ReadyNAS NV+ Seems to be missing files which show in Directory
Hi,
I have the ReadyNAS NV+ [X-RAID] which I think is the original (slower) virsion.
Recently I have noticed that it is saying that it cannot find some files. they are in the directory but it cannot access them. Radiator says that all four disks are healthy although the log is warning that it is nearly full at 90% the front panel says 0.5 of 5.4 Terrabyte. The other odd thing is that disk-1 led light on the front is bright wheras the other three are very dimm. I do have a full backup although because of all the usual excuses it is quite old. But I do have recent backups of my documents on several other disks and copies of most of the 3000 odd films and physical DVD's of most and of course copies of all the music on various other devices, phones etc.
The biggest problem with this amount of data is knowing what I have lost if anything. I could work with 8Tb usb disks for the future but it is not as convenient as a NAS. If I replace the NAS I would like it to be able to run a PLEX server as from what I can read it is better than Kodi but my present NAS cannot do that.
So.... does anybody have any suggestions as to my present predicament and suggestions for moving forward. I will be buying another 8Tb USB disk in the Black Friday sales to backup what I can and remove a substantial amount of the data to see if that will help and if I can decide in time another NAS but which one there are now so many to choose from. The present ReadyNAS is so old and has performed very well it really doesn't owe me anything so should I stick with Netgear if so which one?
Thanks for any suggestions or help with my problem.
If I get another NAS would a different system be better with Mirrored disks for example rather than x-raid as I have now.
If I replace the NAS I would like it to be able to run a PLEX server as from what I can read it is better than Kodi but my present NAS cannot do that.
The present ReadyNAS is so old and has performed very well it really doesn't owe me anything so should I stick with Netgear if so which one?
The new ReadyNAS which are are the closest to the NV+ are the RN214 and the RN424. The RN214 is the current 4-bay entry level model, and it uses an Arm processor. The RN424 is the entry level business/prosumer model, and it uses an Intel processor. Both are capable of running plex. One challenge is that plex can use a lot of memory. Both the RN214 and RN424 have 2 GB of RAM. The more expensive RN524 has 4 GB, so that is also worth considering.
Another approach (which I use myself) is to run plex on an always-on PC, but keep the media files on the NAS. That is more expensive, but it also is more flexible. I can upgrade either the PC or the NAS independently (without being constrained by needing a NAS that can run specific applications). Plus it is usually easier and safer to install new applications on a PC. If you go this route, the RN214 should be fast enough.
All of these NAS will be much faster than what you have now, and they have some more features. They all support much larger disks than your current NAS. All support SMB 3, so they are more compatible with Windows then the NV+.
If I get another NAS would a different system be better with Mirrored disks for example rather than x-raid as I have now.
FWIW, Your current NAS can be set up as RAID-1 (mirrored disks). Personally I'd stick with XRAID, as I think the balance between storage efficiency and redundancy is the correct tradeoff for most users. The XRAID is the new ReadyNAS is more flexible - it can handle unequal size disks, which makes expansion less expensive.
FlexRAID on the new NAS is the other main RAID mode. It's more flexible than XRAID, but is also a lot more complicated.
Either way, you need a good backup strategy. RAID isn't enough to keep your data safe. Note you could re-purpose your NV+ as a backup to your new NAS. You can create backup jobs that run automatically, which would keep the backup up to date. You can do this share-by-share (and likely you won't be able to back up all the shares this way, since the new NAS will have more capacity).
The file system on the new NAS is btrfs , and not the ext system your NV+ uses. Btrfs has a lot of nice features (the snapshots in particular are more useful). But one disadvantage is that you need to be more careful about the volume fullness. You generally want to have at least 15% free space with btrfs.
Re: ReadyNAS NV+ Seems to be missing files which show in Directory
Thanks for your very comprehensive reply. Sorry not to come back before.
I have been trying to delete files to perhaps get it working again but as it can't find many of the files to even delete them it is not helping. So far I have got it down to 85%. I thought perhaps it could rebuild the directory as if it had a disk change but cannot see where that would be in the Radiator Interface.
Looking with Explorer most of the shares have disapeared but in Radiator they are still there and browsing with RAIDar which just uses Explorer they appear again. So all very strange..
So I may have to abandon retreiving the data and hope that what I have backed up is sufficient and reformat the whole lot and load less back on.
Re: ReadyNAS NV+ Seems to be missing files which show in Directory
Hi Again,
I have spent the day deleting any files I had backed up which the nas would allow me to do and slowly crept back to 84% and now I seem to have access to everything I have tried to access. I will be buying a new NAS eventually but obviously it is not so urgent. I live in France and the prices here are at least 30% up on the UK but none of the suppliers that I have found will ship to France so I will have to get a friend to bring it over to save about £200
by the look of it. Do the new NAS's have the same overhead in that 8Tb on my present one leaves 5.4Tb usable. But I suppose 3Tb disks are not that more thab 2Tb so with the RN214 I could get 12Tb. Many people suggest the WD Red disks, are they a good choice?
Oh, another strange thing I found was that if I browse the contents using \\NAS-name\ it couldn't see or access all the files but using the address \\10.0.1.3\ it could!
Anyway, thanks again, tonight I will be updating my backup!!!!
Do the new NAS's have the same overhead in that 8Tb on my present one leaves 5.4Tb usable.
The capacity rule for XRAID is "sum the disks and subtract the largest". This is actually the best you can do and still provide protection against a single disk failure.
So if you are running 4x2TB you end up with a 6 TB volume.
But that is using the disk manufacturer's units for storage -> 1000*1000*1000*1000 bytes is one 1 TB. The NAS (like Windows) uses different units -> 1024*1024*1024*1024 bytes is one TiB. Unfortunately it still labels that as TB. 6 TB is the same as 5.46 TiB.
Oh, another strange thing I found was that if I browse the contents using \\NAS-name\ it couldn't see or access all the files but using the address \\10.0.1.3\ it could!
That does happen sometimes, and I have no good explanation as to why.
