby.

      I am always amused at how many software programs have inconsistencies in their installation routines. Even the products from larger companies suffer this shortcoming. Hardly what I want to see during an install process.

  • Skijackz

    Jim:

    Always have appreciated your reviews but this one missed the mark for me a bit. As you stated in your verdict, you didn’t read the documentation. I agree that the software should be easy enough to install without having to worry about documentation but setup is a different matter. One of my favorite pieces of software is Lights Out but I’ve had to read the documentation 5-6 times to understand what is going on and how it works. As another commenter said, this is a complicated piece of software. I agree that the documentation is weak and the prompts within the software needs to better. But all in all, this worked right out of the box.

    My experience with Drive Bender, while not perfect, would still be a recommend from me. I don’t like that Stablebit’s Drive Pool can’t have the default server folders moved into the pool. Maybe that has changed in the month that I tried it but Drive Bender does this and works well.

    BTW: Saw a mention of Media Browser and Drive Bender. I initially had problems with 2.5.1 of Media Browser but reverted back to 2.3.2 and have no problems streaming now. CBers has also had issues but not sure if he went back or not. MB went to a SQL Lite db with 2.5 and it was never stable on my machine.

    • CBers

      I think DB is a piece of software that only advanced users would contemplate using.

      It’s not for the every day sort of computer user who only surfs or reads email etc.

      People
      who have a (Windows Home/7) Server with multiple disk dirves will have
      one for a specific reason, and should know enough about Windows, Disks,
      and storage to be able to use DB out of the box.

      • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

        I really disagree with your last point (which you’re entitled to, of course) – the whole essence of Windows Home Server is to remove complexity from the use of servers and mass storage. Microsoft compromised delivery of this proposition in WHS 2011, and were rightly criticised for it.

        Those with advanced technical knowledge can use hardware RAID with Windows Server 2008 R2, no problem. If that’s the market that the storage pool developers are going after, then their revenue projections are going to come in short. 

        The key audience for these apps are those WHS v1 users who have resisted upgrading to WHS 2011 (or have upgraded and subsequently miss DE) and want the same functionality, same ease of use, same features as DE v1 (with a bit of extra robustness thrown in) ;-)

        • Wittgenfrog

          Of course the software should be really simple to use, and I’m sure it will evolve.  Hardware RAID is a very reliable system, but a decent RAID card costs a fortune, can be quite energy intensive, and generally requires a bunch of identical disks.  

        • CBers

          WHS are for advanced users, not your average Joe Bloggs that buys a PC from PC World/BestBuy.

          They must have some sort of advanced IT knowledge to be
          able to configure a WHS in the first place, as they aren’t the easiest thing in the world
          to wrestle with when you switch them on for the first time.

          I have worked in the IT (Unix/Windows Systems Administrator etc.) industry for over 30 years, but  I have moved away from my WHS v1 (it is now gathering dust) and now use Windows 7 instead, as it’s easier to configure and install software etc..

          WRT Drive Bender, it would have helped if the reviewer had RTFM before
          installing the software, or at least of done a little research before
          doing so, as most people would have done,

          No-one goes blindly installing software without having first had a read-up on it, and to make note of any “idiosyncrasies”.

          I hope the reviewer has another go at installing DB, but I would suggest he visits the forums before doing so, or speak to Division-M.

          • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

            If you believe that WHS is designed for advanced users, then you have a different understanding of the product’s positioning than I do – which, given my understanding comes directly from Microsoft, is hard to believe. 

            I get that you’re sore about the review, and clearly you’re a big fan of the product. That’s fine. But given the developer has made a decision to bring forward a number of UI improvements in the next release of Drive Bender, as well as hearing the experiences of other commenters here, clearly there are improvement opportunities available for Drive Bender.

            We will take another look at Drive Bender in the coming months.

          • CBers

            WHS is not an easy OS to get to grips with. I can’t see any of my friends or family using one, in fact I would steer them away from it. A bog-standard Windows 7 install on a HP MicroServer would be ideal for most people if that’s what they needed, with or without Drive Bender installed. Most people would have Windows 7 on new PCs these days anyway, so they wouldn’t feel comfortable using WHS.

            Drive Bender is getting better on each release, and there is a bug that
            is being worked on now, but it doesn’t put me off from using it.

