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increasing disk capacity greater than 16tb in os6 - pro 4 or pro 6? which would be the better option
System OS6
Firmware 6.6.1-T230
Type X-Raid / Raid 5
hi. we have a pro 4 running os6 with 4 x 8tb in xraid2. p4 is almost at capacity so we’ve been considering an upgrade to an empty pro 6 that we own. our storage needs are predicted to be considerably less than the rate of tb that we’ve previously required, and that something like 4 x 12tb or 4 x 16tb, would comfortably meet our future needs. a straight swap appears to be the simple answer, but the only reason why we’ve held off from moving from p4 to p6, is that we prefer the p4's form factor along with its quietness in operation. as such we are left considering two possible upgrade scenarios and we would be very grateful for any input as to how best to proceed.
scenarios:
sc1 (p4) – swap out 2 x 8tb disks in the p4 with either 2 x 12tb, 14tb or 16tb (one by one) to increase its capacity
sc2 (p6) - backup data, factory reset the p6 with 4 x 8tb & 2 x 12tb disks. copy back data
from the little reading we’ve done, specs seem to suggest that the p6 is superior to the p4, and although cosmetics go some way to influencing our decision, a better machine with a larger capacity and one that might be viewed as slightly more future-friendly (from a legacy perspective at least), will always win out in the end.
based upon some info we found ("No x86 system can expand past 16TB. Systems already above 16TB may not expand further. If you are hitting a limit, you have the option of factory resetting the NAS to achieve full capacity if disk capacity is over 16TB" - https://kb.netgear.com/7010/ReadyNAS-Volume-Expansion), would that mean;
q1 (sc1): if we did opt for sc1, we’d have to back up p4 first, factory reset with 2 x 8tb + 2 x 12tb, 14tb or 16tb, and then, copy all the data back to it?
q2 (sc2): if we populated this with 4 x 8tb & 2 x 12tb disks, we’d have to do it with a backup and factory reset first? also, would the expansion limit mentioned above prevent us (should the need arise) from adding another higher capacity disk to the p6 in the future?
and finally,
q3 (sc2): obviously, doing a backup first would be the safest thing to do, but if we were prepared to skip this step, are the disks of the p4 interchangeable with the p6 – i.e. could we simply take out all four disks from the p4 and slot them straight into the p6, let it sync and then, add two more blank disks (one by one) to p6 to increase capacity once the sync (assuming they are interchangeable) is complete?
thank you. any tips would be greatly appreciated.
wjajjh5 wrote:
some info we found ("No x86 system can expand past 16TB. Systems already above 16TB may not expand further.
This iwas true for systems running 4.2.x firmware. It does not apply to OS-6 systems (including Pro ReadyNAS that are now running OS-6).
wjajjh5 wrote:
Firmware 6.6.1-T230Beta firmware from 2017????
You should upgrade to 6.10.9
Also, if you are still running the stock 1 GB ram in the NAS you should upgrade to 2-4 GB. This is inexpensive and easy to do.
wjajjh5 wrote:
scenarios:
sc1 (p4) – swap out 2 x 8tb disks in the p4 with either 2 x 12tb, 14tb or 16tb (one by one) to increase its capacity
sc2 (p6) - backup data, factory reset the p6 with 4 x 8tb & 2 x 12tb disks. copy back data
sc3 (p6) You can just move the P4 disks to the P6.
If the P6 is still running OS 4.2.x, then convert it to OS-6 first. You can use a temporary disk for this.
When that is finished, then power down both NAS, and move the operational disks to the P6 and power up.
After that, you can hot-insert the two 12 TB drives (one at at time). The volume will expand from 24 TB (~21.9 TiB) to 36 TB (~32.75 TiB)
wjajjh5 wrote:
q1 (sc1): if we did opt for sc1, we’d have to back up p4 first, factory reset with 2 x 8tb + 2 x 12tb, 14tb or 16tb, and then, copy all the data back to it?
There is no need to do a factory reset. Though making a backup is recommended before expansion (or otherwise manipulating disks).
All you need to do is hot swap one of the disks (Pro 4 running), and wait for the web ui to tell you the sync is complete.
Then hot-swap the second disk, and the volume will expand after the initial sync.
wjajjh5 wrote:
q2 (sc2): if we populated this with 4 x 8tb & 2 x 12tb disks, we’d have to do it with a backup and factory reset first? also, would the expansion limit mentioned above prevent us (should the need arise) from adding another higher capacity disk to the p6 in the future?
Of course the P6 would need to be converted to OS-6 if that has not yet been done.
As I mentioned, there is no known expansion limit. My own Pro 6 is running 3x8TB+3x3TB at the moment, so has a 25 TB (~22.4 TiB) volume size. The 3 TB disks are pretty old, as they fail I'll likely replace them with 8 TB models.
wjajjh5 wrote:
q3 (sc2): obviously, doing a backup first would be the safest thing to do, but if we were prepared to skip this step, are the disks of the p4 interchangeable with the p6 – i.e. could we simply take out all four disks from the p4 and slot them straight into the p6, let it sync and then, add two more blank disks (one by one) to p6 to increase capacity once the sync (assuming they are interchangeable) is complete?
