Ready to switch from Sick help/convince me!

nzber · July 12, 2014, 5:10pm

Sorry guys, I’m a bit of a windbag!

I’ve been using sickbeard for years and after testing drone out a few months ago I gave up! Call me timid, call me set in my ways… Either way I just didn’t “get it”, and saw the workflow within drone to be a little cumbersome compared to sickbeard.

After on going issues with sickbeard in regards to failures/passwords/etc, I decided to push forward with drone and see if I can get it to work with the way I prefer things to work. I think I’ve gotten the jist of things, but I wanted to drop a note here to confirm things. I’ll quickly describe my setup and process, as it’s not 100% automated, nor would I like it to be.

All my media is stored on an UnRAID server. I have 2 main shares exported on it \unraid\TV and \unraid\Movies.

On my main workstation (Win7) I have two mapped drives T: and M: for the two unraid shares.

SAB is installed on my main workstation and currently operates with sickbeard using the blackhole (watched) folder method.

The way things happen now is sickbeard will fetch the nzb file and toss it in the watched folder. SAB picks up this file and downloads and renames it to a local staging folder on my main workstation (call it c:\finished\TV).

Every few days or weeks (as I’m lazy/forgetful) I’ll manually go through the finished downloads folder and verify everything was downloaded and renamed properly then manually move the files to my server and trigger a Plex update. I do it this way ONLY because I cannot trust SAB to always properly rename the downloads properly, the occasional passworded/malware download, and SAB doesn’t always delete all the extra files that come with the downloads.

You see, I’m fairly picky when it comes to what gets put on my storage server. It MUST be named properly and sorted properly and there cannot be any extra crap! It just bugs me to no end… Call it ocd, call it being persnickity, but that’s ME!

From what I can see in order for me to get the most out of drone, I’ll need to have it use the SAB API to manage the downloads/completed handling. Which would entail allowing drone to manage moving things to my storage server.

My biggest issue with this is, what happens if it cannot properly rename things, or fails to notice a malware/passworded download? I monitor 70+ shows for myself and family, so if a badly named file makes it to my server and doesn’t get properly index by Plex I may not know about it for weeks or months (if ever). There’s also the issue with “PROPER”'s since I only manually move things every few days, I get the chance to take care of propers (delete the original). How does drone handle propers?

I’m also a bit confused with backlog searching. A lot of times I will add an older show to be downloaded, from what I’ve read drone will never initiate a backlog scan automatically. I would first add the show and allow its meta data to be fully updated, then go to the show page and manually trigger a search for each season one by one. Am I correct in this (slightly educated) assumption?

Lastly and somewhat most important are some errors I’ve been getting, any ideas what they mean and how to fix them?

Message
Couldn't add report to download queue. <<RELEASE TITLE>>: Error response received from SABnzbd: <<THIS IS BLANK>>

Exception
NzbDrone.Core.Download.Clients.DownloadClientException: Error response received from SABnzbd: 
at NzbDrone.Core.Download.Clients.Sabnzbd.SabnzbdProxy.CheckForError(IRestResponse response) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Download\Clients\Sabnzbd\SabnzbdProxy.cs:line 173
at NzbDrone.Core.Download.Clients.Sabnzbd.SabnzbdProxy.ProcessRequest(IRestRequest restRequest, String action, SabnzbdSettings settings) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Download\Clients\Sabnzbd\SabnzbdProxy.cs:line 68
at NzbDrone.Core.Download.Clients.Sabnzbd.SabnzbdProxy.DownloadNzb(Stream nzb, String title, String category, Int32 priority, SabnzbdSettings settings) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Download\Clients\Sabnzbd\SabnzbdProxy.cs:line 41
at NzbDrone.Core.Download.Clients.Sabnzbd.Sabnzbd.Download(RemoteEpisode remoteEpisode) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Download\Clients\Sabnzbd\Sabnzbd.cs:line 51
at NzbDrone.Core.Download.DownloadService.DownloadReport(RemoteEpisode remoteEpisode) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Download\DownloadService.cs:line 44
at NzbDrone.Core.Download.DownloadApprovedReports.DownloadApproved(List`1 decisions) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Download\DownloadApprovedReports.cs:line 46

Message
MissingModule failed while processing [EpisodeDownloadedEvent]: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Exception
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at NzbDrone.Api.NzbDroneRestModuleWithSignalR`2.BroadcastResourceChange(ModelAction action, Int32 id) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Api\NzbDroneRestModuleWithSignalR.cs:line 50
at NzbDrone.Api.Episodes.EpisodeModuleWithSignalR.Handle(EpisodeDownloadedEvent message) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Api\Episodes\EpisodeModuleWithSignalR.cs:line 49
at NzbDrone.Core.Messaging.Events.EventAggregator.PublishEvent[TEvent](TEvent event) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Messaging\Events\EventAggregator.cs:line 56

Message
CutoffModule failed while processing [EpisodeDownloadedEvent]: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Exception
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at NzbDrone.Api.NzbDroneRestModuleWithSignalR`2.BroadcastResourceChange(ModelAction action, Int32 id) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Api\NzbDroneRestModuleWithSignalR.cs:line 50
at NzbDrone.Api.Episodes.EpisodeModuleWithSignalR.Handle(EpisodeDownloadedEvent message) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Api\Episodes\EpisodeModuleWithSignalR.cs:line 49
at NzbDrone.Core.Messaging.Events.EventAggregator.PublishEvent[TEvent](TEvent event) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Messaging\Events\EventAggregator.cs:line 56

Message
CalendarModule failed while processing [EpisodeDownloadedEvent]: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.

