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NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 4 Disks Replacement
Hello, I currently have an ReadyNAS Ultra 4 with four 4TB disks in a X-RAID2 configuration. The NAS is serving primarily as a media server and for backup of some files. I want to replace two of t...
JohnnyR2D2 wrote:
So what you're saying here is that after backup everything I can still try to resync the disks although your suggestion is to destroy all the data volume not only because it will be faster but also probably it will be a more clean installation right?
It is faster because each resync requires every sector on all disks to be either read or written. It's more efficient to build the volume once.
You'd have a clean installation either way - identical RAID layers, etc.
JohnnyR2D2 wrote:
So what I'm going to install first isn't an actual firmware correct? it's a kind of upgrade from 4.2 to OS 6 meaning that after all the above I will have to install the new firmware which if I'm not mistaken is the ReadyNASOS-6.4.2-x86_64.img (got if from NTGR support download site).
Actually the module I linked will install 6.5 beta directly, so you won't need the .img that you downloaded. That makes the overall process simpler.
JohnnyR2D2 wrote:
Last but not least...just in case I run into problems which I hope I'm not which ReadyNas new model you recommend for me to buy and use with four 8TB disks remembering that I use only for media share and backup some stuff in there. I need to USB minimum.
The RN314 is the closest model to what you have now. It includes a 5 year hardware warranty and free lifetime chat software support.
The RN214 is worth considering if you are interested in streaming. It uses a quadcore arm processor, which is capable of real-time 1080 transcoding with the plex streaming app. That is particularly useful if you are streaming over the internet. However, warranty is only 3 years, and free software support is limited to 90 days.
The RN204 gives good filesharing performance, but can't do real-time transcoding. The warranty and software support is the same as the RN214.
With 4.2.x firmware there are two expansion limits, and it is possible you will hit one of them.
(a) the system will not expand a volume if the new target size would be greater than 16 TiB.
(b) In addition, each volume can only expand 8 TiB over its lifetime (starting from the size when it was initially created).
Both of these limits are related to volume size, not the raw disk capacity.
If you do hit these, then your best option is to switch from 4.2.x firmware to OS 6 firmware. That is not supported by Netgear, but many have done it - and OS6 doesn't have those limitations. Making the switch will require you do to a factory reset, so you will need to have all the data on the NAS backed up.
The new configuration will have two 4TB disks plus the new two 8TB disks meaning that the total will be 24TB. What you're saying is that I will not be able to do this upgrade with the current firmware which is indeed the 4.2 and I will need to upgrade it to the OS 6. Can you provide me a direct link to dowload the OS 6 firmware pls?
Tks
Also are you 100% sure about the 4.2 limit? Isn't worth to try at least? And if I try and doesn't work can I put the replaced drive back into the NAS?
JohnnyR2D2 wrote:
The new configuration will have two 4TB disks plus the new two 8TB disks meaning that the total will be 24TB.
No, your new total would be 16 TB. Again, these thresholds are against the volume size, not the raw disk capacity. The volume size formula for xraid single redundancy is sum the drives and subtract the largest.
So if it succeeds, you'll be at the upper limit.
JohnnyR2D2 wrote:
Also are you 100% sure about the 4.2 limit? Isn't worth to try at least? And if I try and doesn't work can I put the replaced drive back into the NAS?
Yes I am sure about these limits. Whether you can go back or not depends on where it fails.
Do you recall what your starting disk configuration was?
Also, it is a good idea to have a backup before you replace disks.
Thanks Stephen
My starting configuration was four 2TB disks which I replaced by the current four 4TB disks. Based on what you said I'm on the limit already with four 4TB disks that gives a total of 16TB right?
I was just reading about the the 6.1 here https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/OS6-now-works-on-x86-Legacy-WARNING-NO-NTGR-SUPPORT/td-p/897021 and I get it that this procedure will void my warranty which I think it's expired already anyways. I didn't understand this thou: "Optional (do before step 2 below): R4toR6_Prep_Addon.bin (26 KB) (upload before modified IMG, don't reboot, avoids the need for manual factory default in between)"
Regardless I've just downloaded the ReadyNAS OS Version 6.4.2 from NTGR but my system isn't listed there. Below are the ones listed and mine is the RNDU4000.
arm (RN102 / RN104 / RN202 / RN204 / RN212 / RN214 / RN2120)
x86 (RN312 / RN314 / RN316 / RN516 / RN716x / RN3130 / RN3138 / RN3220 / RN4220)After backup, install the new OS and everything is this new OS able to use X-RAID2 as well?
Tks,
Johnny
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