NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
sylvainp
Nov 25, 2019Aspirant
ReadyNas Pro business Edition - How to install SSD and use Tier
Hi all, I have a ReadyNas Pro Business Edition (6 bays) I upgrade the CPU and RAM. At the moment I use the NAS as a Core for Roon and I would like to use a SSD for tier to store all the Roon Metadata.
The HDD holder only have the holes for 3.5 HDD but the HDD tray holder has alot of big holes for ventilation.
Anyone have install a SDD on these HDD tray holder, and how ?
At the moment I use X-RAID and I only use 2 x 3TB (WD RED) but planned to buy 2 more soon (black friday sales). To activate SSD Tier I need to disable X-RAID.
What would be the best way to make SSD tier. Starting all over or just add SSD and deactivate X-RAID ?
If I use the Flex-Raid with Tier SSD can I expand the volume of the 2 x 3TB later or it's a 1 shot thing ?
For SSD tiering can we just use 1 SSD or it's better to use 2 ?
Thank you
Sandshark wrote:
While that is plenty fast enough to keep up with sustained transfer from hard drives, it's not going to push an SSD to it's max speed. About half for most, in fact. So, before you invest in this plan, you need to assess how much speed you will actually gain.
I agree.
SSDs don't have any seek time, so if you have a lot of files than either an SSD array or ReadyTier should significantly improve folder browsing.
Large file transfers are already limited by the gigabit ethernet speed (which is lower than SATA 2), so you won't see any improvement with them.
5 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- StephenBGuru - Experienced User
sylvainp wrote:
The HDD holder only have the holes for 3.5 HDD but the HDD tray holder has alot of big holes for ventilation.
Anyone have install a SDD on these HDD tray holder, and how ?
I haven't, but I did take a look at possible inserts a while ago. Most are designed to handle 2 SSDs in an single 3.5" bay - which I don't think would line up the SATA connectors properly. Perhaps someone else here has a suggestion.
sylvainp wrote:
What would be the best way to make SSD tier. Starting all over or just add SSD and deactivate X-RAID ?
Switching the FlexRAID is the most direct way to do it. You'd do that before you added the SSD.
sylvainp wrote:
For SSD tiering can we just use 1 SSD or it's better to use 2 ?
Two. It's not a cache, so if the SSD(s) fail you will lose the volume. Perhaps also consider replacing one SSD about half-way through it's lifetime, so you don't hit the wear-level thresholds on both at the same time.
sylvainp wrote:
What would be the best way to make SSD tier. Starting all over or just add SSD and deactivate X-RAID ?
If I use the Flex-Raid with Tier SSD can I expand the volume of the 2 x 3TB later or it's a 1 shot thing ?
You can still expand the mechanical disk array both horizontally and vertically with flexraid.
FWIW, you always need a backup plan in place to keep your data safe - but I think that is even more important when you use these more sophisticated RAID modes in the NAS.
- sylvainpAspirant
Thank you for the explanation. I will have to find a way to attach the SSD in the HDD drive cage first.
As for backup I have a external 8TB USB drive which I make a backup of all my share folders once in a while with the ReadyNAS backup features which is a bit slow but it's working.
- SandsharkSensei - Experienced User
You're going to need somethng that's specifically designed for servers. the problem is, most of them only have side-mount holes and the legacy NAS caddies only have bottom holes. Neither Dell nor Supermicro ones will work. There are a couple varieties of HP adapters that look like they will, but they tend to be expensive. I just took a quick look at eBay with a search of "server 3.2 to 2.5" and "HP 3.5 to 2.5" there are some for sale at a reasonable price that should work.
Related Content
NETGEAR Academy

Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!