NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
RAIDiator or OS6
Hello everyone! I think this is an old question, but I haven't found an exact answer. I have a ReadyNAS Pro Pioneer Edidtion (6 bays) with 4GB RAM and a RAIDiator 4.2.31. Are there any reasons to u...
RAIDiator is limited to SMB1 and TLS1.1. Both of these have been depreciated, and current work-arounds in the OS's of the devices you use to access the NAS may go away. OS6 supports SMB3 and TLS1.3. So "OS6 is newer and has updates and support" is perhaps a lot more important that you seem to think, depending on the protocols and OS's you use to access it. Since it's impossible to administer a ReadyNAS without the GUI, which relies on TLS, that may be the primary driver. You can head that possibility off by making the change when it's your choice rather than if/when suddently forced to do so. There are security holes in these protocols and other places within the outdated Linux distro that RAIDiator is based on, but a typical home user who does not intentionally expose the NAS to outside access and has reasonable virus and malware protection in place on other networked devices probably has little to fear.
Then again, that OS6 has "available support" is not the entire story, as Netgear will not provide support for a legacy NAS converted to OS6, even paid. This forum obviously does support it. So, your potential need for Netgear support can be an overwhelming part of the decision.
When you say you use it "without RAID", are all the drives independent volumes? If so, then the volume expansion capability isn't a factor. But unless your storage is only of backup data (there is another copy elsewhere) or you have secondary backup, you are putting your data at risk doing that. OS6 does give you new options.
Another big advantage of OS6 that you did not mention is that the drives from a converted Pro Pioneer could be put directly into a 6 or more bay native OS6 NAS and "just work". If your Pro dies and cannot be resurrected, there is no need to figure out how to recover the data (if you would need to based on your use) and move it to a new NAS. So, again, you make the migration at your convenience rather than when forced to do so.
I personally moved my devices to OS6 a few years ago after the initial issues like fan control were fixed. I have not regretted my decision. But, my use sounds different from yours. I pretty much store nothing on the local hard drives of my computers -- everything goes on the NAS and I have other NAS as backup. I had also already upgraded the processor on my ProBE units and the RAM on all units, so I cannot comment on how a Pro Pioneer would run with OS6 and the original processor. Upgrading to at least 2GB of RAM is a recommendation we now make for running OS6 at all.
Long story short: It's still not a slam-dunk for every case. But I believe the case for conversion is being made better the more time goes on.
Then, there is the possibility of conversion to a more generic Linux, which is a whole other discussion.
RAIDiator is limited to SMB1 and TLS1.1. Both of these have been depreciated, and current work-arounds in the OS's of the devices you use to access the NAS may go away. OS6 supports SMB3 and TLS1.3. So "OS6 is newer and has updates and support" is perhaps a lot more important that you seem to think, depending on the protocols and OS's you use to access it. Since it's impossible to administer a ReadyNAS without the GUI, which relies on TLS, that may be the primary driver. You can head that possibility off by making the change when it's your choice rather than if/when suddently forced to do so. There are security holes in these protocols and other places within the outdated Linux distro that RAIDiator is based on, but a typical home user who does not intentionally expose the NAS to outside access and has reasonable virus and malware protection in place on other networked devices probably has little to fear.
Then again, that OS6 has "available support" is not the entire story, as Netgear will not provide support for a legacy NAS converted to OS6, even paid. This forum obviously does support it. So, your potential need for Netgear support can be an overwhelming part of the decision.
When you say you use it "without RAID", are all the drives independent volumes? If so, then the volume expansion capability isn't a factor. But unless your storage is only of backup data (there is another copy elsewhere) or you have secondary backup, you are putting your data at risk doing that. OS6 does give you new options.
Another big advantage of OS6 that you did not mention is that the drives from a converted Pro Pioneer could be put directly into a 6 or more bay native OS6 NAS and "just work". If your Pro dies and cannot be resurrected, there is no need to figure out how to recover the data (if you would need to based on your use) and move it to a new NAS. So, again, you make the migration at your convenience rather than when forced to do so.
I personally moved my devices to OS6 a few years ago after the initial issues like fan control were fixed. I have not regretted my decision. But, my use sounds different from yours. I pretty much store nothing on the local hard drives of my computers -- everything goes on the NAS and I have other NAS as backup. I had also already upgraded the processor on my ProBE units and the RAM on all units, so I cannot comment on how a Pro Pioneer would run with OS6 and the original processor. Upgrading to at least 2GB of RAM is a recommendation we now make for running OS6 at all.
Long story short: It's still not a slam-dunk for every case. But I believe the case for conversion is being made better the more time goes on.
