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Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

Deal
Tutor

How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

I have a question for anyone who has experience doing restoring a ReadyNAS Pro which as been factory reset (that is restoring the data volume and all apps and settings). Here's what I've done:

1) I have done a full backup of 'volume c' from the ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition (fw v4.2.31)

2) I also backed up the ReadyNAS Pro configuration

3) After shutdown, I installed 6 new disks and did a factory default using fw 4.2.31 to get the unit to recognize all the space on the disks (it's more than 16 TB).

4) These steps have been successful.

 

My question now is for those who've done this. Has anybody got experience restoring the FULL volume c to the ReadyNAS Pro, including all home shares, all installed apps and their settings? I have a concern that if I do a restore share-by-share that will NOT include everything on the original volume c (namely, all the apps and their settings, and I'm not sure what else).

 

Please let me know how you did it -- I'd like to take advantage of a successful restore that's know to have worked (at least once 🙂 ).

 

TIA,

David

 

Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6310|ReadyNAS Pro 6
Message 1 of 9

Accepted Solutions
StephenB
Guru

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default


@Deal wrote:

I read through the document linked in your post and even the one who wrote the instructions admits that he hasn't done the upgrade himself.


That of course was me.  My pro-6 is used as a backup NAS, and until I need to expand it again there is no need to convert it to OS-6. That particular post pulls together instructions from a much longer thread, and the instructions are correct.  

 


@Deal wrote:

 

1) What great features does OS6 offer above what 4.2.31 offers that is worth all the work and potential trouble to get it installed and working trouble-free?


Some of the features include

  • better snapshots (allowing for recovery of older versions of files)
  • Unlimited expansion
  • SMB 3 support (Microsoft is removing SMB 1, which is what the pro uses)
  • current Linux (with regular security updates)
  • ReadyCloud
  • apps for other cloud storage (Amazon, Google, etc)
  • Support for Plex
  • AntiVirus
  • File Search
  • Performance graphs

Different folks of course will put different values on these.

 


@Deal wrote:

 

 

2) What is the expected life of OS6? In other words, how long before Netgears comes out with another operating system that supplants OS6 and is not compatible with it? I don't expect anyone to really know the answer, but I consider that too.


Netgear is still launching new platforms that use OS-6, so there is no signs that they plan to abandon it.  

 

 

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Message 7 of 9

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StephenB
Guru

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

Apps and their settings (along with the share configuration) are stored on the OS partition, so they are were not backed up with the C volume.  Also, you can get in trouble if you restore the configuration settings before you reinstall the apps.  Also, in my experience some settings aren't saved/restored with the configuration, so you whould check everything over.

 

I suggest

  1. installing the apps
  2. restoring your configuration settings
  3. check your configuration settings.
  4. restore your data files (share by share or all at once doesn't really matter).

 

 

Message 2 of 9
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

Or an upgrade to OS 6 and data restore may be a better option going forward ?

Read ALL of this THREAD which is also applicable to ReadyNAS Pro 6

Message 3 of 9
Deal
Tutor

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

Thanks Stephen.

 

If I understand your post correctly, you're saying that there is no way to backup and restore apps on the ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition (firmware 4.2.31), and the only way to get the apps back is to reinstall them and reconfigure them from scratch. Correct this interpretation if I'm wrong.

 

If I'm right, seems like a huge gap in the backup process. I had Logitech Media Server installed and it has a ton of configuration information as well as in-app add-ins, which also have their own configuration information -- all of that is not backed up with either the configuration backup nor the full backup of 'c'. Wow! Disappointing. It's going to be a LOT of work just to get my system back to where it was before the factory reset, despite the backups I did. 😞

 

Thanks for your help

David

Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6310|ReadyNAS Pro 6
Message 4 of 9
Deal
Tutor

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

Thanks bedlam1, I appreciate the suggestion and your enthusiasm for OS6.

 

At this point I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle an unsupported upgrade to OS6. I read through the document linked in your post and even the one who wrote the instructions admits that he hasn't done the upgrade himself. He also states that its the "Basic" process, leaving me to wonder what isn't covered. I just have visions of getting part-way through the whole operation and running into snags for which there are no answers/no documents and no support. I have LMS 7.9.1 running smoothly without issues on 4.2.31 and I've seen some posts of folks who have, through a complex process of upgrades, got it running at some level of functionality on OS6, and still others who had trouble getting it running. This appears to be another opportunity to spend my time troubleshooting. And I'm weary of that now after just having completed troubleshooting a Windows 10 re-install on my PC. At this point I just want to sit back and enjoy the music. 🙂

 

But a couple questions do come to mind about OS6, probably out of my ignorance about it.

 

1) What great features does OS6 offer above what 4.2.31 offers that is worth all the work and potential trouble to get it installed and working trouble-free? I've read about unlimited volume expansion which is nice, but whenever I buy larger disks, its likely to be with a new system as mine is close to 10 years old now. I've also read of the capability to take the OS6 disks out of the older unit and use them in the new unit. Nice capability, but how solid is the process (tried and true) and how well is it documented?

