Ability to use 3TB disks on ReadyNas Duo

The Duo v1 (runs RAIDiator 4.1.x) is a Sparc ReadyNAS. It's the last of line a products released beginning in 2004. Unfortunately 3rd party development for the Sparc platform largely ceased a long time ago now. For this reason GPT support is highly unlikely to be added to Sparc ReadyNAS. GPT support is necessary for 3TB drive support.

Both the ARM ReadyNAS (Duo v2, NV+ v2) and x86 ReadyNAS (e.g. Ultra, Pro) support 3TB drives. These two platforms have strong 3rd party development and it is expected that for the foreseeable future higher quality drives will be able to be qualified over time for these platforms (though firmware updates may be required to add compatibility). A user in the ReadyNAS community has tested some 4TB drives in a few x86 ReadyNAS units and found them to be working. Whilst this is by no means conclusive it is a good sign that 4TB drives may already be compatible with x86 ReadyNAS units.

If you want a ReadyNAS with the longest useful life I'd go with an x86 ReadyNAS.

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks for the reply! I'll take a look at those you mention. At least I know what to look for in a new ReadyNAS.

I have been very happy with my Duo and it has been very stable. Will I be able to easily move what is on my current Duo to a new ReadyNAS (Ultra or Pro) by simply inserting one of my existing hard drives?

iau wrote:
Will I be able to easily move what is on my current Duo to a new ReadyNAS (Ultra or Pro) by simply inserting one of my existing hard drives?

Unfortunately no. The ARM and x86 disk formats are not compatible. So you will need to restore from backup (or start with new drives and use Frontview backup to load it)

While StephenB addressed the drives formatted in the ARM units, the same applies to the Sparc units. The Sparc units drive format is incompatible with both the x-86 and ARM formatting. You would have to either start the new unit with at least one drive and copy the data over the network. You might want to consider keeping both the Duo and the drives intact. After you set up the new unit with larger drives and move all your data over, you could then set the Duo up to automatically back up part of the new unit that contains important and critical files.

Thanks for your replies. Yes, I will keep the Duo and find some use for it. Always in need of an extra backup! I'll mainly be using it for a home network to access data like pictures that are stored on the server. Will the Pro offer any advantages over the Ultra for this? Noise and temperature are my main concern. I'll have to do some research in one of the other forums for this, I guess, so thanks again.

Regarding noise, not so much. The Ultra has a 3 year warranty and lacks business features. The Ultra Plus is like the Ultra in this regard but with more powerful hardware. The Pro series shares same hardware as Ultra Plus (except Pro 6 has more powerful hardware than Ultra 6 Plus), but the Pro series has business features and 5 year warranty.

Regarding noise 2-bay or 6-bay units are the best way to go. 6-bay units do provide the greatest room for expansion (can add drives to empty drive bays rather than having to replace existing disks) and has an option dual-redundancy feature.

One more question - why are the 2-bay and 6-bay the best way to go regarding noise? I was actually looking for å 4-bay but it sounds like I may as well go for a 6 bay?

6-bay has a larger better fan installed and better airflow.

6 months on.....just checking it is still the case the ReadyNAS duo (original version) will not support 3TB drives?

Really disappointed I need to chuck my ReadyNAS only after 18months of ownership and start again because its 2TB drive is full :evil:

Yes.

You could use your Duo v1 to backup important data from a new NAS.