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Forum Discussion
Cannot update ReadyNAS firmware
Hello and thanks for looking... I have a ReadyNAS Duo V2 running RAIDiator 4.1.16 with 2 x Seagate 2Tb drives, the latter I intend to replace with 2 x Hitachi HUA72303ALA640 3Tb drives (which I u...
BadBassPlayer wrote:
The label underneath says it's a ReadyNAS Duo RND2120 v2.
Does that mean it's not?
Well, it does mean that the labeling is misleading. What you have is hardware version 2 of a ReadyNAS Duo v1. A Duo v2 runs 5.3.x firmware, not 4.1.x.
Over time, Netgear needs to make small production changes to the hardware. Generally they do that by adding "v2", "v3", etc to the product label. It's still the same product, it just uses slightly different parts - perhaps a different (but equivalent) fan, etc.
But then when Netgear needed to replace the Duo and NV+ in 2011, they (rather foolishly) decided to use "Duo v2" and "NV+ v2" as the product names - ignoring the fact that there were already older products out there with "v2" (and even v3) on the full product label. There's been a lot of confusion ever since.
Stephen, thank you for explaining this.
Not for the first time do I find myself disappointed by a Netgear decision.
I shall now embark on a search for a v2 or better.
Can you suggest how I can be certain of identifying a real v2 as opposed to a not real v2?
Thanks in anticipation,
Peter
BadBassPlayer wrote:
I shall now embark on a search for a v2 or better. Can you suggest how I can be certain of identifying a real v2 as opposed to a not real v2?
The v2 is also end-of-life. The NAS model that you should be looking for is an RN212. That runs ReadyNAS OS 6 firmware, and like the duo v2 uses an ARM processor. The processor is quite a bit faster, and the RN212 has more memory - so it is a higher performing product than either duo.
You might also consider the 4-bay model (RN214). It does cost more, but it would give you two empty slots for expansion later on.
There is an RN100 line which appears to be being phased out - I'd pass on that one. It has mucn less RAM than other OS 6 models (only 512 MB), and that does seem to be creating issues for people as OS 6 firmware matures.
You might find an RN202 or RN204 out there. The RN21x models have a quadcore ARM processor, the RN20x models were dual core. There's not much difference in file sharing performance, but the RN21x does have an edge if you use Plex (it supports some real-time transcoding).
If you go upscale in the product line, I suggest skipping the RN31x and move directly to the brand-new RN42x, RN52x, RN62x models. The RN31x is quite reliable, but it is a 4-year platform. Of course if you are buying used the situation is different - there will be a lot more RN31x out there.
BTW, if you are purchasing used, note that the hardware warranty isn't transferrable, and Netgear won't support second-hand ReadyNAS (even if you are willing to pay). You can get the data recovery service, but not the more general support.
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