I realize that a "factory reset" (or "factory default") might resolve many issues. However, I think people on this forum are suggesting it entirely too often. (Equally as annoying (if not more so) is the followup of "You DO have a backup, don't you?" question. )
Think about this for a moment: The readyNAS (any model) is first and foremost a network STORAGE device. A "storage device" isn't serving it's primary purpose if you have to erase it every few weeks or months to resolve firmware issues. That would be like a watch that you had to reset the time on every few hours.
How would you feel if Western Digital or Seagate announced that in order to use their hard drives, you had to reformat them each week? Wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of persistent storage?
Yes, I understand that sometimes things have gone so badly that a factory default is the only "escape." However, that should be the absolute last resort... as it's NOT solving a problem. It's erasing it.
(The obvious exception being when a user has created their own problem by tinkering with things... such as ssh, installing random garbage, etc.)
I've repeatedly suggested/requested that need to have a 'factory reset keeping data' option, which would satisfy most people's issues with the whole 'factory rest' thing.
I ask about backups, because the answer steers my response. Also, I think its important for users to understand that the advice we give here could result in data loss.
I agree that a reset isn't a real solution, at most it is a work-around. I try not to recommend it unless it is absolutely needed, but there are exceptions.
One reason is that it is a method that works predictably. People who post problems here have very different skill levels, and sometimes a reset/restore gets them back up and running more quickly and with less stress than trying to do step-by-step diagnosis on the forum.
TeknoJnky wrote:
I've repeatedly suggested/requested that need to have a 'factory reset keeping data' option, which would satisfy most people's issues with the whole 'factory rest' thing.
I don't know about "most", but I agree it would be useful in many situations. It might be helpful to clarify exactly that that option would do (does it save any of the existing configuration, and if so, exactly what? user/group accounts ???).
Also the problems that make it to the forum are of course probably a filtered selection of problems that users experience. Most problems are probably resolved by users themselves ( without factory reset) and support handles a proportion that don't get to the forums. The number of times you see factory default recommended is almost certainly a reflection of the fact that the forum sees the most challenging of problems, and in fact these form a minuscule proportion of the total users of readynas.
Of course, posters are free to give the advice they consider appropriate. So if someone has an alternative to a reset that they think should be tried, they are free to post that alternative.
I realize that a "factory reset" (or "factory default") might resolve many issues. However, I think people on this forum are suggesting it entirely too often.
It is a way that can be useful to resolve some issues.
Having said that many users run their NAS units quite happily for several years without doing a factory default e.g. my Ultra 6 was last factory reset back in 2010.
garyd9 wrote:
(Equally as annoying (if not more so) is the followup of "You DO have a backup, don't you?" question. )
Important data should no be stored on just the one device. I'd rather stress this too much and someone gets this message and it helps them, than to not say it enough. Many users don't understand the difference between RAID and backup.
garyd9 wrote:
Think about this for a moment: The readyNAS (any model) is first and foremost a network STORAGE device. A "storage device" isn't serving it's primary purpose if you have to erase it every few weeks or months to resolve firmware issues. That would be like a watch that you had to reset the time on every few hours.
You shouldn't need to reset it except in rare cases, but it can be a useful troubleshooting step. Our x86_64 models e.g. 300 series don't have the expansion limitations that legacy devices have so factory resets should be necessary less often that they used to be.
TeknoJnky wrote:
I've repeatedly suggested/requested that need to have a 'factory reset keeping data' option, which would satisfy most people's issues with the whole 'factory rest' thing.
An issue I see with this is that if used inappropriately this may wipe important logs and make data recovery more difficult.
StephenB wrote:
One reason is that it is a method that works predictably. People who post problems here have very different skill levels, and sometimes a reset/restore gets them back up and running more quickly and with less stress than trying to do step-by-step diagnosis on the forum.
+1
vandermerwe wrote:
The number of times you see factory default recommended is alsmost certainly a reflection of the fact that the forum sees the most challenging of problems, and in fact these form a minuscule proportion of the total users of readynas.
Yes, both the forums and support will get some challenging problems.
StephenB wrote:
Of course, posters are free to give the advice they consider appropriate. So if someone has an alternative to a reset that they think should be tried, they are free to post that alternative.
I've repeatedly suggested/requested that need to have a 'factory reset keeping data' option, which would satisfy most people's issues with the whole 'factory rest' thing.
An issue I see with this is that if used inappropriately this may wipe important logs and make data recovery more difficult.
Huh? if it was a situation involving lost data and/or data recovery, then factory reset saving data volume would not be a recommended solution anyway. (neither would any type of factory reset)
On the other hand, if needed logs were automatically archived/copied to the data volume (instead of system volume) prior to the reset, then that would eliminate your concern.
I suppose in some cases it might be a matter of cost. A factory reset is a 'free' way to get back and running if your support options limited by cost. Netgear support can fix lots of issues, but only with a support agreement of some kind.
...a slight misunderstanding... I didn't mean that netgear was always the one suggesting factory defaults. Other users also give that "advice."
If a NAS is being used for it's primary purpose (network attached STORAGE), used within known limitations (such as not expanding more than 8TB from initial on v4 firmware) and people aren't doing strange things with it (such as using it as an application server, VM server, etc), then I don't see why a factory reset should ever be needed.
I've never done anything with any netgear NAS firmware that REQUIRED a factory default to recover. Sure, it might have been *easier* to reset everything and start over, but it wasn't strictly required.
As a random example, I was messing around with ethernet teaming a couple nights ago and configured an LACP mode that my switch doesn't support. Suddenly, I couldn't talk to my NAS. (Technically, I supposed I was talking to it. Yelling at it, actually.. but that's not what I meant.) The solution (without a factory default) was to unplug the second ethernet cable and reboot (normal reboot with the front button) the NAS. When it came up, it sensed only a single ethernet cable and ignored the teaming config. I was then able to reconfigure the ethernet ports and everything was good.
Anyway, I just brought it up as feedback. I was reading random threads and it seemed that many of them offered the "factory default" suggestion...
A lot of the user threads may recommend the 'factory default' is because most of the users are not linux guru's and/or readynas specific linux guru's.
So 'factory default' resets everything back to a known state, at which it can make it easier to track down hardware errors, or user generated software issues (ie 'apps', being hacked, etc).
As a random example, I was messing around with ethernet teaming a couple nights ago and configured an LACP mode that my switch doesn't support. Suddenly, I couldn't talk to my NAS. (Technically, I supposed I was talking to it. Yelling at it, actually.. but that's not what I meant.) The solution (without a factory default) was to unplug the second ethernet cable and reboot (normal reboot with the front button) the NAS. When it came up, it sensed only a single ethernet cable and ignored the teaming config. I was then able to reconfigure the ethernet ports and everything was good.
Something else that can fix a problem like that is an OS Re-install. An OS Re-install will reset some settings such as network settings which are commonly messed up back to default, but leave data intact.
Certainly if you don't have a backup you should explore the other options available to you before doing a factory default, and seek help here and/or from support.
As I said above, if you have troubleshooting advice you want to offer to users who are stuck, then please do post it on the appropriate threads. I think that would be the most constructive approach.
As a mod I am not going to harass people who suggest resets (though I may offer my own suggestions), and as a poster I will suggest whatever I think is the best option for that particular user - which will be a reset in some cases.
