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Hello, for some years already I have ReadyNAS Duo (SPARC aka v1). From the very beginning there are 2 disks of 1TB with X-RAID (redundancy).
The time has come to upgrade for more space. So I got one 2TB drive. What I want is to have all the same configuration of shares, accounts, rights, add-ons but with only one 2 TB drive in my ReadyNAS Duo and of course (almost) 2TB of disk space available for my data. I don't think I'll be buying second 2TB drive later for this unit but maybe one day if I can get one for free or cheaply then I'll put it there for redundancy.
So, what is the simple way of reconfiguring from 2×1TB to 1×2TB without factory reset?
XRAID on Duo or any 2-bay ReadyNAS is mirror RAID. One disk mirrors the other. The volume capacity is equal to the smallest size of disk, which means if you are going to have a combination of 1TB and 2TB disks, you are wasting 1TB space of the 2TB disk as it mirrors the other.
Best thing here is if you are trying to expand the volume you need to have 2x 2TB and not just one.
To expand the existing 2x1TB space, just remove 2nd disk and replace it with the 2TB. Once it is done synching, replace the disk 1 with 2TB.
However, I strongly suggest you backup the data (as we always suggest to always have full backup) since this unit is a very old version that do not have XRAID2 which is essential when it comes to volume expansion. Having full backup will save you in case you encounter any trouble with the expansion.
Yes, I know that putting two 2TB disks would have given me 2TB of disk space with redundancy.
At this stage I don't care for redundancy. Neither I want to buy second 2TB disk.
What I want is to have:
1. all my configuration settings preserved,
2. 2TB disk space
3. ONE disk of 2TB capacity inside my ReadyNAS Duo (SPARC).
The question is: is there a way to get this without manually recreating all configs?
What will happen in that given scenario:
1. ReadyNAS is on with two disks of 1TB synchronized and redundant,
2. I hot remove disk no2,
3. I put new 2TB disk into bay 2,
4. ReadyNAS initiates and synchronizes new drive,
5. When sync is done I hot remove disk 1,
6. I reboot ReadyNAS.
Will it expand to 2TB then?
If it will not expand automatically, will it expand with manually initiated command? If so, how to do it manually?
I don't think that will work. AFAIK the NAS will not expand unless both drives are replaced with larger ones. X-RAID doesn't support reducing the number of discs or disc capacity.
If you hotswap your current disc 2 and replace it with a 2 TB disc the NAS will resync. When you remove the disc in bay 1 the NAS wil consider the volume as degraded as there is no longer any redundancy.
I doubt that rebooting the device will change this.
If you want to have the NAS running with just one disc you will have to do a full backup and then do a factory reset with the 2 TB in the NAS (And ONLY this disc). This will wipe all data and settings.
Ok - so there is no other way for me than factory reset.
Then could you tell me please if:
1. After I made factory reset - is there any difference if I put the 2TB disk (as the ONLY disk in the NAS) into bay 1 or bay 2?
2. I saved not only data, but also settings somewhere else. After factory reset and now ONE 2TB drive I can run RAIDar and have few minutes to choose - what to choose: JBOD or X-RAID? Considering there will be ONE drive in the NAS, probably for long time if not for the rest of the life of this NAS, but there is LITTLE chance that someone will give me good 2TB drive as a gift, I'll not have other option to use it, so I'd put it into the NAS then.
Will there be choice of X-RAID/JBOD at all if there is only ONE disk inside?
3. I try do restore my config from a saved file - will it work with new bigger disk and just ONE disk (JBOD vs. X-RAID)?
1. There is no difference whether you use bay 1 or 2.
2. It is up to you if you use XRAID or FlexRAID. XRAID if you are expecting to have an additional disk for the other bay. It is for redundancy and not expansion. Setting up the NAS always starts with volume creation where it asks which RAID you want to use.
3. See page 98 Back Up and Restore Settings in the user manual, it does not matter if you use XRAID or not as long as there is a volume created.
I remove both old 1TB disks from NAS. I put ONE new 2TB disk into NAS. It is initialised etc. I play with it for some time - I create accounts, put some data on it - I play with this new disk for some time to see how it works. Then I remove this 2 TB disk from the NAS and I put back two old disks into the NAS again. Will everything be the same, as it was before? I mean configs, data? Or the NAS will treat the old disk as new ones and initialise it from the beginning.
