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Upgrading storage - ReadyNAS 314
I have 2x 3TB hdd configured as RAID 1. I want to upgrade capacity and change to RAID 5. What's the easiest way to do this? I do not take backups currently, so backup/restore would have to be a on...
Welcome to the Community!
Since you have 2 bays available, if your array is configured on X-RAID then easiest way would be to add a 3rd disk to your NAS, this will automatically expand your volume and change your RAID to RAID5 just like what you want to have and since you only have a single volume RAID1 If you are currently on Flex-RAID you can change it to XRAID then expand.
Please see the following links below that might help and provide more information.
Changing to Flex-RAID to XRAID
HTH
Regards
Welcome to the Community!
Since you have 2 bays available, if your array is configured on X-RAID then easiest way would be to add a 3rd disk to your NAS, this will automatically expand your volume and change your RAID to RAID5 just like what you want to have and since you only have a single volume RAID1 If you are currently on Flex-RAID you can change it to XRAID then expand.
Please see the following links below that might help and provide more information.
Changing to Flex-RAID to XRAID
HTH
Regards
Marc_V That's awesome! It is running X-RAID. Are there any restrictions/guidelines as to the type/size of drive I add next (like mixing hdd/ssd)? I'm assuming it will choose the largest drive for parity?
Unrelated, but I've had such a good experience with this device over the past 4 years, I'm really surprised that Netgear doesn't come up on more "best of" lists.
jtaustin wrote:
I'm assuming it will choose the largest drive for parity?
No. Standard RAID-5 / XRAID doesn't have a dedicated parity disk. Parity blocks are spread across all the disks.
You need to add a drive that is at least 3 TB. If it's bigger than that, the extra space will be wasted until you add another disk of the same size (or replace a 3 TB drive with the larger size).
I suggest hot-inserting the drive. We always recommend making a backup first.
Netgear will give you a warning if you mix speeds (5400 or 5900 with 7200 rpm). The array will still work.
You can mix/match vendors (for instance, WD Red and Seagate Ironwolf).
Note one subtle point made: Same size, or larger. You cannot add another smaller drive in xraid. Xraid does not like that. (It just told me.) I have 2 3TB's mounted as xraid-1, and I came by 2 2TB drives I was just trying to utilize. These cannot be added unless
a) I back-up all, reformat the volume with all drives installed, and then restore.
b) I turn off X-raid {which then makes it Flex-raid), and then I can mount a second volume with these drives as a raid-1, and deal with having two volumes - also losing the automatic features that X provides, mainly popping out a drive and popping in a larger one on the fly (there is no add, as I would already be at 4.)
I haven't decided which yet... 3+2=5TB (and accepting losses), or 2+2+3+3-3=7TB, and doing work...
Not sure if external drives are set up the same way. (You can somehow add 5x 4TBs to each available interface, for another 40TBs.)
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