Exception
System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
at NzbDrone.Api.NzbDroneRestModuleWithSignalR`2.BroadcastResourceChange(ModelAction action, Int32 id) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Api\NzbDroneRestModuleWithSignalR.cs:line 50
at NzbDrone.Api.Episodes.EpisodeModuleWithSignalR.Handle(EpisodeDownloadedEvent message) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Api\Episodes\EpisodeModuleWithSignalR.cs:line 49
at NzbDrone.Core.Messaging.Events.EventAggregator.PublishEvent[TEvent](TEvent event) in m:\BuildAgent2\work\328d72309b633a8\src\NzbDrone.Core\Messaging\Events\EventAggregator.cs:line 56

If you made it this far, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I REALLY want to make the switch, but I just want to make sure I fully grasp every aspect of the workflow, especially if I have to give up a bit of the control I’m used to with my current method.

protocol77 · July 12, 2014, 5:51pm

Wow and i thought I carried on with my posts your gonna give me run for my money i can tell already

Ok i will try my best to answer some of your questions as far as the error issues you have posted they might require @markus101 to view or one of the other more knowledgable people on these forums

(1) - Ok first of all it is always best and recommended that both NzbDrone and Sabnzbd are on the same machine this is to avoid issues of them trying to communicate with each other over the network and also it is best if they are on the same machine as your root folders (the folders where your shows are) this avoids file path issues when trying to import existing shows into NzbDrone.

(2) - You can set naming formats in NzbDrone to your liking so if you like stuff named a certain way you can customize this so anything that NzbDrone processes gets named in that format.

(3) - Yes it is best to let NzbDrone handle the moving and sort of the episodes this is one of it’s greatest functions it will save you time and effort in manually moving and renaming each episode.

(4) - There are things in place for NzbDrone and Sabnzbd to handle things like passworded or incomplete downloads these are not foolproof but are getting better and better as things progress NzbDrone handles PROPERS/REPACKS much better than Sickbeard whereas Sickbeard would only check once per day and the stupid and inconvenient time of 1AM NzbDrone is constantly monitoring for such things so for example you have an episode that is downloaded then 20mins later a Repack or Proper is released on the Next RSS Sync it will detect a newer release and then download that one and replace the nuked release with the PROPER/REPACK and do this automatically.

(5) - NzbDrone does have backlogging capability but only if you indexer supports it. how it works is next to each episode and each season there is things called flags those are the little black… well flag shaped things next to each one when this is showing as black that means NzbDrone is set to watch this episode which means if you have your cutoffs set and it has not met them with this particular episode/season/etc… it will upon detection of a higher quality file within the parameters of your cutoff download that and in the same process as PROPERS/REPACKS replace the previous file with the newer and better file.

(6) - Regarding performing backlog search yes you can do what you say and manually click each season invidiually (The little Magnifying glass) or if you want the entire series (all seasons) then there is another Magnifying glass on the black banner where the show title is displayed

(7) It is recommended to let the Completed Download Handling function work if using Sabnzbd it works well and is easy to configure simply turn it on in NzbDrone you will however have to create a separate folder than the one being used for the Drone Factory for the downloads to temporarily sit in before being processed you will also need to set a category in Sabnzbd to point to this folder

If i have left anything out let me know also you might be interested in a guide i created it is a work in progress but i tried to simplify things for beginners laying out the main functions and how to configure both Sabnzbd and NzbDrone to work

as far as convincing goes it is simple Just look at the quality of the software and check out these forums and see the community support there if that doesn’t help to convice you i am not sure what will best of luck and welcome

here is a link.

Taloth · July 12, 2014, 10:05pm

I like to add a bit to @protocol77 awesome responses.