Data and settings are saved to the disk/s. So if you remove the new disk from the chassis and put the old one back in, it should still give you access to the data and still have the same settings, it is safer if you power off the NAS first before removing and inserting any of the disk. Also, make sure to take note which bay the old disk is situated, always insert it to same bay where it has been working.
The net here is that to get what you want you need to save the data to external storage (PC internal drive or USB drive), and then do the factory reset with only one drive in place. There is no way around it.
If you choose flexraid, you'll be able to add the 1 TB drive back later on, and have a C volume with 2 TB and a D volume with 1 TB.
Does it mean that if I put one new 2 TB disk, then do factory reset, make new config and then put second disk into the NAS - let's say 1TB disk - then I have 2TB+1TB = 3TB disk space available ony my NAS for my files? Always thought that for a ReadyNAS Duo SPARC 2TB user disk space is maximum.
Does it mean that if I put one new 2 TB disk, then do factory reset, make new config and then put second disk into the NAS - let's say 1TB disk - then I have 2TB+1TB = 3TB disk space available ony my NAS for my files?
Yes - if you choose flexraid/RAID-0 during the initial setup (and set up with only one disk installed). As I said, you'l end up with a 2 TB C volume in your case, and if you hot-insert the 1 TB drive you'll be able to create a separate D volume for that drive. My duo v1 is set up that way with 2x2TB (2 TB C and 2 TB D).
As mgdm explained, the 2 TB limit is for the drive size, the max volume capacity of the duo v1 is 4 TB if you give up RAID redundancy.
First - you say about FlexRaid (RAID-0). Is it different than JBOD? Should be. I know that in case of Duo v1 after factory reset I have few minutes to decide od choose between X-RAID and ... - I was sure that only other choice then X-RAID would be JBOD. Am I wrong?
Anyway - I remove current two 1TB disks working so far as X-RAID, then I put one 2TB drive into NAS. Then I do factory reset and in RAIDar I make choice for non X-RAID (FlexRaid or JBOD). I see how my RadyNAS works with new setup. After few days - let's imagine - I'm not happy with the new setup. So I turn off the ReadyNAS, remove 2TB disk and put two 1TB disks back into their respective places. I turn the ReadyNAS on - will it be X-RAID and all settings and data as it was before factory reset? Or ReadyNAS would remember FlexRaid (or JBOD) setting and offer me only to initiate the two disks from the beginning in this mode? I know that I've already asked similiar question, but I wan't to be sure that factory reset will not be the point of no return im my case.
First - you say about FlexRaid (RAID-0). Is it different than JBOD? Should be. I know that in case of Duo v1 after factory reset I have few minutes to decide od choose between X-RAID and ... - I was sure that only other choice then X-RAID would be JBOD. Am I wrong?
When you choose (via RAIDar) the choice is XRAID or FlexRAID. Then the FlexRAID mode. On the duo v1, it is always presented as a RAID mode. So "JBOD" is configured as RAID-0 with a single drive in the volume. It is possible to span two drives with RAID-0 (giving you a single volume up to 4 TB). However, that is quite fragile - if either drive fails, you lose everything. So we don't recommend it for most users.
I prefer doing this with 1 disk installed initially, because I've found it is quite easy to select the wrong mode (RAID-0 for 2 drives with one volume) - forcing you to do another reset to get it correct. After the initial setup, you can hot-insert a second drive, and then create the volume for that. Of course you want to begin with one volume anyway...
Of course you need to do the reset with the 2x1 TB drives removed. If the 2 TB drive is blank, you simply power down, remove the existing disks (labeling them), and inserting the 2 TB drive in slot 1. Then power up, and the 5 minute RAIDar window will start.
If the new drive is formatted, you can unformat it in Windows (either delete any volumes with windows disk management, or zero the drive with vendor diags).
After few days - let's imagine - I'm not happy with the new setup. So I turn off the ReadyNAS, remove 2TB disk and put two 1TB disks back into their respective places. I turn the ReadyNAS on - will it be X-RAID and all settings and data as it was before factory reset?
Yes. The operating system and the configuration (shares, RAID, everything) is saved on the disks. So if you restore the original disks to their original slots with the NAS powered down, and then powerup, the NAS will return to its current state.
