I’d like to understand what the flashing blue light during nightly maintenance really indicates. As a test, I recently suspended my Tablo’s internet connection from 2-4AM. I KNOW that in my case the light starts flashing at 3:11 AM and lasts for 2 minutes plus or minus a few seconds EVERY night. I was surprised to find that the light still went through its flashing routine even though there was no internet connection. Because of that, I suspect the flashing light is part of the programming in the Tablo itself but does anyone know for sure what it indicates and what is actually happening when it is flashing?
Normally, my guide is updated at or around 3:18 AM (the time since last update is shown to the minute on the Firestick app) and on the day I blocked internet access, it updated at 4:00 AM when the internet came back up.
I’m wondering if the Tablo itself sets a flag at or around 3:11 AM and updates itself then or if it fails at that time, (like for no internet) if it updates when the internet comes back. Clearly the guide update happens whenever the internet comes back but I’m wondering about the nightly maintenance update in particular.
I know you can prevent the nightly update if the Tablo is electrically shut down but I don’t know what happens if there is no Internet access.
Thanks for the reply. I have read the articles you referenced. What I’d like to know is what exactly it is doing during that time. I would have thought the flashing light was indicative of some process happening as part of the download from or update to the servers. Apparently that’s not the case since there was no internet available and it still went through that routine. I’d really like to know if the internet is not available during the expected time, does it do the maintenance when the Internet connection is restored or is it skipped for that night and then happens the next night. I know that downloading the guide alone does NOT cause the blue light to blink.
Maybe I’m just dense but I wouldn’t agree it has been asked and answered. I fail to see how it would divulge trade secrets to tell me if the nightly maintenance process involves the internet other than downloading guide data. It’s just puzzling to me that the blue light flashes even when there is no internet. Is it a trade secret to know if it completes the maintenance after the internet comes back up or waits until the next scheduled time?
I’m not making it up - someone ask - they answered, at least that’s the answer along with the “examples” in the KB article.
Sorry for the sarcasm - it’s not for you to decide.
When asked what was included with firmware upgrade, responded with " be gibberish to most people without an advanced understanding of HLS streaming or Linux" - that’s subjective… but concluded it’s “trade secrets”. It’s likely an experienced developer with a background in all the opensource software running their tablo already knows the intricate details.
It’s been posted a couple of times where Nuvyyo does collect user data, which I presume would require some internet usage, does not specify if it’s part of “maintenance mode”.
Speculation: guide data collection is part of it’s maintenance. You’ve noted the flashing light without internet, and noted the guide update time once internet was connected. So, it’s likely it does what it can offline… then what’s left if/when it gets online.
At the risk of belaboring this point, I fail to see where it has been answered if the internet is not available, is the nightly maintenance completed or does it complete when the Internet comes back or is it delayed until the next scheduled time? I am NOT asking about firmware (or software) updates. I’m asking about nightly maintenance. I understand your speculation but I would like to know if anyone knows for sure.
Some of the nightly maintenance tasks can be completed without internet (like database maintenance). Others like downloading guide data require internet access.
Thank you very much for the cogent response. The reason for the question is that I’m chasing an ongoing issue and trying to determine the cause. To that end, can you tell me if I were to shut down internet access to my Tablo from 2-4AM and update the guide manually, would the Tablo be just as happy as if the nightly maintenance happened automatically?
Further to @TabloTV’s point - this should be okay for the short term, but we would not recommend this for long term, optimal performance. There are a few other operations that happen as part of the Tablo’s overnight maintenance. Ideally, the Tablo shouldn’t be habitually losing its internet connection, especially during a maintenance period. This could end up causing some of the issues you’re experiencing.
As noted in the first post “Clearly the guide update happens whenever the internet comes back”, I’ve seen it and others have noted - The guide will be updated when the internet becomes available?
Your comment suggest it’s possible to “disable automatic guide update” so it will only be updated manually? Which is isn’t really an option.
(kind of just clarification in case some day some reads this and thinks they need to manually update guide data daily if internet is taken down)
