Reduce number of disks... now that 3TB are available

cguers wrote:
By the way, backing up, factory resetting and restoring is not going to work for me

Then you have no choice but to leave the drives installed - it is not possible to reduce the number of drives without completely resetting the array and reformatting the installed drives

FYI those drives *are* being used by the array - data is distributed across all drives. Wikipedia has good info on how RAID works and distributes data

cguers wrote:
3 drives of 1TB each and 2 drives of 2TB each. The question therefore is: How do I get rid of the 2x2TB drives without having my NAS complain about it? I would like to do this after expanding the current 3x1TB to 3x3TB. By the way, backing up, factory resetting and restoring.

#1 - You MUST do a backup/restore to achieve what you want
#2 - You can do this, with what you have and what you'll purchase.

START: 2x2TB + 3x1TB = 2+3= 5TB of data
FACT: 1 2TB drive is "redundant" - if it "died" (you removed it), your data is still intact BUT NOT REDUNDANT
FACT: You will own 3 x 3TB drives - this is 3TB of usable space for backup during reinstall

NOTE: This process is 100% accurate, but will mean your data is NOT-REDUNDANT during the process. If you have additional storage (USB drives, internal computer space, etc - you can protect yourself from drive failure - making this EASY).


PROCESS:
1) Insert #1 3TB drive into USB caddy, back up 3 TB of data from ReadyNAS. This leaves 2TB of data to backup.
2) Remove one 2TB drive from ReadyNAS. It will mark the drive as "failed" and your array will NOT BE REDUNDANT... but no data lost.
3) Insert 2TB drive into USB caddy, back up remaining 2TB of data from "non-redundant" ReadyNAS array
4) All data from ReadyNAS is now backed up onto 2 drives
5) Insert 2x 3TB drives (#2 & #3) into ReadyNAS, do firmware update, then do "factory reset". This will give you the latest drive array. You now have a 3TB (redundant) array.
6) Restore 3TB of data from step #1 to the new array.
7) Insert #1 3TB disk, from step #1, into the array. Let it expand. You now have 6TB (1 redundant)
8) Restore data from removed 2TB drive to array. You now have 5TB of data on the array with 3 slots free

****************************************

BIG DISCLAIMER: What are you going to do with all the drives after you remove them? The ReadyNAS PRO can handle drives of different sizes...

So, why not just one-by-one swap the 1TB drives for a 3TB drive. Who cares if you still have the 2TB drives in there? That just gives you a lot more space (though you do not "factory-reset" to enable a +15TB array).

Thanks for you suggestions and the detailed steps on how to do this migration.

zamboni wrote:
...why not just one-by-one swap the 1TB drives for a 3TB drive. Who cares if you still have the 2TB drives in there? That just gives you a lot more space (though you do not "factory-reset" to enable a +15TB array).

I think I will follow your suggestion and simply replace the 1TB drives for now. It's the safest way. My original intent was to reduce the amount of heat generated by my system (a couple of less drives should have some impact) and to replace drives that are not server-grade. I recently had a scare with one of the 2TB drives installed where it stopped working without any prior warning. :shock:

Thanks!

What model drives do you have installed and what model 3TB drives have you/or do you intend to purchase. Perhaps if the new 3TB drives work well purchase a few more 3TB drives.

Be sure to update to 4.2.16 or later (if you haven't already) before adding the 3TB disks.

I have an article I've written that you may like to read: What to do before expanding your ReadyNAS volume

Let me throw one more configuration option into the ring. This will be slightly more powerful - giving you more space AND doing a factory reset. You may have to play with the math to "juggle" the last 1TB of data, but it should be obvious.

1) Back up 3 TB of data to #1 of your new 3TB drives in a USB caddy.
2) Back up remaining 2 TB of data to #2 of your 3TB drives
3) Do a firmware upgrade (if applicable), power off.
4) Remove all drives. Remove all drives. Insert BOTH 2TB drives as #1 & #2
5) Do a factory reset. You now have a redundant 2TB array.
6) Add #3 (not used) 3TB drive as #3. You now have a 4TB (redundant, not using last GB of drive #3)
6) Copy 2 TB of data from #2 3TB drive to array
7) Add #2 3TB to array. Let it expand. You now have 2x2TB and 2x3TB. 1 3TB is "redundant", giving you 7TB.
8) Copy final 3TB from #1 3TB drive to array. You now have full 5 TB of data on a happy & redundant 7TB array.
9) Insert #1 3TB drive into array, giving you 10TB of "factory reset" array.

>>>>>>>>>>>> Alternative: Do not use your 2nd 2TB drive in this process. You can still juggle data - but in the end, you will have 3x3TB and 1x2TB, giving you 7TB of space and leaving the 2nd 2TB drive as "backup". However, you can instead use your "small" 1TB drives as 3TB of critical offline backup instead.

Now, you have so many options, you'll probably change your mind at least 4 times before you decide what to FINALLY do :) :)

*edit* Believe it or not, you can later add the 2nd 2TB drive to your array, even if it is not the biggest, and it will accept it. I originally had 2x1TB and 3x1.5TB. I switched to 2x1TB, 1x1.5TB and 2x2TB. Then, I swapped a 1TB or 1.5 without an issue - so I went to 2x2TB, 2x1.5TB, 1x1TB. The X-RAID2 is amazingly resourceful.

zamboni wrote:
leaving the 2nd 2TB drive as "backup".

So you suggest wiping the disk and then using it as a backup disk?

Sorry; I disappear for long periods (family, work - just this one NAS that sits quietly doing its thing for long periods of time until an issue occurs).

Yes, I'd meant reformatting any "extra" drives, then using them as backup drives. This is what I do; put them in a USB caddy, back up critical, then important, then cool stuff (depending on space) to the drives and stick them in the closet.

For example, all the "Baby Einstein" episodes. Each disc has tons of crap before the episode starts, so I ripped the disc, edited them, then divx'd them (H.264, preserving original audio). Though I have the discs, I backed those up since it took a lot of my time.

I have TVIX media players that play all my ripped DVDs on the various TVs. The kids never touch the actual Disney DVDs (and Pixar, etc) that I bought - they play them direct off the NAS in full ISO quality. Even for the car player, I make my own copy of the "movie only" so they never scratch the original. And we've gone through a couple copies (hopelessly scratched) of some movies!