Then, there is the possibility of conversion to a more generic Linux, which is a whole other discussion.
Thanks a lot for the detailed answer. It really helps me make a choice.
I heard about an issue with fan control on OS6 and that stopped me.
Yes, there are problems with administering and accessing the NAS in Windows 7 and Windows 10. But I found a way.
As I noted, my NAS has 4GB of RAM but a stock processor (Intel Pentium Dual E2160). And I updated the BIOS to 080014 (07/26/2010) which was recommended (a few years ago) for OS6 migration.
Much more interesting is that I can use all 6 bays and drives larger than 4TB.
Also, I understand that all disks will have to be reformatted.
I want to make a choice understanding that there will be no way back (I know about existing downgrade scripts, but that is not my way - only ahead ;0)).
FWIW, I left my own Pro-6 running 4.2.31 firmware for some years. I've been using it as a backup, so lack of SMB 3 support wasn't an issue. But the volume had reached its expansion ceiling, and it began running low on space. So I converted it a couple months ago, and expanded the volume to 20 TB (enough for now). There were no issues with fan control or anything else.
The memory was upgraded years ago to 8 GB (back when I was running Crashplan on the NAS), but it is using the stock processor.
Dane2000 wrote:
And I updated the BIOS to 080014 (07/26/2010) which was recommended (a few years ago) for OS6 migration.
The BIOS update isn't needed for OS6 migration. OS-6 will run just fine on the older BIOS. However, it happens to be easier to update the BIOS with OS 4.2.x, because Netgear provides an add-on for OS 4.2. So if folks want to be on the latest BIOS, it is better to update it prior to doing the conversion.
If you are considering upgrading the processor, then you should update the BIOS. Otherwise it is purely optional.
Thanks for the additional information. Unfortunate, I can't upgrade my NAS to 8GB because there are no 4GB DDR2 modules in your stocks (max 2GB). So, I'll need to find drive to backup data.
StephenB wrote:FWIW, I left my own Pro-6 running 4.2.31 firmware for some years.
The memory was upgraded years ago to 8 GB (back when I was running Crashplan on the NAS), but it is using the stock processor.
Ahh, but if yours is a true "Pro-6" (a -200 model) not a ProBE or Pro Pioneer (-100), then it came with a significantly faster processor. IMHO, the increase from the stock Pentium Dual E5300 @ 2.60GHz of the later models to the Core2 Duo E7600 @ 3.06GHz (the fastest it can handle with stock cooling) isn't all that worth the effort unless you are trying top squeeze out a bit more power for Plex transcoding.. But upgrading the stock Pentium Dual E2160 @ 1.80GHz of the early models gives a huge speed increase for everything, at an extremely low cost today ($5 to $6 on eBay, plus heat compound and your labor). If the motherboard were capable of handling the higher FSB speed the Core2 processor can support, then it would make a bigger difference, but it's not.
Some have upgraded to a quad core, but the TDP is higher and I have not heard of anyone keeping that without something radical like cutting a hole in the side of the NAS for a bigger cooler or installing a heat pipe system.
Sandshark wrote:
Ahh, but if yours is a true "Pro-6" (a -200 model) not a ProBE or Pro Pioneer (-100), then it came with a significantly faster processor.Yes, I do have the -200 model.
Dane2000 wrote:
I can't upgrade my NAS to 8GB because there are no 4GB DDR2 modules in your stocks (max 2GB).My stocks? To be clear, neither Sandshark nor I work for Netgear.
Compatible 4 GB modules are hard to find (and expensive). I don't think it's cost-effective to go all the way to 8 GB. I had a specific reason back then (the crashplan application needed all the RAM I could give it). I would have gone with 2 GB modules if my purpose was to support an OS-6 conversion.
Dane2000 wrote:
One last thing: could you please give me links to the latest OS 6 upgrade instructions and necessary files, because most of the existing links (to files) broken (leads to nowhere).Many of them should be working, but it isn't that easy to find them. Since Netgear doesn't support the conversion, there isn't a sticky for it.
Basic instructions for the conversion itself are
- BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
- Upload PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin as an add-on using the ReadyNAS web gui, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
- Upload R4toR6_6.9.5.bin using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
- After you upload the addon+firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default.
- Go through the setup process on the converted NAS
- Update the NAS to the current OS 6 (check for updates will work).
- Restore files from the backup.
Netgear won't provide paid support on a converted NAS, so that is one consideration. There is a small risk that the process could fail, and if that were to happen it might not be possible to get the NAS running again.
NETGEAR Academy
Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!
