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Replacing hdd in rn104
Hi I currently have the rn104 nas device and currently only have one 2tb hdd installed and 3 empty slots. I want to replace my my 2tb hdd with a 4tb hdd will this be just a simple hot swap plug ...
Maximus360 wrote:
So am i right in saying that both methods suggested will destroy all data on the disk and once the 4TB disk is installed i will have to physically copy the data back across, i.e. my movies etc.
The first method does not destroy the information on the 2 TB disk. That won't happen until you reformat it on your new system. As I tried to say earlier, that gives you a fallback if something goes wrong. For instance if your independent backup has failed, you could power down the system, reinstall the 2 TB drive by itself, and then power up again. Your original system is back on line, and you can make another backup.
The second method does destroy the data in step (d) - "Destroy the volume".
Maximus360 wrote:
in step (h) you say restore the data from backup. Does this mean copy it across from another disk?
In both methods I assumed that you would be restoring the data from another drive - either USB or over the network. You can revise Brian's procedure to allow you to copy the data from the existing 2 TB volume.
(a) switch to flexraid (if you haven't already)
(b) hot-insert the 4 TB drive (leaving the 2 TB drive in place)
(c) create a new volume on the 4 TB drive with a new name
(d) create new shares on the 4 TB volume (with temporary names)
(e) create and run backup jobs to migrate the data from each share on the 2 TB volume to the corresponding share on the 4 TB volume.
(f) uninstall all apps
(g) destroy the 2 TB volume
(h) remove the 2 TB drive.
(i) rename the shares on the 4 TB drive to match the original share name.
(j) reinstall apps
Maximus360 wrote:
Looking at the stages below it looks to me Brians option would be longer,
Just counting the number of steps might be misleading. The breakdown is a bit arbitrary, and some of the steps are faster than others.
If you want a clean slate, then the factory reset method is what you should use. If you want (or need) to transfer data directly from the 2 TB volume to the new disk, then Brian's alternative is what you should use.
Hi Brian
Thank you for your input, i think i understand!
So if i put my new 4TB disk in slot 2 this will sync because of RAID?
When i remove my 2TB disk from slot 1 can i then put my 4TB disk from slot 2 into slot 1?
I do have the XRAID toggle on so that should be fine.
What i am concerned about is with XRAID when you add a second disk this second disk acts as backup not storage, so does this mean once the 4TB is installed i cannot add files to that disk? Hope that makes sense how i understand XRAID works is if you have a 4 bay system you will have 3 slots for storage and 1 slot for backup?
Regards,
Mark
Maximus360 wrote:
What i am concerned about is with XRAID when you add a second disk this second disk acts as backup not storage, so does this mean once the 4TB is installed i cannot add files to that disk?
That won't be a problem. The second disk is not a backup it is a mirror - holding everything the first disk has.
However, the volume will be degraded RAID-1 when you remove the 2 TB drive, and I don't think it will expand to 4 TB when the 2 TB drive is removed. So I suggest doing a factory reset instead of using Brian's procedure.
Alternatively get two 4 TB drives - then hot-install one drive in slot 2, wait for sync, and then hot-swap the disk in slot 1.
Maximus360 wrote:
how i understand XRAID works is if you have a 4 bay system you will have 3 slots for storage and 1 slot for backup?
No, it doesn't actually work that way. With 3 or more disks, the volume is spread across all of them, and the redundancy is also. So there isn't 1 slot reserved for redundancy.
Also, redundancy is not backup, and it is important that you do maintain a backup on a different device.
Maximus360 wrote:
When i remove my 2TB disk from slot 1 can i then put my 4TB disk from slot 2 into slot 1?
It should be ok to shuffle the disks into any slot order, but there is no need to do that. Generally I think its best not to move them around if you don't need to.
OK thanks for your help.
In terms of HDD - should i be concerned about RPM when purchasing my drive. I use my NAS for storing and streaming my media files, i.e HD Movies.
Maximus360 wrote:
In terms of HDD - should i be concerned about RPM when purchasing my drive. I use my NAS for storing and streaming my media files, i.e HD Movies.
Any drive is fast enough for streaming (full BluRay only takes about 6-7 megabytes per second).
So you don't need to worry about RPM. I use WD "Red" drives, and have no trouble streaming. The performance is quite good, and the drives run quite cool. The seagate equivalent is their VN drives.
Hi Stephen
Thanks for your help in terms of adding my new 4TB disk. I am going to go with your option of factory reset and start again. Everything on my 2tb disk is backed up anyway.
So do you think you can give me the steps of what I need to do. Example, should I remove the 2tb disk then factory reset or should I factory reset with disk in?
Or do I remove 2tb disk add the 4tb then factory reset?
Is a hard factory reset recommended or is it the same doing it online via the Web portal.
Sorry for all the questions just want to do this right first time round :)
Thanks in advance
Mark
Hi Maximus360,
It will save more time if you will just destroy your existing NAS volume (saved on your 2TB disk) then add the new 4TB HDD. Once added, it will give the option to select your new drive and create a new volume. Factory reset procedure would no longer be needed.
Kind regards,
BrianL
NETGEAR Community Team- Hi Brian I am concerned that i have two moderators saying different things - this does not help me and does not give me much confidence. Brian you are saying to DESTROY the volume, this also concerns me as i only have one disk in my system which is set as JBOD, you cannot DESTROY a volume when only one disk is in use. Look forward to your response. Mark
Maximus360 wrote:
Thanks for your help in terms of adding my new 4TB disk. I am going to go with your option of factory reset and start again. Everything on my 2tb disk is backed up anyway.
Should I remove the 2tb disk then factory reset or should I factory reset with disk in?
Or do I remove 2tb disk add the 4tb then factory reset?
Is a hard factory reset recommended or is it the same doing it online via the Web portal.
Brian you are saying to DESTROY the volume, this also concerns me as i only have one disk in my system which is set as JBOD, you cannot DESTROY a volume when only one disk is in use. Look forward to your response.
There is more than one way to do this.
The full reset method is this:
(a) save the NAS configuration (settings->configuration backup).
(b) power down the NAS, remove the 2 TB drive and insert the (blank) 4 TB drive.
(c) power up the NAS. It will do a factory install (it has to, since the disk is blank).
(d) do the minimal setup (you restore the full configuration later)
(e) reinstall any apps
(f) restore the configuration file (after the apps are reinstalled!)
(g) restore the data.
Brian is suggesting this:
(a) switch to flexraid (if you haven't already)
(b) save the config backup (of the shares and perhaps miscellaneous settings)
(c) hot-insert the 4 TB drive (leaving the 2 TB drive in place)
(d) destroy the first volume
(e) create a new volume on the 4 TB drive with the same name
(f) remove the 2 TB drive.
(g) restore the config backup to recreate the shares
(h) restore the data from backup.
Both will work. The full reset will take a little longer, but since you preserve the original 2 TB volume you have a fallback if something goes wrong.
FWIW, you can destroy the data volume (and create a new one) even if you only have one disk in use. The operating system is in its own partition, which is not destroyed.
Hi Guys
Thank you for your help on this - i just want it to go right first time as i know these things can be time consuming if it goes wrong.
Stephen i still think i want to go with the factory reset. Just so your aware the 2TB disk currently in slot one i want to format that anyway and use for something else in my PC.
So am i right in saying that both methods suggested will destroy all data on the disk and once the 4TB disk is installed i will have to physically copy the data back across, i.e. my movies etc.
Looking at the stages below it looks to me Brians option would be longer, in step (h) you say restore the data from backup. Does this mean copy it across from another disk?
Again i apologies for all the questions :(
Thanks, Mark
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