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Upgrading disk capacity in ReadyNAS 212
Hello,
I have a ReadyNAS 212 with two 2TB Disks configured to RAID-1. I use it for home storage and backup.
One of the disks has started failing and it becomes more and more often now so i want to replace it, but at the same time i would like to increase the capacity to 3TB.
So I'm planning to purchase two 3TB disks, but I'm not sure what is the best way to do the replacement and upgrade, without having to copy all my data else ware.
- add new-disk-2
- replicate volume old-disk-1 to new-disk-2 (assuming replication will be done automatically)
- add new-disk-1
- replicate volume new-disk-2 to new-disk-1
Is this possible?
Thank you in advance
First of all, we always do recommend backups of the NAS. RAID simply isn't enough to keep data safe. In your case you have a failing disk already, so your array is more vulnerable than usual. If your data matters to you, you need to keep at least one other copy of it on a different device. Personally I keep two other copies.
That said, the procedure is to replace the failing drive first. You can hot-insert the new disk (remove the old one and insert the new one with the NAS running). If the disk is blank (recommended) and you are using the default XRAID, then the NAS will automatically put it into the array and resync.
When that's complete, replace the other (hopefully healthy disk) the same way.
When you buy new disks, get either NAS-purposed drives (WDC Red or Seagate IronWolf), or enterprise-class drives (for instance WDC Red Pro). 3 and 4 TB are close in price per TB, you might consider going to 4 TB instead of 3. Generally I test the drives with vendor tools in a Windows PC first (seatools for Seagate, lifeguard for Western Digital). Those tools don't care if the drive is formatted or not (and if they are formatted I use the "write zeros" test in the tools to blank them).
Don't get desktop-class drives for the NAS. The Seagate DM series (particularly the ST3000DMxxx) is one in particular to avoid - it has a high failure rate in RAID arrays.
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First of all, we always do recommend backups of the NAS. RAID simply isn't enough to keep data safe. In your case you have a failing disk already, so your array is more vulnerable than usual. If your data matters to you, you need to keep at least one other copy of it on a different device. Personally I keep two other copies.
That said, the procedure is to replace the failing drive first. You can hot-insert the new disk (remove the old one and insert the new one with the NAS running). If the disk is blank (recommended) and you are using the default XRAID, then the NAS will automatically put it into the array and resync.
When that's complete, replace the other (hopefully healthy disk) the same way.
When you buy new disks, get either NAS-purposed drives (WDC Red or Seagate IronWolf), or enterprise-class drives (for instance WDC Red Pro). 3 and 4 TB are close in price per TB, you might consider going to 4 TB instead of 3. Generally I test the drives with vendor tools in a Windows PC first (seatools for Seagate, lifeguard for Western Digital). Those tools don't care if the drive is formatted or not (and if they are formatted I use the "write zeros" test in the tools to blank them).
Don't get desktop-class drives for the NAS. The Seagate DM series (particularly the ST3000DMxxx) is one in particular to avoid - it has a high failure rate in RAID arrays.
Hello,
I would like to make a correction. My ReadyNAS is 102 and my RAID configuration is RAID-1.
Is your reply still valid?
Thanks in advance.
Hi a4ex,
I think it still applicable since you do have a protected RAID configuration.
As stated no the link:
How do I replace a disk in my ReadyNAS OS 6 desktop storage system?
"If the volume that contained the failed disk uses a protected RAID configuration, the system automatically resynchronizes the volume using the new disk. Resynchronization might take several hours, depending on the disk size. You can continue to use your storage system, although access is slower until the volume resynchronization finishes."
Also, the link above should give some ideas on how to replace the disk. It also discusses the RAID settings.
Regards,
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