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Question on X-RAID2 RAID6
I'm the proud owner of the RN-428 with now current non beta firmware, When I set the device up a few weeks ago I only had a hodgepodge of 2TB, 5TB, and 6TB disks.
I went and purchased another 6 8TB WD externals and shucked them. So far I have added in a total of two disks. I saw when I added the last disk it started another sync process again on the disks after it turned healthy, so I assume it also shows syncing while it is in fact online growing.
My question is, is it possible to go ahead and add (Replace another 2TB) disk in while it's growing, or should I wait until the second "sync" process is complete (currently showing 16-21 hours). I already have 8TB or so data on the volume.
You can safely add another drive (to an empty slot) during a re-sync. Replacing one that's a part of an active array is asking for trouble, even with RAID6. Either way, it's not going to decrease the required re-sync time unless you will simply not be available to add the next drive when the time comes. The OS will sync one drive, and then the next.
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It would be best if you let the disks resync first before adding another.
https://kb.netgear.com/21415/How-do-I-expand-an-existing-X-RAID-volume-with-larger-disks
HTH
Regards
Marc_V wrote:
It would be best if you let the disks resync first before adding another.
Absolutely. While RAID-6 can tolerate 2 failed disks, it's best not to deliberately remove two. If a third disk were to fail during the resync you'd lose everything. Also if you hot-swap two, then the resync process will slow down - it won't go faster. The system will only resync one drive at a time, and it will be working harder because it needs to recover the data from the second disk you removed in order to rebuild the parity blocks on the first one.
If your goal is to speed up the process overall, then the way to do that is to back up your current files, and do a factory reset with all the new disks in place. Then reset the RAID to RAID-6, reconfigure the NAS, and restore the data from backup. The data will be unavailable until you restore it, but the overall process will take much less time.
I'll just wait for it to complete. I was hoping I could replace another 2TB disk now that the array is healthy, I think its just growing, its just confusing because the web ui just says resyncing, with no mention at all of expanding. I'm only talking about one disk, I'd never pull 2, it's just asking for trouble. I'm used to RAID, but I've never used X-RAID so it's all foreign right now.
I have noticed I'm up about 3TB from last night to 20TB now, with 4 more disks to go I should have it done by mid September :)
I have another backup for most of the data, but I'd rather not blow it away, It would take similar times just to reload the data, even with my bond.
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