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Forum Discussion
RN214, query on a 2nd vertical expansion
Hello Forum Simply query, just checking. Can I carry out a “vertical expansion” more than once? I have a RN214 ( 6.10.3, X-RAID) which already went from 4x 4TB to 4x8TB, and I am just about t...
What do you mean by "green"??? You apparently did not choose XRAID when you created the volume.
The volume appears to be syncing - it will stay degraded until that process finishes.
Sandshark said“ It doesn't "go green", it starts green
Well….. NOW you tell me? Lol… Never mind… but now I know. So OBVIOUSLY I never was on X-RAID, even though it said so.
Anyway. Backed up the data which still was on the 12TB on the PC (on 2 of the 8TB from the old array ), and backing up the data which is on the NAS in the DEGRADED array on the other 2 8TB disks. I took off the FAILED disk, put it on the PC (see CrystalDisk Info below), updated and opened SeaTools, it PASSED the Quick test, currently running (70% done) the”Long Self Test” . Which other test I should run? SeaTools (5.1.249) has three Extended tests (Long Self, Long Generic and 2 Minute Generic) and a “Fix All” menu ( Short and Long) which I presume could exclude Bad Blocks.
I tested all the four 12TB with Victoria 5.37. The disk which failed (Serial xxxxD8L4) showed a very strange Read - Write graph with a Read SPIKE of 2694MB/s. I re-tested the drive on a shorter LBA, 217e7 to 221e7 and again had two spikes (5031MB/s !!!), I repeated it, no spikes, tried slighlty different intervals 215e7 to 220e7 and 220e6 to 225e7 , which again showed no spikes, and concluded that the spikes were aberration caused by something else ( the PC was also Recording and Saving streams using VLC, maybe that cause an I/O delay somewhere which was seen by Victoria as a spike – which is weird anyway, a conventional HDD CANNOT read a block at 2000MBs or 5000MB/s.
I am mentioning this “odd” behaviour, because the disk in Slot1 ALSO showed a spike during testing……
Disk currently on NAS, Slot 1
I never was on X-RAID, even though it said so.
None of your screenshots said you were on X-RAID.
The X-RAID button on the right of the volume page is a control - it always says X-RAID. If you are already using X-RAID it is marked with the green stripe (even if the volume is degraded). If you are using FlexRAID, then it has no green stripe. Pressing the control gives you the option to switch from X-RAID to FlexRAID (or vice versa, though the system won't always let you switch from FlexRAID to X-RAID).
The system defaults as X-RAID when you do a factory install or factory default - so you must have manually set the system to FlexRAID by clicking on that control after you set the system up.
Hi Stephen B. Yes, NOW I know that. As I said, the FIRST time, I changed from X-Raid to Flexi-Raid. The SECOND time, it came up by default as X-Raid, and I assumed that, since it says X-Raid, it was on X-Raid. Which it wasn't because it seems that now it ALWAYS says X-RAID, whether it is X-RAID, or it is Flex-RAID. Anyway, this a moot point, now I know that X-RAID will ONLY mean X-RAID if it is GREEN, otherwise it will not. So, next time I will DESTROY the volume, I should pull the X-RAID button, SELECT X-RAID EXPLICITALLY, the control should turn GREEN and be X-RAID (and not Flex-RAID), the volume being on RAID-1 if on two disks. Incidentally, if the backup of the data on NAS completes without issues (it will take some time) I may be able to create the volume and start the RAID directly with three disks.
And SeaTools too FAILED the disk, like the NAS. You haven't commented on the "Spike" shown on the Victoria graphs..... nor adviced on WHICH test it would be advisable to run on the other disk still on the NAS (Long Generic Test or Long Self test)? The Seagate Tutorial is based on an old version and therefore useless. The Google AI quotes "In Seagate SeaTools 5.1.249, the Long Generic Test and Long Drive Self Test are both comprehensive tests, but they differ in their approach. The Long Generic Test performs read and write tests across all sectors of the drive, while the Long Drive Self Test focuses on a more thorough examination of the drive's internal components and limited testing of media blocks. Fix All attempts to remap bad sectors, effectively attempting to repair them." That I suseful and it means that I really should carry out BOTH long tests, which may be what StephenB meant when he said "Personally I run the extended read test, followed by a full (single-pass) write test on each disk before I put it into my NAS" (was that done uing Seatools? - I am using Seatools simply because I am testing a Seagate drive). Incidentally, Seatools does not say WHAT the fault was . There is a "Result" box which says "Long Self Test Failed, 2025-Jul-08 12:51:25" (test started on 2025-Jul-07 22:29:08)
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