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ReadyNAS RN104 Slow
My ReadyNAS RN104 was recently at under 5% capacity, before I purchased another disk. However, since installing that new disk, the NAS is running very slowly, specifically with transfer speeds. This latest disk is the 4th 3TB HDD added to the NAS, and all bays are now used.
Capacity is no longer a problem, as the NAS has 35% space free. It is running firmware 6.10.1.
The following log message was displayed during the time it was running at under 5% capacity:
"Volume: Less than 5% of volume data's capacity is free. data's performance is degraded and you risk running out of usable space. To improve performance and stability, you must add capacity or make free space."
When the new disk was installed, I got the following log message:
"Volume: Resyncing started for Volume data."
I've read that resyncing data needs to be done when space is very low, which has obviously been done automatically.
I'm wondering though if I need to run some Volume Maintenace, as that has never been done. My question is, should I scrub, defrag and/or balance the NAS? And it is safe to do so? Although I realise that a NAS is used as a backup device, I don't really have anywhere to make a backup of the entire NAS elsewhere, so the safety and integrity of the data is very important.
Any guidance would be much appreciated, thanks.
Yes, you should do volume maintenance and you can actually set a schedule for it to run automatically. You may check the different maintenance on this article. To setup maintenance schedule, you can check it here. The slow performance might also be because of the ReadyNAS still syncing the disk at the time.
Also, we don't really recommend using the NAS as the only means of backup for your data, the NAS or RAID can help you avoid or recover from failures and while you can store backups of your data on the NAS it is still advisable to keep at least 2 to 3 copies on different storage. IMO, keeping more copies the better :)
HTH
Regards
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Yes, you should do volume maintenance and you can actually set a schedule for it to run automatically. You may check the different maintenance on this article. To setup maintenance schedule, you can check it here. The slow performance might also be because of the ReadyNAS still syncing the disk at the time.
Also, we don't really recommend using the NAS as the only means of backup for your data, the NAS or RAID can help you avoid or recover from failures and while you can store backups of your data on the NAS it is still advisable to keep at least 2 to 3 copies on different storage. IMO, keeping more copies the better :)
HTH
Regards
Marc_VThanks for that. I did read over those articles you've linked, so I'll look into getting a maintenance schedule set up.
Marc_V StephenB Regarding whether the NAS is still resyncing... It has finished, though of course it took some time to. It was definitely markedly slower whilst this process was happening.
StephenBThanks for the pointers on snapshots :)
StephenB wrote:Well, safety and integrity must not be very important
OK, smarty-pants, I stand corrected. I do have varying backups of the data (note I said I don't have anywhere to backup the entire NAS, as in, in one dump), but my point was that I'd really rather not run a process that has a high risk of damaging data (if there is such a thing).
I'll admit I'm a little behind on the times, since I didn't know about the likes of WD Easystore. I will point out that, as far as I can tell, the WD Easystore isn't available here in Australia, and similar products run closer to $500.
Marc_V wrote:Also, we don't really recommend using the NAS as the only means of backup for your data, the NAS or RAID can help you avoid or recover from failures and while you can store backups of your data on the NAS it is still advisable to keep at least 2 to 3 copies on different storage. IMO, keeping more copies the better :)
I absolutely agree, and I see now that my original statement was a little misleading, as above.
So I guess my question now would be, is a 3 month schedule, as StephenB uses, suitable for the maintenance schedule? Are there reasons I should run the tests more or less frequently?
nathor wrote:
but my point was that I'd really rather not run a process that has a high risk of damaging data (if there is such a thing).
...
So I guess my question now would be, is a 3 month schedule, as @StephenB uses, suitable for the maintenance schedule? Are there reasons I should run the tests more or less frequently?
The scrub generally will do the most disk i/o - so it might have somewhat higher risk than the others. After the first run of the balance and defrag, they usually don't take very long.
There isn't any definitive "best practice" on any of these. The scrub and disk test both function as reasonable disk diagnostics - which is one reason I run them both once every three months. I figure they will give me some warning of a disk failing.
How often defrag is needed depends on your usage (particularly on whether you frequently modify files after you put them on the NAS). There's also an auto-defrag option for each share - if that is set you might not need to run the scheduled defrag at all. But it won't hurt (since if the files aren't fragmented, it won't do anything).
The NAS performance will drop when these tasks are running (especially on an RN100 series), so managing that is one thing to factor into the schedule. In the case of a balance, the optimal schedule might be counter-intuitive though. It runs fastest when the volume is already reasonably balanced. So if it takes a long time, then you should consider running it more often, not less.
FWIW, I've been using this schedule for several years now, and haven't lost a volume (for any reason) over that time.
nathor wrote:
I'll admit I'm a little behind on the times, since I didn't know about the likes of WD Easystore. I will point out that, as far as I can tell, the WD Easystore isn't available here in Australia, and similar products run closer to $500.
Yes, I've heard that disk prices are considerably higher in Australia. > $500 Australian for a 10 TB USB drive would make me pause too. I am seeing some 8 TB drives there that are more reasonable - https://www.amazon.com.au/WD-Desktop-External-Drive-WDBBGB0080HBK-NESN/dp/B01LQQHLGC
However, you are backed up, so it's not an immediate need. FWIW, for quite a while I was also backing up my NAS across multiple systems (two desktop PCs with dedicated internal backup drives).
Another thing to perhaps look into at some point would be a UPS. Quite a few data loss stories here begin with an unexpected power cut. Even a small UPS will give the NAS a chance to power down gracefully (which will keep the array in sync). APC seems to be popular in Australia.
nathor wrote:
I've read that resyncing data needs to be done when space is very low, which has obviously been done automatically.
No. Resyncing is needed because you added another disk to the array. Replacing a disk would also require a resync.
nathor wrote:
However, since installing that new disk, the NAS is running very slowly, specifically with transfer speeds.
Has the resync completed? The NAS is reorganizing the RAID array, and that will reduce performance.
But speeds should increase after the resync.
nathor wrote:
Although I realise that a NAS is used as a backup device, I don't really have anywhere to make a backup of the entire NAS elsewhere, so the safety and integrity of the data is very important.
Well, safety and integrity must not be very important - since you can solve this problem by spending about $200 (current US pricing) on a 10 TB WD Easystore USB drive. If you are in the UK you can get an 8 TB model for about
RAID isn't enough to keep your data safe - if you don't back it up you will eventually lose it It's just a matter of when.
nathor wrote:
I'm wondering though if I need to run some Volume Maintenance, as that has never been done. My question is, should I scrub, defrag and/or balance the NAS?
I run each of those functions on schedule (each test runs every three months). I also run the disk test every three months. The balance in particular will likely take quite a while (days) the first time you run it.
If you have smart snapshots enabled, you should consider manually deleting old snapshots before you run the defrag. If you defrag something that's in a snapshot, then the disk space usage will increase. FWIW, I recommend using custom snapshots with a retention limit instead of using the "smart" snapshots.
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