Your current setup, Nzbdrone & sabnzbd on the Win7, with the file storage on the separate unraid is okay. Having drone & sab on the same machine, and having the temporary folders on that same machine is preferred, but you already have that so ‘1-0’ for you. *Drone might not be very happy i the connection gets broken with the series storage (unraid), but we have a feature in planning to detect that scenario and deal with it more gracefully. But afaik, it’s the same deal as with sickbeard. *
protocol is entirely correct about the naming configuration, however I believe you meant to point out misnamed releases that might be hard to rename properly. Drone uses several rules to parse the filename and directory name of a downloaded items.
Drone is actually extremely strict when it comes to series titles, even if the index says "this is episode 1 of series “A Big Risk”, drone will still parse the filename and verify, if the filename contains the title “A Bigger Risk”, drone will refuse to import that file, and will keep the item unprocessed in the queue, allowing the user to dive in and deal with it. (That ‘dive in’ part doesn’t have a UI atm, so involves looking in log files to see why drone rejected it, but at least it waits)
It’s actually an interesting idea to keep all available imports in the queue and demand a users approval to complete the import, for users with your eye for detail. But I don’t see such a feature implemented anytime soon.
As mentioned earlier, drone is already fairly strict in what it accepts.
If it’s passworded sabnzb will report it as such and drone Failed Download Handling will kick in (if enabled) which will nuke the download and automatically try another release. Same with incomplete downloads. If there is a scenario that isn’t handled, let us know.
Drone only processes video files, so if some other junk makes it through it’s ignored. Of course, if someone posts a full sized mkv with the proper name, drone won’t be able to verify if it’s the correct content.

I love you.

If you want full control there are a couple of hack-configurations I can think of that will cause drone to refuse importing anything while still using Completed/Failed Download Handling to grab and download stuff. But honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it.
I suggest you start using drone on the ‘reliable’ shows fully automated, try it out and see how it works for you. Then check if the actual videos that end up on the storage server to see if they meet your specifications. Then, only if you’re satisfied, scale up to more and more shows.
It’s not a one or the other, you can use sickbeard & drone in parallel as long as they both have different categories and don’t monitor the same shows.

For the errors, we always want to know the version of drone and os (which obviously is win7 in your case).
But here are some hints:

a) Sabnzbd refused to add the nzb drone just submitted, I suggest you check the sabnzbd log file, it probably has better details.

b, c, d) Makes me think you have an older version of drone.

nzber · July 12, 2014, 10:25pm

Thanks so much for your very very detailed replies, I’ll read them over a couple times to be sure I understand everything. Regarding the version, as far as I can tell I’m using the latest version: 2.0.0.1632 is what the system info page is telling me.

You’re right on the first error, the nzb file was incomplete and was logged in sab, I’ll be sure to check there in the future.

I’ll move a few of my regular and reliable series over to drone and let it do its thing, I really want to make this work!

Thanks again guys, I really appreciate it!

Taloth · July 12, 2014, 10:58pm

There is already a fix for the b,c,d exceptions on our develop branch, it will get into master (the one you are using) eventually, but can’t give an eta.
The issue is about a bug that prevents the API module from notifying the UI of new downloads, meaning the UI doesn’t update automatically in that scenario. It doesn’t affect the ‘business’ logic, so it’s pretty safe to ignore atm until you get the new version.

If you have more questions, please let us know.

protocol77 · July 13, 2014, 3:10am

Like @Taloth said if you need any more help don’t hesitate to ask, our goal on these forums is to be mindful of new users and to help them enjoy and reap the benefits of this software as much as we do so there is a lot of people here like myself that are trying to make sure the forums are focused on actual help not ego boosting like some other forums there are no stupid questions trust me i have tried Everyone has to start somewhere.

Also thanks to @Taloth for the corrections I always welcome them as the most important thing is to make sure new users get the correct information no room for ego over actual help here

However… In my defence it was 3:30am when i typed that so was a little drowsy LOL so might have missed a few things.

Thanks mate for clearing them up for me

@nzber yes that seems correct version of NzbDrone as you would be on the Master Branch or stable whereas us veteran users are running the Develop or Beta Branch so we can help @markus101 Bug test for the rest of the users such as yourself until you get more of a foothold into how everything works I think it would best if you stick with the version you have it is easy to switch so when your ready just let someone know or check the forums on how to switch

markus101 · July 13, 2014, 3:18am

Develop has been very stable, save for one bug I pushed with the updater (which has since been fixed). If you want to switch and clear up those errors its very simple: https://github.com/NzbDrone/NzbDrone/wiki/Release-Branches

We’d have already pushed the fix to master, but anime is currently being tested in develop and we don’t want to push it up pre-maturely, especially since drone is so set and forget, it may be days or weeks before you notice its down.

As has already been said, just let us know if you need anything from us.

protocol77 · July 13, 2014, 3:33am

I agree Develop has been stable i have had no issues i was just mentioning staying with Master because of the lesser chance of issues popping up but like you say if moving to Develop clears up issues a user is having then of course switch

NMe · July 13, 2014, 11:12am

Drone is one of the very few pieces of software for which I have chosen to run it on the develop branch. It is stable enough to run “production” on, even though sometimes small things work in a way I didn’t expect. When I post about them here it usually gets fixed within a couple of days if it was a bug or I get told a better way of doing things by the devs.

I switched from Sickbeard about a month ago. Installed Drone, turned Sickbeard off, never even looked back. Drone runs circles around it it both speed and features.