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Forum Discussion
Buxton
Oct 10, 2016Apprentice
Moving from RN204 to RN214
Hi all, This may be a dumb question but i'm curious anyhow. I have the opportunity to change my pretty much new RN204 for a RN214 and not lose much money, i'd use the same drives, same XRAID set...
- Oct 10, 2016
Hello Buxton,
Both are OS6 so disks used on an OS6 unit is expected to work on another OS6. However, it is a best practice to back up the data. Also, there are times that if the 2 NAS units do not have the same firmware versions, problem occurs when accessing the volume that is why I also suggest to make sure the firmware version of the 2 units are the same.
Firmware is installed to the disks and flash memory of the chassis, so if you move the disks that have the latest firmware version to a chassis that has older firmware version, chances are you will get trouble. So, the best way is verify the firmware version of the RN204 first, then grab a scratch disk and install it to the RN214, install and update its firmware to the same version of what you have on the RN204. Once done, remove the scratch disk. Power off the RN204, remove the disks, insert them all at the same time to the powered off RN214, make sure to follow the same order, do not swap the disk positions, then power it on.
Regards,
JennC
Oct 10, 2016NETGEAR Employee Retired
Hello Buxton,
Both of the ReadyNAS models you mentioned are OS6 and ARM-based units so I guess yes to answer your question, make sure both have the same firmware version and disks should be inserted to the same exact bays.
However, like what we always strongly recommend, please always have full backup of the files. It is not a good idea storing important files to just one device.
Welcome to the community!
Regards,
- BuxtonOct 10, 2016Apprentice
Hi, Thanks for the quick reply!
Is it something which is good to do as far as Netgear are concerned or something which hasn't really been tested extensively so therefore its kind of my own risk kinda deal?
- JennCOct 10, 2016NETGEAR Employee Retired
Hello Buxton,
Both are OS6 so disks used on an OS6 unit is expected to work on another OS6. However, it is a best practice to back up the data. Also, there are times that if the 2 NAS units do not have the same firmware versions, problem occurs when accessing the volume that is why I also suggest to make sure the firmware version of the 2 units are the same.
Firmware is installed to the disks and flash memory of the chassis, so if you move the disks that have the latest firmware version to a chassis that has older firmware version, chances are you will get trouble. So, the best way is verify the firmware version of the RN204 first, then grab a scratch disk and install it to the RN214, install and update its firmware to the same version of what you have on the RN204. Once done, remove the scratch disk. Power off the RN204, remove the disks, insert them all at the same time to the powered off RN214, make sure to follow the same order, do not swap the disk positions, then power it on.
Regards,
- StephenBOct 10, 2016Guru - Experienced User
Buxton wrote:
so therefore its kind of my own risk kinda deal?
It's low risk, esp. if you follow JennC's advice
There is a performance uplift, but its not that noticeable (unless you need the plex transcoding).
If the RN214 is used, you will lose warranty and the possibility of paid netgear support.
- BuxtonOct 18, 2016Apprentice
Hi all,
Thanks for the reply I did get a new RN214 which I now have but I think as soon as I popped my drives in it tried going from 6.3.5 FW (as stated on the sticker on the back) all the way to 6.6.0 which isn't recommended. As a result its stuck on the booting screen and I assume i'll have to use the USB recovery tool?
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