I am revisiting my ReadyNAS NV+ after a disk failure & replacement with the spare I had sitting next to the unit for such a scenario. I am looking at ordering a replacement spare drive and while searching through variouus forums and the HCL, I noticed that the NV+ can now accept drives larger than 2TB. So, I have several questions that will help me formulate a plan for my NV+ going forward
1. So, in looking at the back of my unit, the model is: RND4000. I want to make sure that this is the NV+ v2. I can't remember if this is V1 or v2. Can someone confirm? Looking at the HCL, the v1 will not accept drives > 2TB.
Some more info about my unit: The RAIDiator version on this unit is 4.1.14 and it is reporting that this is the latest version. There is 1GB of RAM in the unit as well. Currently configured as X-RAID. Hopefully this is enough info to discern whether I have a v1 or v2.
1B. Is there a more-current version than v. 4.1.14 out there for the NV+ V2?
I currently have four Seagate Barracda 2GB drives (ST2000DM001). I figure I'd like to start getting drives with a longer warranty and larger capacity. This leads me to a few other questions:
2A. If I have a RadyNAS NV+ V2 unit, I assume I could start purchasing 3TB and 4TB drives listed on the HCL, yes? If so, which drives are recommended by the community based on experience?
2B. Instead of doing the whole thing in one shot, I figure I wouuld replace the 2TB drives, one at a time as they fail over time. Ultimately after at the fourth failure, the volume would then expand. Am I thinking correctly about this as a gameplan? I am not urgently needing the space at the moment, so I can afford to wait for expansion down the road and as funds permit.
2C. Just to make sure, I assume there shouldn't be any issue with having 3 of my 2TB Barracuda drives intermingled with a 3TB drive by another manufacturer, other than the fact that only 2TB of the 3TB will be utilized until expansion. Have I understood this correctly?
Anything else I should be aware of in terms of stumbling blocks, firmware upgrades, etc. that I am not currently considering?
When you do start running out of space, a good option is to get a new OS6 ReadyNAS with fresh disks. You can then repurpose your V1 NAS to back up critical data.
NAS-purposed disks (WD20EFRX, ST2000VN000) are good choices for your NV+. Warranty is three years, cost is similar to desktop drives, and both models are designed for NAS use (have TLER, etc). Or just get a new NAS when the next disk fails.
