Apps not available when changing to raid-0 (RN102)

[chokobanana]

Hello,
I purchased an RN102 (diskless) and 2 WD RED 3.0TB yesterday. The install went smooth but my problems started when changing to RAID-0 mode.

I've repeated the procedure below 4 times and *every time* I get the same results.

1. Do a factory reset on OS 6.0.8
2. Finish first time installation (admin passwords, timezones..)
3. Admin UI appears - click "Apps" in menu and "Available Apps". A list of apps appear.
4. Go to System > Volume and switch from X-Raid to Flex-Raid
5. Click Storage > Destroy (As RAID-1 is default)
6. Select both HDD and click "New Volume" and select RAID-0
7. Go back to "Apps" and open "Available Apps". List is empty.

I've tried clearing browser cache, changing browsers and restarting the device. Nothing helps.
I also noticed that the default directory structure is NOT setup after switching RAID. Why not??

(After a factory restore I get a default directory structure with dirs like: Photos, Music, Backup... and shares setup. Why aren't these re-created after I switch RAID type?? I know changing RAID clears the HDD but should the OS restore default structure? This is not very user friendly)

Is it because a directory structure is missing, the Apps don't work? (Maybe the Apps application caches lists of available apps but since the directory structure isn't created it can't write to disk)

So far I'm NOT impressed with this device. 2 times out of 4 the factory reset didn't complete successfully and the device stopped resonding. Pulling the power cord was the only was to solve it. I tried contacting NetGear support on their chat but got only .NET server errors.

[StephenB]

Are you creating a single RAID-0 volume that spans both disks?

If so, I suggest that you NOT do that. When either drive fails, you lose the entire array. I suggest doing a factory reset with one drive installed, switching to flex-raid, and then hot-inserting the second drive (creating a second volume).

Personally I wouldn't expect or want the system to create a directory structure after I explicitly told it to destroy. Also, share names need to be unique across multiple volumes, and generally flex-raid users have more than one volume. In that situation, the system can't create such a directory structure. So I don't agree with your assessment there.

When you see the empty app list, are you getting a spinning wheel? I've noticed it can take quite a while for the system to populate the apps field. As a test, maybe wait overnight and then check it again.

[chokobanana]

Thank you for your reply!

I tried hot inserting the second drive as you suggested:

I did a factory reset with only 1 drive installed. Once I was able to log in I had drive 1 in x-raid mode (with the default directory structure and the "Apps" listing working). I then switched over to flex-raid and hot inserted the second drive. The hdd was detected by the OS but nothing happened automatically so I selected the second drive, clicked "new volume" and created a new raid 1 volume. By doing this I ended up with 2 volumes 3TB each. Is this how you meant?

How does this differ from going into x-raid mode and creating 2 volumes? I believe I would get the same result. It would however not be similar to a raid 0 as I have 2 volumes on 3TB each now and not a 6TB single volume.

What's interesting is that the App listing is working now. When the App listing isn't working (doing as I described in the first post) there is no spinning wheel. Just a blank white page - and it's been sitting like that for hours without results so there's definitely a bug there.

[StephenB]

chokobanana wrote:

...I did a factory reset with only 1 drive installed. Once I was able to log in I had drive 1 in x-raid mode (with the default directory structure and the "Apps" listing working). I then switched over to flex-raid and hot inserted the second drive. The hdd was detected by the OS but nothing happened automatically so I selected the second drive, clicked "new volume" and created a new raid 1 volume. By doing this I ended up with 2 volumes 3TB each. Is this how you meant?...

Yes.

chokobanana wrote:
...How does this differ from going into x-raid mode and creating 2 volumes? I believe I would get the same result...

With x-raid, you only get one volume (and in this case it would be RAID-1). There is no way to create 2 volumes in x-raid.

chokobanana wrote:
...I have 2 volumes on 3TB each now and not a 6TB single volume.

Precisely. The disadvantage is you have to manage the space across the two volumes yourself. So if you run too low on free space on drive 1, you'll need to move a share to drive 2. When you access it remotely, you won't see the volumes of course.

The huge advantage is that if drive 1 fails, you will still have all the data on drive 2. With RAID-0/single volume that would not happen. If either drive failed, you lose everything.

[chokobanana]

StephenB wrote:
With x-raid, you only get one volume (and in this case it would be RAID-1). There is no way to create 2 volumes in x-raid.

There's no need to hot-insert one drive. I just did another factory reset to try it out with both disks connected.
After the installation guide:
1. Switch from x-raid to flex-raid.
2. Delete the default volume.
3. Select 1 drive and click "new volume" - select RAID 1
4. Repeat step 3 with the other drive.

And the Apps work too! 🙂

To verify that there actually is a bug with the Apps, I deleted the above volumes - and then selected both hdd and created a RAID 0 that spans both drives. Once again the Apps listing is blank. No spinning loaders - nothing.

I'm satisfied though as I won't be using RAID 0 after all. I'll do as you recommend. Netgear should however fix the bugs related with RAID-0.

[StephenB]

I agree you can avoid the hot-insert.

The main reason I suggest doing it that way it because there is no chance that you will accidentally end up with mirrored RAID-1 if the second disk isn't present.

[chokobanana]

Thanks StephenB! 😄

[hijacker80]

Hi,
Sorry for bumping this thread up... but i'm having the same problem as the post creater..

Purchased also a RN102 (2x2tB) (best deal 199 EUR with 2 disks) and because i already own a RD Ultra 2 (2x2tB) i don't need to have 2 raid 1 configurations. Yesterday i also changed the volume to RAID-0 on the RD102 and apps page is emty or not all the apps are working espnoteecialy sickbeard for downloading TV-series.

No body using the RD102 as Read-0 and using apps?

My idea, RD102 4TB RAID-0 and the old RD as backup for the important Data.. maybe placing it somewhere else.

Greetings,
Stefan (Netherlands)

[TonV]

This problem may still exist, don't know about that, but I would strongly suggest to create 2 volumes instead of using RAID-0...

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[hijacker80]

Ok.. So with the 2 volumes i will also get 2x 2tb :-), but when 1 disk failed the other will continues work right?

[StephenB]

hijacker80 wrote:
Ok.. So with the 2 volumes i will also get 2x 2tb :-), but when 1 disk failed the other will continues work right?

Yes, you have the same total storage, but split into two volumes. When a disk fails, the other volume is intact.

[TonV]

Yup! Only drawback is that you have to decide which share goes on what disk... But that is minor compared to the advantages imho...
Also with 'funny' issues you can simply remove a disk and attach it to a Linux pc and try to recover the data, that is almost impossible when using RAID (any kind).


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