Moving disks from Readynas Ultra 2 to RN314

No, you cannot simply transfer the drives. The RN314 uses a different filesystem which is incompatible with the one used by the Ultra 2, so you'll have to copy the data from the Ultra 2 to the RN314. The best way would be to backup the data somewhere else so you can put all four drives into the RN314 and create a new 2x2TB + 2x4TB array (it will have a usable capacity of 8TB, not 6TB), then copy the data from the backup to the RN314.

If you don't already have enough backup storage to hold the contents of the Ultra 2's array, you could put one of your new 4TB drives in a USB enclosure and backup the Ultra 2 array to it, then create a new array in the RN314 with the two 2TB drives plus the remaining 4TB drive (for a usable capacity of 4TB). Copy the data from the 4TB USB drive to the RN314, then pull the 4TB drive out of its USB enclosure and add it to the RN314's array. You'll end up with the same 8TB usable capacity.

Hi,

That's great! thanks for the advice.

Do I need to format any of the drives or set-up partitions before I move them into the new RN314.

I was planning on using the x-raid set-up for all the drives.

My plan was as follows:-

1) back-up data to spare 4tb drive.
2) Move the two 2tb drives into the new RN314.
3) set-up the drives in the RN314 with x-raid
4) Add additional 4tb drive set to x-raid
5) copy data over from external 4tb HDD
6) put additional 4tb drive into RN314 (Should I format it first ?).

Cheers

Dan

Don't format, just delete the partitions off the disk. The NAS will detect an unformatted disk and partition it and format it.

You can combine steps 2-4 if you like (installing all three drives in the RN314, and then power it up).

Cool.

One more quick question.

If I put an external HDD (the 4tb one) into an external enclosure and connect it to the ReadyNas Ultra 2 via the USB will I need to format the HDD first and put a partion on it or will the ReadyNas Ultra do that ?

Cheers

Dan

Personally I'd format it as ntfs.

If you have a gigabit network, you could copy the data over the network instead of using the USB port on the ultra. That is generally faster.

BingDanT wrote:
If I put an external HDD (the 4tb one) into an external enclosure and connect it to the ReadyNas Ultra 2 via the USB will I need to format the HDD first and put a partion on it or will the ReadyNas Ultra do that ?

I assume that StephenB recommends manual formatting with NTFS so that the drive can be directly accessed by Windows in case you have problems and need to read it from your PC. That's not bad advice, but you can also have the NAS format the drives automatically (although not with NTFS):

Run Frontview and click on Volumes:USB Storage. You'll see the USB drive along with a drop-down list of options, including "Format FAT32", "Format EXT3", and "Format EXT4". Personally, I'd choose EXT4, as FAT32 has numerous compatibility issues and is therefore generally unsuitable for a backup drive; if your PC can't read EXT4 directly, there are utilities ("Linux Reader" is one that's often recommended here) that will allow it to read from the drive if that becomes necessary.

EDIT: I just read this post: https://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=75861. It indicates that OS6 devices (like your RN314) running old firmware might not be able to run backup jobs properly on EXT-formatted drives. I don't have an OS6 box to test it on, so I can't confirm that, but if it's true and your RN314 has old firmware, it's possible that EXT4 wouldn't be a great idea.

fastfwd wrote:
...I assume that StephenB recommends manual formatting with NTFS so that the drive can be directly accessed by Windows in case you have problems and need to read it from your PC...

Yes.

Hi Guys,

I know its been awhile but I just wanted to say your advice worked like a dream !!

I backed up all the data to one of the 4tb drives I bought using an external HDD enclosure.

Here are the steps I followed:-

1) back-up data to spare 4tb drive.
2) Move the two 2tb drives into the new RN314.
3) Move the spare 4TB drive into the new RN314
3) set-up the drives in the RN314 with x-raid (Factory Reset)
5) copy data over from external 4tb HDD
6) put additional 4tb drive into RN314.

Worked great.

However I appear to have a new issue I didn't see coming with the RN314 (Not sure whether to post this here or start a new thread)

But it appears the RN314 will not allow users to update the Plex server that comes pre-installed.

Does anyone here know the reason why ?

Cheers

D.

I have a similar situation as BingDanT. Currently have single 2 TB running on my Ultra6 with all my data. Backed it up using RSYNC pull to new RN516, also with 2TB disk which was initialized in that machine and used to upgrade it to latest firmware. So now all my data is on the new machine with the latest software and firmware, with a backup in the old radiator format running on the older Ultra6.

The ultra6 needs to go back to Netgear now, since the 516 was sent to me as a replacement

I also just bought 2x new 4TB disks, and now want to expand the volume in the new machine by adding both disks. Once I have the new raid for the 3 disks in the RN516 stabilized (2tb with all data format and firmware updated + 2x 4tb unformatted), I want to remove the original 2tb disk with my original data from the Ultra6, put it in a external disk enclosure, then format it for NTFS or EXT4 using the new NAS516 and just keep it as an external USB backup. Does this sound OK? I think I need to do these steps:

1. Turn off 516 gently
2. Add both new unformatted 4TB disks
(or leave machine on, add 1st 4tb, stabilize, then add 2nd 4tb disk?)
3. Let system re-raid disks automatically upon turn on with new 3 disk setup, hopefully preserving data on exisiting 2TB disk and writing across all 3 for a single raid volume
4. Verify data is secured on new machine in xraid format
5. Remove old 2tb disk from Ultra6, place in external enclosure, connect to USB on RN516, format using NTFS or EXT4 via 516, keep as external backup
6. backup data from 516 using RSYNC via USB from that machine
7. Return ultra6

I appreciate everyone's help and suggestions!

Rob