I just bought a readyNas rn102. I have it running on one drive for now. I'm wondering would could possibly happen if ( best case scenario and worst case scenario) if i add a second drive to bay # 2. I have a 2tb drive in there now, I'm thinking of getting a 4tb.
Assuming you are going for redundancy, not just JBOD, adding a 4TB will give you that -- and nothing more. A two-drive unit with a RAID5/XRAID confiiguration will have a volume the size of the smallest drive. But if you have plans to replace the current drive sometime in the future, then you are all set for it to be a 4TB one and double your capacity.
This is why I never quite understood why anyone would buy a 2-bay NAS. With your corrent configuration, you have to install 2 4TB drives to double your capacity. In a 4-bay unit, you could installl one more 2TB now for redundancy, another 2TB later to move to 4TB, and one more yet to go to 6TB.
Yes I do have every intention to top this Nas at its full capacity By having 2x4tb drives. But this won't happen until about a year down the road. When it comes time to get the second 4tb drive i just take the 2 tb out and use that as a back up data drive. So if I get the 4tb drive total capacity will get cut by half? Meaning instead of 6tb as expected I'll end up with 2tb?
Yes, if you add the second drive and use RAID5 or XRAID for redundancy, you will only get 2TB. You could go for RAID1 or JBOD for 6TB and have no redundancy. JBOD is recommended over RAID1, as at least then you only lose what's on a failed drive, not the entire volume.
Hmm something to think about. I think I'll still go the route I had. Get the 4tb and use that jbod thing and have raw 6tb space. For now until I get my hands on a second 4 tb drive. Besides I have all my stuff already copied on a separate external drive. So that will have to be my redundancy for now.