            There is another review of Drive Bender on the Media Smart Server website: http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2011/11/04/review-drive-bender-for-windows-home-server-2011-part-1/. There are also parts 2, 3 & 4, with part 5 still to come.

    • Matt

      “My experience with Drive Bender, while not perfect, would still be a
      recommend from me. I don’t like that Stablebit’s Drive Pool can’t have
      the default server folders moved into the pool. Maybe that has changed
      in the month that I tried it but Drive Bender does this and works well.”

      This has changed in beta M3 of drive pool.

      • landrover

        That’s indeed a thing that was fixed a long, long time ago. Although still in Beta, DrivePool is already a very useable and well performing product.

    • http://twitter.com/JC634 Jim Clark

      Thank you for your input.  I have a couple of questions.  How much documentation did you have to read to add a drive to a pool using MS’s DE?  Did you ever lose any data when removing a drive from a MS DE drive pool?
       
      Did not MS provide you any warnings when performing changes to the DE pool?
       
      For me, the answers to these questions are No, No, Yes.  If I replace MS
      DE with DB, the answers are Yes, Yes, No.
       
      MS would be raked over the coals for releasing such a product.  Should not
      another company be held to the same standard?
       
      This is not Lights Out.  This software is being billed as a DE replacement
      which means a direct comparison is justified.

      • guest123

        Perhaps if you had bothered reading the documentation you would not have had half the amount of issues that you had.

        I have been running drive bender since April and yes I have had issues during the beta phase but nothing that I haven’t been able to fix.

        • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

          Why do you think it’s acceptable to have to fix a product that you’ve paid money for? 

          Let’s be clear here, Jim lost access to his data – the volumes were unmounted. That’s a flaw that shouldn’t be in any shipping product – yes, sometimes users need protecting from themselves. “You should have read the manual” is no defence – the design of the software should prevent user error from losing data access.

      • JohnB

        I’m afraid I have to agree – if you are doing a review you should read the documentation first, especially on something like this product, otherwise your review isnt that useful, especially if you have problems you say could be avoided if you had bothered to read it.

        Im afraid I dont see this as a very fair review – especially as you just stopped reviewing it because you couldnt get it to work!

      • JohnB

        I’m afraid I have to agree – if you are doing a review you should read the documentation first, especially on something like this product, otherwise your review isnt that useful, especially if you have problems you say could be avoided if you had bothered to read it.

        Im afraid I dont see this as a very fair review – especially as you just stopped reviewing it because you couldnt get it to work!

      • JohnB

        I’m afraid I have to agree – if you are doing a review you should read the documentation first, especially on something like this product, otherwise your review isnt that useful, especially if you have problems you say could be avoided if you had bothered to read it.

        Im afraid I dont see this as a very fair review – especially as you just stopped reviewing it because you couldnt get it to work!

  • Kaphonius

    Had a very similar unsatisfactory experience with the non-server windows trial version. Sadly your summation was exactly what went thru my head- not ready for prime time.

  • http://twitter.com/RoyalStandard Tom Hall

    “Way too easy to permanently lose data” – rubbish !

    DriveBender is an add-on – it does not make any changes to the existing files on your drives – UNLESS you are silly enough to FORMAT the drive when adding it to the pool

    If things do go t***-up, your data is still there on your drive(s)

    - I’ve been using DiveBender (on WHS2011), since it went into beta

  • Marty

    While I agree the setup needs work, it is not rocket science. Im sorry, but this review has a tanted feel. If you are planning to put your files on a product, wouldn’t you at least have a quick read of the documentation? With regards to Stablebit, this seems to be going backwards with every release, and I gave up when it hosed one of my drives after a BSOD.

  • http://twitter.com/RoyalStandard Tom Hall

    “Way too easy to permanently lose data” – what rubbish !
    DriveBender is an add-on and does not make any changes to your files
    UNLESS you are silly enough to FORMAT the drive when you add it to the pool

    (been using DiveBender (on WHS2011), since it went into beta – currently have 3TB of files the pool
    Sorry – prevoius post disappeared & the re-appeared – now can’t see how to remove it

  • Kevin

    In the absence of RAID and a drive pooling solution what are the out-of-the-box options for protecting your data in WHS 2011? I saw mention of backup jobs that you can schedule. Are there limitations to that approach or is it just that you miss Drive Extender?

