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Forum Discussion
Migration of RN426 from X-RAID RAID 5 to FLEX-RAID RAID 6
I have an existing RN426 (called ‘Primary’) populated with 6 x 2TB WD Red EFAX disks, formatted as X-RAID, RAID 5. This device has all my data files in 8 shares, in 1 volume ‘data’. Total data is abo...
WarrenT wrote:
I believe the mechanism to change from X-RAID to FLEX-RAID is in theory simple
Yes, you just click on the XRAID control on the volume tab. The green stripe disappears, and you are in FlexRAID.
But that doesn't change the RAID configuration of the data volume. You have to use ssh for that. Sandshark posted how to remove a drive from the RAID volume here: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS-in-Business/Reducing-RAID-size-removing-drives-WITHOUT-DATA-LOSS-is-possible/m-p/1736125
Once you've done reduced the array to 5x2TB, you can format the drive from the volume page and add it back for redundancy. (You could also add it back using ssh if you want).
Alternatively, just destroy the data volume, create a new one as RAID-6, and restore the data from your backup. Uninstall your apps first (and reinstall them when done).
I have now read the following notes on the forum. These make me reconsider my desire to move to FLEX-RAID. It seems that for a single volume 'data', I can have RAID 6 under X-RAID. If so, would be great and I will stay with X-RAID.
Here is what I have read in the forum about X-RAID and FLEX-RAID.
"Is Flex-raid a proprietary Netgear tech? In case of an enclosure failure, I want to make sure I can plug one of the hard drives into a Linux box to be able to read items. Is Flex-raid just another way of saying "RAID?" RAIDX; Flex-RAID; RAID Are these three different things?
Neither is actually Netgear proprietary. "Flex-RAID" is what Negear calls what everyone else calls "RAID", just to differentiate it from XRAID. XRAID (at least in the current OS) is really just standard RAID but with a layer on top that makes expansion decisions for you instead of requiring you to know enough to execute them yourself.
XRAID volumes can still be standard RAID1, RAID5, or RAID6, depending on the number of drives. One limitation is that XRAID is limited to one volume per chassis.
X-RAID is an auto-expandable RAID technology that is available only on ReadyNAS systems. This is usually used by first time NAS users or users without extensive knowledge on RAID system.
X-RAID allows you to add storage space without reformatting your drives or moving your data to another location. Because the expansion happens online, you can continue to use your ReadyNAS system while the volume capacity increases. As @Sandshark said, one limitation of X-RAID is that it's a one volume architecture and all disks that you will plan to add will be added to that volume and also there are advantages to that such as easy management and the auto expansion feature.
On the other hand
Flex-RAID/RAID allows you to have multiple volume setup on your system and choose what RAID leve you will be using. However, with Flex-RAID formatting, if you want to add disks to expand your storage capacity, you must back up the data to another system, add a disk, reformat the RAID volume, and restore the data to the new RAID volume. With X-RAID, none of those administrative tasks are required. Instead, with X-RAID, your volume automatically expands to accommodate additional disks or larger-capacity disks.
Also, both Flex-RAID and X-RAID volumes can be mounted in a standard linux box.
So you might reconsider your reasons to avoid X-RAID.
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