 

2) What is the expected life of OS6? In other words, how long before Netgears comes out with another operating system that supplants OS6 and is not compatible with it? I don't expect anyone to really know the answer, but I consider that too.

Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6310|ReadyNAS Pro 6
Message 5 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default


@Deal wrote:

Thanks Stephen.

 

If I understand your post correctly, you're saying that there is no way to backup and restore apps on the ReadyNAS Pro Business Edition (firmware 4.2.31), and the only way to get the apps back is to reinstall them and reconfigure them from scratch. Correct this interpretation if I'm wrong.

 

If I'm right, seems like a huge gap in the backup process.


It is a hole.  Note that Netgear didn't write the apps, and configuration of the apps (both what is configured and where it is stored) was up to the app developer, not Netgear.  Netgear did make some adjustments for this in OS-6 (where the apps are stored on the data volume, and not the OS partition).

 

That said, some of the app configuration files might well be in the configuration backup.  That is why I recommended reinstalling the apps before you attempt to restore the configuration.  If you do it in the other order you can break things.

 

Have you already done the factory default?  You could go in with ssh, and manually back up the LMS folders.

Message 6 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default


@Deal wrote:

I read through the document linked in your post and even the one who wrote the instructions admits that he hasn't done the upgrade himself.


That of course was me.  My pro-6 is used as a backup NAS, and until I need to expand it again there is no need to convert it to OS-6. That particular post pulls together instructions from a much longer thread, and the instructions are correct.  

 


@Deal wrote:

 

1) What great features does OS6 offer above what 4.2.31 offers that is worth all the work and potential trouble to get it installed and working trouble-free?


Some of the features include

  • better snapshots (allowing for recovery of older versions of files)
  • Unlimited expansion
  • SMB 3 support (Microsoft is removing SMB 1, which is what the pro uses)
  • current Linux (with regular security updates)
  • ReadyCloud
  • apps for other cloud storage (Amazon, Google, etc)
  • Support for Plex
  • AntiVirus
  • File Search
  • Performance graphs

Different folks of course will put different values on these.

 


@Deal wrote:

 

 

2) What is the expected life of OS6? In other words, how long before Netgears comes out with another operating system that supplants OS6 and is not compatible with it? I don't expect anyone to really know the answer, but I consider that too.


Netgear is still launching new platforms that use OS-6, so there is no signs that they plan to abandon it.  

 

 

Message 7 of 9
Deal
Tutor

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default

Thanks Stephen.

 

I guess theere are several features that I wasn't aware of that might be useful to me: 1,3,4,6,7,9, and now you've got me considering doing it.

 

I guress my biggest fear is based on my ignorance of Linux, and from what I've seen/read about these techniques, it seems like I need to have a working knowledge of Linux to get things working, even if just to do minor troubleshooting or to make adjustments where the canned "script" doesn't quite fit.

 

In one of your other replies to my post, you asked if I've already done the factory default (I have) and suggested that I could use ssh to save the LMS configt files. This is a perfect example of my problem. I don't know how to use ssh effectively and will have to research that to learn. Years ago I enabled ssh on my Pro in order to resolve an issue between subsonic and ffmpeg (after an upgrade to v5.1, subsonic couldn't find ffmpeg any more). I could not solve the issue though I did eventually figure out how to get connected (using putty, I believe). I guess I'll h ave to decide if Im ready to jump off the ledge with this.

 

Thanks for your insight. I appreciate them.

David

 

Model: ReadyNAS RNDP6310|ReadyNAS Pro 6
Message 8 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: How to restore volume 'c' after factory default


@Deal wrote:

 

 In one of your other replies to my post, you asked if I've already done the factory default (I have) and suggested that I could use ssh to save the LMS configt files. This is a perfect example of my problem. I don't know how to use ssh effectively and will have to research that to learn.  ... I guess I'll h ave to decide if Im ready to jump off the ledge with this.

 


That is one of the disadvantages of using add-ons (or "apps" as OS-6 calls them).  A second is one you've also identified - switching to a new platform becomes more complicated because you need to figure out both migrating the storage and rehosting the apps.  A third is that sometimes a NAS firmware upgrade will break some of your applications (or vice versa).  These disadvantages are usually managable, but they can be disruptive from time to time.

 

One option is to learn some linux - if you are already comfortable with using a command line interface, then you can get the basics of linux down fairly quickly.  It's helpful to use a test machine (or a USB boot disk), since that eliminates any risk to your real data while you are learning.  

 

There is another approach you could also consider.  Enterprises generally strictly separate storage from application servers - which costs more (since you need at least two machines), but which makes it easier to upgrade either your storage and your application server since they are completely independent.  Plus you can use Windows or OSX for the application server if you like. 

 

I switched to that model for my home NAS about 18 months ago - I use a 526X ReadyNAS for my primary storage, and mount the data volume on a Windows 10 PC which functions as my application server. Plex, CrashPlan, Resilio Sync and other applications run on the PC.   The PC has a 10GBaseT network card (and the RN526X does too), so the performance isn't limited by gigabit ethernet.  So far it's working out well for me.

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