  • Jmpathome

    I am now running the release version of DB with 15 Terabytes, my old V1 system is pushing 25 Terabytes.  The great thing about this product is I installed in on XP of all things, with 2 gig of memory and an atom 1.6 cpu.   Low cost and I have one drive D: shared out 15 Terabytes in size.  And this is only the start, I still intend to add to it, but after my install, as I had some drives with data, and some new I was able to use all three install types which worked just fine.  I did not read the manual, I just carefully read the selection menu, and if I had data on it and wanted to add it to my newly created drive d: I chose option 3. If I had data on my drive and I wanted to offer it as a new sharepoint I would chose option two.   And if I had a new drive and I wanted to decide later I chose option 1.  No brainer, the only thing I wished it had was more options to play around with, it is just too simple to use, but I miss getting under the engine, not alot to configure in the options menu.  But it does exactly what is advertises and does it well.  The only reason someone could loose data would purely be from human error.  Even if I killed a add drive process I never lost data once I reassigned a drive letter and deleted all the DB metadata.   Anyway I Love it so I bought it.

  • Ian Prest

    I’ve recently tried out DB on WHS 2011 as well.  I’ve had a few problems, but I feel they’ve mostly stemmed from not understanding the various options.  

    After playing with it for a bit, I’ve come to the following conclusions:1.  ”Add a drive to the pool” seems to be the best choice for empty drives.
    2.  ”Convert a drive” would seem best for a drive that has content & shares on it already (and least disruptive, since it will preserve the same drive letter).
    3.  I’m still not clear on what “Merge a drive into the pool” does (and I’m out of drives to test with).

    The documentation could certainly use some beefing up, and it might help to have a “setup wizard” that guides you through the initial add/convert/merge process (with a clear description of what each option does).  But technically, the product seems sound and behaves as advertised once it’s set up.

  • Bill Sharpe

    I’m still on v1.  I tested DB on WHS2011.  However, what’s holding me back from WHS2011 and DB?  No backup solution for the drive pool.  When a solution emerges to backup more than 2 TB’s that’s as simple as the v1 backup that allows spanning, remembers what folders go to which backup drive, and runs with one click after initial setup, then I will rethink moving to WHS2011.  I have four 2TB’s drives in an external port multiplier enclosure for backup. When will I be able to use it with WHS 2011?  Until then, I’m sticking with v1.

    • guest123

      Rumour has it MS is working on the 2TB limitation.

  • Gregg Vadasz

    Thanks for the great review. I’ve never used WHS before and have been waiting for DB and DrivePool to come out in order to build a server and consolidate 10TB worth of external drives into one reliable environment. It seems like DB has some ways to go.

    But they shouldn’t let this discourage them. You’re simply providing constructive criticism which will add items to their ‘To-do’ list. I look forward to a follow up review from you probably around xmas showing a full walkthrough of the program when it is stable, as well as how to handle situations like a crashed system drive, crashed storage pool drive, etc. 

  • Anthony Smith – Division-M

    Having read the review and the comments here, we thank all for their opinions.
    Regarding the interface, we had planned to improve the interface and documentation for v1.3, however we are now moving most of these changes into v1.2.1.5 which we plan pushing out tomorrow (3rd of November).

    • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

      Thanks for the update, Anthony – we’ll look forward to re-running the review at a later date.

    • Anthony Smith – Division-M

      This release is being delayed a couple of days while we wait on the results of some further useability testing.

  • http://www.facebook.com/aafvstam Maarten Van Stam

    Maybe you can do the same test with http://www.flexraid.com ? Although it doesn’t integrate in the WHS UI it gives the impression of being a stable WHS RAID/Pooling alternative. I haven’t used it but the screens give a mature impression …

  • Anonymous

    Jim:

    Im sorry but Ive been using this software since very early beta. Its nowhere near as difficult to use as you make it out to be. True, the UI could use some work, but it’s still made big strides from what it was and they had announced another revamp before this review was posted. When you admit you didnt look at any of the documentation, the review lost a lot of credibility in my eyes. 

    I can name plenty of pieces of software that look pretty, but dont work. When I have a huge amount of data that needs to be stored safely, I need software that will keep my collection safe. Ive simulated drive failures and removals with this software and its solid.

    I would recommend this software and really hope you are open to re-reviewing it in the future.

