Hello dear ReadyNAS users,I have a question I could not find the answer to here in the forums or the documentation.Can I add a second disk to a ReadyNAS Duo as an ACTUAL second disk? As far as I understand, there are currently two options when using two disks in the ReadyNAS Duo. Either using the default setup, having the second disk act as a mirror of the first one, making the system "redundant" in case of hardware failure on one of the drives but giving only the storage capacity of one disk -or- combining the two disks in a RAID system, giving a "virtual" disk of the space combined (assuming the drives are the same), for example having 2TB disk space when there actually are 2 1TB drives in the system.What I would like, is to have the currently installed 1TB drive remaining as being drive /C/, like it is now, and add the second drive as a separate 1TB drive, lets say /D/.Can this be done, and if yes, how do I add the second drive without it being either mirrored automatically?

viewtopic.php?f=65&t=55076 Check mdgm's post shortly after yours.

Thanks for the reply, but I think that's not exactly what I am trying to do.I would like to add a second disk to a single disk ReadyNAS, leaving the original disk (/C/) totally untouched and have the second disk act as a new/separate disk by itself, probably /D/. I think the topic you mean will set up the second disc as a mirror of the first one (RAID 1) or merge the two together (RAID 0) destroying all the data that is already on the first disc.The topic you pointed me to has another question from me, which is regarding my own new NAS and the wish to upgrade it with two 2 TB disks. The question I put in here is about someone elses NAS (that I take care of) that already has a lot a data on it.But reading through the topics anyhow, I am starting to think it is not possible to have two totally independent disks in the ReadyNAS Duo and that my only option is to backup the entire (one disk) NAS and do a factory reset with the second disk added and set it up using Flex-RAID.Thanks for the reply anyhow.

Are you running X-Raid or Flex-Raid on the single disk in your Duo?Which version is your OS?

Hi,I want to do the same thing as Ruben.ccMy set-up is this:ReadyNas Duo [X-RAID] with RAIDiator 4.1.7.One 2TB disk in slot1.And I want to add a 1TB disk in slot2. However, that 2nd disk was previously used as an external disk on a macbook and has files on it (which I backed-up already).I would like my final set-up to be like Ruben.cc mentioned; "I would like to add a second disk to a single disk ReadyNAS, leaving the original disk (/C/) totally untouched and have the second disk act as a new/separate disk by itself, probably /D/"

X-RAID only allows for a single volume. Adding a second disk will add redundancy.You will need to backup your data, do a factory reset (wipes all data, settings, everything) and switch to Flex-RAID.Flex-RAID allows you to use standard RAID levels e.g. RAID-0 (no redundancy), RAID-1 (two disks, with single disk redundancy). You can choose to use this following the guide here: Configuring Your ReadyNAS for Flex-RAIDYou can delete the volume automatically created and create two new RAID-0 volumes (one at a time). Once the first volume has been created you can then create another.

ReadyNAS Duo, Adding 2nd disk as ACTUAL 2nd disk?

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soltarian
Aspirant
Aug 23, 2011
Hey Ruben,

My NAS is connected to my wireless router (by ethernet cable) and my mac is connected by wireless. I transfered across the network since my external hdd (connected to my mac) was not recognized when I plugged it in the usb ports of the NAS ..... That's why it took me aaaaaages to transfer everything across!!

But maybe if one of you guys know a way to fix this; i could plug my external hdd into the NAS (usb) and do backup back and forth (is that even possible?)...

Cheers

mdgm-ntgr

NETGEAR Employee Retired

Aug 23, 2011

Ruben.cc wrote:
I have an additional question to this. Not sure if I should start a new thread, but lets try it in here first...

If I setup a disk in this Flex-RAID mode, can the ReadyNAS read this disk when it's connected to one of the USB ports? Or only when fixed internally?

I'm asking this for any "future plans". Let's say I have a NAS with two independent disks of 1TB and I decide to replace one of the disks with a larger drive, say 2TB. Would I need to copy all the data from the old 1TB drive somewhere else first, upgrade the drive and then copy everything back? Or can I just take out the "old" 1TB drive, insert a new 2TB drive and then connect the old drive to USB and copy everything over just once?

Ruben.cc wrote:
I have an additional question to this. Not sure if I should start a new thread, but lets try it in here first... If I setup a disk in this Flex-RAID mode, can the ReadyNAS read this disk when it's connected to one of the USB ports? Or only when fixed internally? I'm asking this for any "future plans". Let's say I have a NAS with two independent disks of 1TB and I decide to replace one of the disks with a larger drive, say 2TB. Would I need to copy all the data from the old 1TB drive somewhere else first, upgrade the drive and then copy everything back? Or can I just take out the "old" 1TB drive, insert a new 2TB drive and then connect the old drive to USB and copy everything over just once?

You would backup to somewhere else first, replace the drive, then restore from backup. You should backup your important data regularly anyway so this shouldn't be a big issue. X-RAID is recommended as provided things go fine (you don't encounter multiple disk failures or some other mishap) you can replace a dead/low capacity disk without having to restore from backup.

soltarian wrote:

My NAS is connected to my wireless router (by ethernet cable) and my mac is connected by wireless. I transfered across the network since my external hdd (connected to my mac) was not recognized when I plugged it in the usb ports of the NAS ..... That's why it took me aaaaaages to transfer everything across!!

But maybe if one of you guys know a way to fix this; i could plug my external hdd into the NAS (usb) and do backup back and forth (is that even possible?)...

soltarian wrote:
My NAS is connected to my wireless router (by ethernet cable) and my mac is connected by wireless. I transfered across the network since my external hdd (connected to my mac) was not recognized when I plugged it in the usb ports of the NAS ..... That's why it took me aaaaaages to transfer everything across!! But maybe if one of you guys know a way to fix this; i could plug my external hdd into the NAS (usb) and do backup back and forth (is that even possible?)...

Is your router gigabit? Transferring over gigabit ethernet the whole way would be a fast way to do backups.

As for backing up to a USB disk connected to the ReadyNAS, most disks will work well if formatted to use EXT3 (you can do this under Volumes > USB Storage in Frontview). You'll also want to enable fast USB writes (under System > Performance in Frontview). It's also best if the USB disk has it's own power supply. If not, you could try connecting via a USB hub that has it's own power supply.

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ReadyNAS Duo, Adding 2nd disk as ACTUAL 2nd disk?

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