I just purchased a ReadyNAS Ultra 4 Plus. I have a couple of boot related questions. I'm a newbie to this, so sorry if these seem like obvious questions. They must seem obvious to most, because I could not find answers to eith question in the documentation.
1.) Should the ReadyNAS be connected to the Ethernet switch before I power it up for the first time? Not sure if it needs anything from off the network, and to be safe, if it does not need a connection, I'd prefer not to connect it until I see it has come up in what appears to be a "normal" state. Since there are different options for which RAID technology to use (FlexRAID or X-RAID2) does the device need connectivity to download things based on that? Does the device do a check for updated firmware right away or later from the management software?
2.) I also have two new disks. These are the 3TB WD Caviar Green disks. Should I first boot the ReadyNAS without disks? My "change only one variable at a time" manner of thinking says I should do this as follows: a. boot the system and verify operation b. power it down, install 1 disk and do a factory reboot c. assuming the disk formats properly, power down, remove it and install the second drive d. do a factory reboot to the same RAID technology as the first disk e. power down, install the other disk and power back up.
Or I suppose I could just install everything at once, do a factory boot and hope for the best. :wink:
Any thoughts, suggestions, warnings or recommendations are much appreciated. Thanks and have a good weekend, Ron
1) Well it'll show no network link if you boot it without a network connection. To choose Flex-RAID or X-RAID2 you need to use RAIDar (http://www.readynas.com/downloads)? The device may prompt you to do a firmware update when you open Frontview (https://ip.address.of.nas)
2) The NAS needs a disk installed to boot properly. The OS is stored on the disks.
Here's what I suggest i.) Insert one disk ii.) Power On (if it won't boot e.g. due to used disks, try a factory default: http://www.readynas.com/kb/faq/boot/how_do_i_use_the_boot_menu) iii.) Update to latest firmware via System > Update > Remote (may need to update the firmware twice this way). iv.) Power down and insert the rest of the disks v.) Do a factory default vi.) Discover the NAS in RAIDar (http://www.readynas.com/downloads). A few checks will be run then you'll have 10 minutes to click setup, choose the RAID mode you want and confirm your choice.
This will give you a clean setup on the latest firmware.