    Please review DrivePool as well, although its months and months behind DriveBender. Im sure DriveBender will make many improvements and squash many bugs in the meantime. It wouldn’t be fair to give DrivePool an extra 4-6 months to develop, although DrivePool looks very promising as well.

    • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

      We had a lot of requests to review both Drive Bender and StableBit DrivePool during beta – I’ve refused to do so. We review shipping software, that the developer feels is fit for release to the general public. Once StableBit DrivePool reaches that point, we’ll review it.

  • FWJJR

    Welp I have stated this on a the “Gold” release posting… This software is not ready…I bought it with high hopes and expectations, looking for DE replacement.. and I too had data loss and installed twice…and still was so frustrated I resorted back to original 2011 install.

    DO NOT test this on Production Data! you will be sorry. I can’t see how anyone will feel comfortable with this till its all worked out. I have noticed DB has stopped sending out release after release as there have now been 2 after the “gold”.. get it right or dont release. sadly MS knew this too.

    On a side note I have also tried Stablebit and it looks VERY promissing..However I think the pressure is on and we are holding breath now waiting for Stable bit…Pressure being that it better be right on first release or In my opinion DE replacements will be a lost cause altogether and people patients will deminish.

  • Poor review

    @Jim – This is simply unprofessional. This “review” reads as if you wanted it to fail. I downloaded and installed it without a hitch. Also for those comparing it with Drivepool, the intergration and performance of DriveBender is much better.

    • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

      Hi

      Really glad the add-in has worked out well for you. 
      However, given the developer’s decision to bring forward a number of UI changes (see comment in this thread) as well as hearing other user’s similar experiences, then you’re really off the mark here. We look every product we review objectively, and honestly, from a “real world” perspective, and tell it how it is – positively or otherwise. If you don’t like what you read, then please feel free to read elsewhere.Terry

      • Mike

        Terry Walsh said “If you don’t like what you read, then please feel free to read elsewhere.” I can’t believe this is your attitude to your clientele after you totally botched your review. Obviously you couldn’t be bothered to read the documentation when setting up and then blame the software. If there was truly valuable data at stake you might have taken time to read before blindly hitting buttons. If you didn’t know the meaning of merge vs. add  vs. convert a common dictionary would have pointed you in the right direction. My kids 13, 15, 17 had no problems installing and setting up this software, but they like to read and understand the importance of thinking. If this is the quality of the editorial staff I think I will “read elsewhere. 

        • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

          Thanks for the feedback – if you understood how much time was invested in preparing and writing these reviews, alongside other work on the website and forums, then you may have a better understanding of why I’d react negatively to a reader accusing us of “wanting a product to fail”. 

          Everything we write here is written in good faith, for the benefit of the community – that’s been the way it works for the last four years, and so far it’s turned out pretty well. If you truly believe that we set out on a review with the hope that a product fails, then we’re definitely not the site for you. 

          May I suggest you read the response from the developer regarding the points made in Jim’s review, and their plans to resolve:

          “Anyway as I’ve mentioned, we have taken your comments on board and are making it a priority to improve the way Drive Bender is setup and configured.”

          Cheers
          Terry

  • http://twitter.com/JC634 Jim Clark

    It is interesting to note that many comments have referred to a manual. It
    exists, under Programs which is visible *only* if you RDC into your server *and*
    you happen to know it is there. DB installs in the Dashboard, and does *not* in
    any way shape or form refer to a manual, install instructions, or even provide a
    link to the DB Forums or Support.

    I will return to this add-in and re-review it once the UI has matured to the
    point where *anyone* with basic computer smarts can use the add-in. If it
    requires someone with “30 years” of IT experience to get it to work, than it is
    not a WHS product.

    One of those maturity criteria has to be that the manual is easily accessible
    from the dashboard.  Maybe even a link to the DB forums or support area…

    • Anthony Smith – Division-M

      Hi Jim,

      The feedback is welcome (and noted). There is a point that I would like to clarify… and that is Drive Bender has never been promoted as a DE replacement (well not by us anyway). Drive Bender is in fact a Windows pooling product that is shipped with a WHS 2011 addin. This is an important distinction because it does not work the way DE did. Unlike DE, which exposed networked folders, Drive Bender creates a pool that has an assigned drive letter (although it is possible to create networked folders). This allow tighter integration into the OS including folder sharing and permissions.