I covered this above. If the Pro 6 is already running OS-6 the disks can be migrated.
But I still do recommend a backup. Something can easily go wrong (including dropping a disk, or simply not seating into the slot all the way).
14 Replies
wjajjh5 wrote:
some info we found ("No x86 system can expand past 16TB. Systems already above 16TB may not expand further.
This iwas true for systems running 4.2.x firmware. It does not apply to OS-6 systems (including Pro ReadyNAS that are now running OS-6).
wjajjh5 wrote:
Firmware 6.6.1-T230Beta firmware from 2017????
You should upgrade to 6.10.9
Also, if you are still running the stock 1 GB ram in the NAS you should upgrade to 2-4 GB. This is inexpensive and easy to do.
wjajjh5 wrote:
scenarios:
sc1 (p4) – swap out 2 x 8tb disks in the p4 with either 2 x 12tb, 14tb or 16tb (one by one) to increase its capacity
sc2 (p6) - backup data, factory reset the p6 with 4 x 8tb & 2 x 12tb disks. copy back data
sc3 (p6) You can just move the P4 disks to the P6.
If the P6 is still running OS 4.2.x, then convert it to OS-6 first. You can use a temporary disk for this.
When that is finished, then power down both NAS, and move the operational disks to the P6 and power up.
After that, you can hot-insert the two 12 TB drives (one at at time). The volume will expand from 24 TB (~21.9 TiB) to 36 TB (~32.75 TiB)
wjajjh5 wrote:
q1 (sc1): if we did opt for sc1, we’d have to back up p4 first, factory reset with 2 x 8tb + 2 x 12tb, 14tb or 16tb, and then, copy all the data back to it?
There is no need to do a factory reset. Though making a backup is recommended before expansion (or otherwise manipulating disks).
All you need to do is hot swap one of the disks (Pro 4 running), and wait for the web ui to tell you the sync is complete.
Then hot-swap the second disk, and the volume will expand after the initial sync.
wjajjh5 wrote:
q2 (sc2): if we populated this with 4 x 8tb & 2 x 12tb disks, we’d have to do it with a backup and factory reset first? also, would the expansion limit mentioned above prevent us (should the need arise) from adding another higher capacity disk to the p6 in the future?
Of course the P6 would need to be converted to OS-6 if that has not yet been done.
As I mentioned, there is no known expansion limit. My own Pro 6 is running 3x8TB+3x3TB at the moment, so has a 25 TB (~22.4 TiB) volume size. The 3 TB disks are pretty old, as they fail I'll likely replace them with 8 TB models.
wjajjh5 wrote:
q3 (sc2): obviously, doing a backup first would be the safest thing to do, but if we were prepared to skip this step, are the disks of the p4 interchangeable with the p6 – i.e. could we simply take out all four disks from the p4 and slot them straight into the p6, let it sync and then, add two more blank disks (one by one) to p6 to increase capacity once the sync (assuming they are interchangeable) is complete?
I covered this above. If the Pro 6 is already running OS-6 the disks can be migrated.
But I still do recommend a backup. Something can easily go wrong (including dropping a disk, or simply not seating into the slot all the way).
thank you very much for the information stephen . from memory, the last resync we did when upgrading disks on the p4 took a few days, so to know which paths to avoid is an enormous help. greatly appreciated.
p6 is already running os6 so great that this could (potentially) be as simple as a straight swap. p4 has the extra ram but not on the p6, so thank you for the reminder.
now that the process path is established, we're left wondering which model (p6 or p4) would be better for our use case? during a discussion last week, somebody referenced an analogy with amplifiers where for maximum efficiency and a cleaner output signal, the general recommendation is to use higher powered amps to run speakers with a lower wattage rating. noise and footprint aside, could this be applicable here? a few extra specs taken from the logs of the p6 you can find below.
one last hypothetical question. if we were to choose the p6, had the ram upgraded, added two extra disks making six in total and then, say two years from now, the p6 died irreparably (hardware not the disks), would we be able to salvage any of the data by moving four of the p6 disks back into the p4 for retrieval?
p6
CPU0: Intel Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E5300 @ 2.60GHz (fam: 06, model: 17, stepping: 0a)
board_rev: 0001
system_rev: 0003
BIOS 07/26/2010FLAME6-MBV2.0
bios_date 07/26/2010
The overall performance should be similar - both are capable of saturating gigabit ethernet for larger file transfers.
More bays definitely gives you more flexibility, and often more cost-effective expansion as storage needs grow. So that would tilt in favor of the Pro-6.
Not sure how much power consumption matters to you, but also am not sure how much difference there would be for the same disks. Sandshark might have an opinion here.
I do have a Pro-6 in service myself (I use it as a backup NAS), and so far I have had no hardware issues with it. But the Pro4 and the Pro6 are both old platforms - Netgear stopped manufacturing/selling them in 2013. So one huge factor here is how long they will last.
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