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Forum Discussion
Is there any way to set up a software RAID..? Please help.
Hi, I think I may be asking the impossible but I wanted to double check before I try swapping my hardware etc as I've spent a lot of wasted time messing about trying to set it all up. Is there a wa...
Short Version: Technically, it probably can be done but no it will not be easy and definitely will be far from "point and click".
If you don't like the mess with the guts of things, than you can just re-organize your file structure so that you can fit roughly half in each folder and run a separate backup script for each drive. You could also pay the extra money and get a model that has built-in hardware RAID.
Long Version:
It is very likely that your device would become *unsupported* as a result of this process. Unless you are a linux veteran I wouldn't risk it IMHO or at least be willing to risk screwing things up and loosing your data (but hey, it's a great learning opportunity ^_^ )
If you still want to do it, here is a few hints to get you started
First - You have to enable root and SSH access in order to be able to dig into the command line
http://www.readynas.com/?p=4203
Then you want to follow the software RAID howto and format partitions on the USB.
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html
The readers digest of the process on a normal linux computer
1) Partition each drive to the software RAID format (one big partition is fine)
2)edit /etc/raidtab and put them into a raid that you are looking for (in this case, RAID0)
Looks like you will need to find an example online and copy it as it appears to be empty on my model.
3)run raidstart and cross your fingers
**Warnings**
-RAID0 has *zero* redundancy and if either drive in the pair dies for any reason than your screwed and loose the data. You can do the other types of RAID as well, the guide explains everything you need to know. If this is only a backup of the existing data on the NAS than it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
-ReadyNas has their own proprietary software when it comes to the raid so this /shouldn't/ mess things up as this is running independently but I don't know where they hook into the system so it might not work or even screw stuff up. (Lawyer mode) - Don't blame me if you end up bricking it. You are doing this at your own risk,etc,etc.
-According to the logs, RAID auto-detection is disabled in the kernel at startup. So you will probably have to login and tell it to start the raid each time it boots unless you are willing to mess with the boot-loader to change the kernel arguments.
-It will run like crap and there is no way around it.
On a SPARC based unit it would be excruciatingly painful due to various USB IO limitations. It might run a bit better on a x86 based unit, but it will still be very slow compared to the built-in drives because of the tremendous USB overhead. Still, if this is only for backup than speed might not be a priority for you and as long as it is automated you don't have to worry about it.
As you can see, I've seriously thought about doing what you are doing what you are trying to do. However, I decided against it because it's very risky, requires a large amount of work and will perform very poorly, all of which essentially defeats the whole point of getting a readynas in the first place.
If you don't like the mess with the guts of things, than you can just re-organize your file structure so that you can fit roughly half in each folder and run a separate backup script for each drive. You could also pay the extra money and get a model that has built-in hardware RAID.
Long Version:
It is very likely that your device would become *unsupported* as a result of this process. Unless you are a linux veteran I wouldn't risk it IMHO or at least be willing to risk screwing things up and loosing your data (but hey, it's a great learning opportunity ^_^ )
If you still want to do it, here is a few hints to get you started
First - You have to enable root and SSH access in order to be able to dig into the command line
http://www.readynas.com/?p=4203
Then you want to follow the software RAID howto and format partitions on the USB.
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html
The readers digest of the process on a normal linux computer
1) Partition each drive to the software RAID format (one big partition is fine)
2)edit /etc/raidtab and put them into a raid that you are looking for (in this case, RAID0)
Looks like you will need to find an example online and copy it as it appears to be empty on my model.
3)run raidstart and cross your fingers
**Warnings**
-RAID0 has *zero* redundancy and if either drive in the pair dies for any reason than your screwed and loose the data. You can do the other types of RAID as well, the guide explains everything you need to know. If this is only a backup of the existing data on the NAS than it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
-ReadyNas has their own proprietary software when it comes to the raid so this /shouldn't/ mess things up as this is running independently but I don't know where they hook into the system so it might not work or even screw stuff up. (Lawyer mode) - Don't blame me if you end up bricking it. You are doing this at your own risk,etc,etc.
-According to the logs, RAID auto-detection is disabled in the kernel at startup. So you will probably have to login and tell it to start the raid each time it boots unless you are willing to mess with the boot-loader to change the kernel arguments.
-It will run like crap and there is no way around it.
On a SPARC based unit it would be excruciatingly painful due to various USB IO limitations. It might run a bit better on a x86 based unit, but it will still be very slow compared to the built-in drives because of the tremendous USB overhead. Still, if this is only for backup than speed might not be a priority for you and as long as it is automated you don't have to worry about it.
As you can see, I've seriously thought about doing what you are doing what you are trying to do. However, I decided against it because it's very risky, requires a large amount of work and will perform very poorly, all of which essentially defeats the whole point of getting a readynas in the first place.
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