      Anyway as I’ve mentioned, we have taken your comments on board and are making it a priority to improve the way Drive Bender is setup and configured.

  • ownerer

    While I agree on some of the remarks in the review, I absolutely don’t buy the data loss part…
    I’ve been using DB since its early beta stages as well, and if there’s one thing that’s never happened, it’s data loss.
    I don’t know WHS, nor do I have the intention of getting to know it (very strange you left out the fact that DB works on A LOT of Windows versions!!!!!),
    but as far as I can tell from the screenshots, you’re assuming your data is gone cause you can’t find a shared folder on your network anymore? Where’s the logic in that…

    DB changes the folder structure on a harddrive, so I think your shared folders just don’t know where they point to anymore and hence are not displayed/unshared.
    If you were to actually check the drive itself, you’d find some folders named by a GUID and in them you WILL find your data!

    Spreading this kind of information is very bad publicity for the product since data is its core business. The product will undoubtedly only continue to improve as it has since the beginning, and it needs all the support it can get. This, in my opinion unverified, information puts people off from trying it…
    So before definitively saying you lost your data, I kindly ask you actually verify you did, the way I described.
    I also ask for me personally, because if you did indeed lose it, I’d like to know just in case…

    • ownerer

      I only just saw the update to the review: http://www.wegotserved.com/2011/11/03/drive-bender-update/
      So it is as I thought :)
      However, claiming data is lost without having checked the actual disk still strikes me as negligent. Something to remember in future reviews I would say! :)

      • http://www.wegotserved.com Terry Walsh

        Back in the real world, it’s good to hear that data is still on the drive. But this doesn’t excuse what is a very serious flaw. Commercial software, that ships to the general public should not prevent access to users’ data – period. Asking users to go and subsequently fish for their data by hooking the drive up to another PC is also completely unacceptable.

        Imagine if the same thing happened with your anti-virus, your defragger, your music player? Those products wouldn’t ship with such a flaw – no product should ship with such a flaw. Workarounds are for beta products. 

        Given the community is going to invest a lot of faith in storage pooling products, we’ll hold them up to a high standard. As I’ve stated previously, we’ve deliberately held off reviewing DB and StableBit in beta, but once they’re in general release, if there are flaws, we’re going to point them out objectively – I hope that’s one of the reasons why people visit the site.

  • Patrick Ford

    Interesting read, as always with Jim’s reviews. I must agree with the perspective that he uses for this particulars. That of a complete novice, with little to no previous experience with WHS products.
     
    The ease of installation is the first hurdle that any software product has to clear. If it doesn’t pass the installation test, it really doesn’t matter how good the product is on the operational side. While I have complete faith in Drivebender (enough that I bought it), I am taking a wait and see approach to installing it into a production machine. I need, not only be able to install it myself, but I also need to be able to explain it to others who are much less experienced than myself and I need to be able to talk them through it over the phone, or skype session.
     
    I truely appreciate Division-M for taking Jim’s comments seriously. It demonstrates a committment to their product and their customers. I see great things ahead, for this company.

    GaPony

  • Stephen

    Wow, I bought and installed Drive bender with no issue, and so far still no issues.. to me its easy to understand and I am very happy with it.  Of course I will be more happy when they fix the unknown API issue regarding making server backups.. but there is still a workaround..anyway I have had zero issues.. to me is clean..

  • Adeoghert

    Has anybody done a baremetal restore from a WHS2011 with Drivebender (or DrivePool) installed ?

  • Ben

    It should be noted that Drive Bender is also marketed under Tranquil MonStore. It has a manual. I have noticed that Division M have stated that Drive Bender is not a direct DE replacement, but that seems just be FUD. I have used Drive Bender since the , and it is not ready for GM Status. It wont be installed on my production WHS anytime soon.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Mora/1145373823 Stephen Mora

    Wow, I also bought it as it was released out of bet, as a matter of fact that what prompted me to upgrade from WHS v1 to WHS 2011.  I had an original HP MediaSmart Server – EX485  that I upgraded the CPU to a dual core.  Anyway my WHS 2011 upgrade went smooth as candy I had replaced my 4 1 TB with 3 2 TB drives and then I installed Drive Bender, it installed very easy and without a hitch.  I then created one large pool and it rocks.   I am sorry you had difficulties, I never received the errors you stated..  Anyway, I then restored all my files from backup to the new drives, which includes thousands of Music files , thousands movie files, important documents mine and other family users.. and now my screaming WHS 2011 and Drive Bender are just humming along.  I am one happy camper.. : ) 

    • Mike Pierce

       Same for me. I just bought a HP Proliant Micro Server as an upgrade from an Acer WHS 2003 and the DB experience has been a snap. I had 4 1TB drives 2 2TB drives and 1 3TB drive and had and have no issues.

