What is X-RAID2 ?

x-raid2 is the same as raid-5 (or raid-6 if using dual redundancy), but uses netgears proprietary scripts/code to automate rebuild/expansion processes.

it is all based upon generic linux md software raid.

to answer your questions;

What I have is a ReadyNAS with six (6) 3 TB drives. Can I lose one and still have my data?

yes. but if you lose 2 or more at the same time or during a rebuild, your data is toast.

Can I hot swap the drives?

yes, but obviously only want to hot swap them 1 at a time, waiting for the rebuild process to finish and become redundant again before hotswapping another disk.

As a test can I pull a drive and still use the filesystem?

to be clear, yes you can pull a drive and still use the volume *on the remaining disks that are now non-redundant*.

If you meant can you use the filesystem of the disk you have pulled, then no you can not because the data is spread across multiple disks, no single disk will contain enough data to be usable or recoverable.

brownwrap wrote:
...As a test can I pull a drive and still use the filesystem?...

Just wanted to add that if you do this test, the NAS will rebuild the drive when you reinsert it. So be expecting that (and don't pull any more drives until the rebuilding is complete!)

Excellent replies and very helpful. I am going to load some data on the NAS, pull a drive, let it rebuild itself, and then plug the drive back in. upon plugging the drive back in, I am assuming the NAS will once again rebuild itself.

It won't rebuild when you remove the drive, it will simply use the remaining disks in the array (and lose redundancy).

Got it. I removed the drive, could still see the data, plugged it back in now and it is rebuilding. Just what I needed to know.

Remember, no raid or device by itself can protect you completely from data loss, see for example one of many threads like @ viewtopic.php?f=7&t=70369

always always always have backups for important data.

Thank you for the warning regarding backups. I am new here and was handed the ReadyNAS to bring up. I have it up, it is to be used by a researcher. I really don't know how it is to be used, since there is plenty of space elsewhere, but I will let the user know it still has to be backed up. Thanks.