  • rctaubert

    I appreciate the time and effort you put into reviewing this product.  But I have to say I do not find this review worthy of a man of your experience.
    First Issue: You say “I downloaded both Drive Bender for WHS 2011 and the Drive Bender Client.  I had no idea why I would need the Client software, but just in case I needed it, I had it.”
    Obviously you did not click the “Read More” hyperlink.  Perhaps you would have found out whether you needed it or not.
    Second Issue:As one of the methods for installing Drive Bender you stated: “I could log directly on to the server and install from Windows Explorer.  For those with a headless machine, this can be quite difficult, to put it mildly.”
    You are correct in that is “can be quite difficult” with a headless machine.  Creating a ‘Mind Meld’ with your server is virtually impossible.
    It would have been more informative to simply state that to log onto the server would require a keyboard and monitor.
    Third Issue:You stated “I originally installed the software using the original v1.2.1.0 public release.  Most of the pictures and original testing was done using this version.  With the release of the latest v1.2.1.4 version I uninstalled everything and started from a bare WHS install to give you a look at the latest release available at the time of this review.”
    The sentence “Most of the pictures and original testing was done using this version” leaves me wondering where the two different versions differ.  Do your pictures and sequence of events match v1.2.1.4 or are they a mixture.  From my personal perspective, I would only be interested in the pictures and events from the latest version.
    Fourth Issue:You stated “Getting back to the actual add-in, you may notice that there is that “green” task to perform initially: Create a drive pool.  As I had not created a pool yet, the green check mark would appear to be a bug, as green checks in the dashboard are to designate completed tasks.”
    Could it have been that the “green” check mark inicated that the pool had already been created (albeit empty) and the software was waiting on you to tell it which if any drives to add.
    Again you state “the green check mark would appear to be a bug” but by your own admission you did not do any research to find out whether this was truly a bug or that the software was anticipating your needs.  After all, why would you install the software if you were not going to create a pool.
    Admittedly, clicking on ‘Create a Drive Pool’ should have warned you that you already had a pool and ask if you wanted to delete it and create a new one.  However, if the programmer was assuming that you did indeed want a pool and did thew work for you he may not have allowed for someone clicking on ‘Create a drive pool’.  If that were the case the programmer was at fault.  But you didn’t find out.
    Fifth Issue:You state “the program makes me decide if I want to ‘Add a drive to the pool’ or ‘Convert an existing drive to a pooled drive’
    A good review would have included some sort of research on what the two different options entailed.  Instead you ignored the second option.
    Sixth Issue:You stated “I had to kill the drive add process at one point and start over again”.  Why?  What were the indications that something was wrong?
    Seventh Issue:You stated “Perhaps I need to read the help files, or go to the DB forums, or email a question to the company.”
    Yes, you most certainly should have.  Perhaps if you had you would not have encountered so many problems.  At the very least if you had contacted the company you could claim to have helped improve the product.
    As it is, your review is incomplete since you did not finish the installation.  Had you attempted to research the problems and still could not complete the installation I would agree with your assesment of the software.  But, instead I question you methods and lack of research.
    If everyone had the same problems you had I would totally blame the software, but many have it working and like it.  What did they do differently?

  • Beta guinea pig

    Jim’s account of his experience with DB is similar to mine. I urge people to be cautious should they want to implement it. At this stage, I believe it is still very buggy. If you are just an average PC user with little experience, I would wait for a more stable release or risk losing some of your data.
    The support manual needs more work, also. I tried reinstalling WHS 2011, restoring my DB pool and also ‘seemed’ to lose my shared folders. I did have duplication enabled. However, DB’s approach to file duplication is flawed IMO.

    It creates an extra folder in all your folders which may or may not contain duplicate data from another drive. This make it cumbersome when trying to rebuild your shared folders 1 by 1 if ever you have a server failure.

    For those who have had a painless experience with DB, I envy you.