Migration of RN426 from X-RAID RAID 5 to FLEX-RAID RAID 6

[WarrenT]

I have an existing RN426 (called ‘Primary’) populated with 6 x 2TB WD Red EFAX disks, formatted as X-RAID, RAID 5. This device has all my data files in 8 shares, in 1 volume ‘data’. Total data is about 700GB, so there is lots of spare space.

All my data on ‘Primary’ is backed up daily (using RSYNC and via daily DR smart snapshots) to ‘Backup’, a second NAS RN424 (running under X-RAID, RAID 5) on the same LAN.

To bring additional protection to NAS ‘Primary’ (RN426), I would like to reconfigure from X-RAID, RAID 5 to FLEX-RAID, RAID 6. This will reduce total data capacity, but will give tolerance for 2 concurrent drive failures.

I believe the mechanism to change from X-RAID to FLEX-RAID is in theory simple (ReadyNAS forum has articles on Adding protection to a Flex-RAID volume and to Change the volumes on ReadyNAS OS6 storage system from X-RAID to Flex-RAID) , provided there is no data on the disks at the time of the change. However, I believe the difficulty arises when there are existing shares and data on the volume ‘data’ which is being migrated to from X-RAID to FLEX-RAID, RAID 6.

I would welcome any comments before tackling this hazardous journey.

Thanks,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote:

I believe the mechanism to change from X-RAID to FLEX-RAID is in theory simple

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Yes, you just click on the XRAID control on the volume tab.  The green stripe disappears, and you are in FlexRAID.

But that doesn't change the RAID configuration of the data volume.  You have to use ssh for that.  @Sandshark posted how to remove a drive from the RAID volume here: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS-in-Business/Reducing-RAID-size-removing-drives-...

Once you've done reduced the array to 5x2TB, you can format the drive from the volume page and add it back for redundancy.  (You could also add it back using ssh if you want).

Alternatively, just destroy the data volume, create a new one as RAID-6, and restore the data from your backup.  Uninstall your apps first (and reinstall them when done).

[WarrenT]

I have now read the following notes on the forum. These make me reconsider my desire to move to FLEX-RAID. It seems that for a single volume 'data', I can have RAID 6 under X-RAID. If so, would be great and I will stay with X-RAID.

Here is what I have read in the forum about X-RAID and FLEX-RAID.

"Is Flex-raid a proprietary Netgear tech?  In case of an enclosure failure, I want to make sure I can plug one of the hard drives into a Linux box to be able to read items.  Is Flex-raid just another way of saying "RAID?" RAIDX; Flex-RAID; RAID  Are these three different things?

Neither is actually Netgear proprietary.  "Flex-RAID" is what Negear calls what everyone else calls "RAID", just to differentiate it from XRAID.  XRAID (at least in the current OS) is really just standard RAID but with a layer on top that makes expansion decisions for you instead of requiring you to know enough to execute them yourself.

XRAID volumes can still be standard RAID1, RAID5, or RAID6, depending on the number of drives.  One limitation is that XRAID is limited to one volume per chassis.

X-RAID is an auto-expandable RAID technology that is available only on ReadyNAS systems. This is usually used by first time NAS users or users without extensive knowledge on RAID system.

X-RAID allows you to add storage space without reformatting your drives or moving your data to another location. Because the expansion happens online, you can continue to use your ReadyNAS system while the volume capacity increases. As @Sandshark said, one limitation of X-RAID is that it's a one volume architecture and all disks that you will plan to add will be added to that volume and also there are advantages to that such as easy management and the auto expansion feature.

On the other hand

Flex-RAID/RAID allows you to have multiple volume setup on your system and choose what RAID leve you will be using. However, with Flex-RAID formatting, if you want to add disks to expand your storage capacity, you must back up the data to another system, add a disk, reformat the RAID volume, and restore the data to the new RAID volume. With X-RAID, none of those administrative tasks are required. Instead, with X-RAID, your volume automatically expands to accommodate additional disks or larger-capacity disks.

https://kb.netgear.com/22802/What-is-X-RAID-and-how-does-it-work-with-my-ReadyNAS-OS-6-storage-syste...

https://kb.netgear.com/22808/What-is-Flex-RAID-and-how-does-it-work-with-my-ReadyNAS-OS-6-storage-sy...

Also, both Flex-RAID and X-RAID volumes can be mounted in a standard linux box.  

So you might reconsider your reasons to avoid X-RAID.

[WarrenT]

Thanks for the advice. My Reply got 'lost' and has not appeared, so a repost. Pse forgive any duplication.

I have got some more data, which makes me realise I can stay with X-RAID and have RAID6. If so, that is great. How would I go about that?

My 426 currently has 4 x 2TB WD Red drives, and I will shortly add 2 more 2TB WD Red drives. Should I do those under RAID5 or when at RIAD 6.

Here is what I have read in the forum about X-RAID and FLEX-RAID.

"Is Flex-raid a proprietary Netgear tech?  In case of an enclosure failure, I want to make sure I can plug one of the hard drives into a Linux box to be able to read items.  Is Flex-raid just another way of saying "RAID?" RAIDX; Flex-RAID; RAID  Are these three different things?

Neither is actually Netgear proprietary.  "Flex-RAID" is what Negear calls what everyone else calls "RAID", just to differentiate it from XRAID.  XRAID (at least in the current OS) is really just standard RAID but with a layer on top that makes expansion decisions for you instead of requiring you to know enough to execute them yourself.

XRAID volumes can still be standard RAID1, RAID5, or RAID6, depending on the number of drives.  One limitation is that XRAID is limited to one volume per chassis.

X-RAID is an auto-expandable RAID technology that is available only on ReadyNAS systems. This is usually used by first time NAS users or users without extensive knowledge on RAID system.

X-RAID allows you to add storage space without reformatting your drives or moving your data to another location. Because the expansion happens online, you can continue to use your ReadyNAS system while the volume capacity increases. As @Sandshark said, one limitation of X-RAID is that it's a one volume architecture and all disks that you will plan to add will be added to that volume and also there are advantages to that such as easy management and the auto expansion feature.

On the other hand

Flex-RAID/RAID allows you to have multiple volume setup on your system and choose what RAID leve you will be using. However, with Flex-RAID formatting, if you want to add disks to expand your storage capacity, you must back up the data to another system, add a disk, reformat the RAID volume, and restore the data to the new RAID volume. With X-RAID, none of those administrative tasks are required. Instead, with X-RAID, your volume automatically expands to accommodate additional disks or larger-capacity disks.

https://kb.netgear.com/22802/What-is-X-RAID-and-how-does-it-work-with-my-ReadyNAS-OS-6-storage-syste...

https://kb.netgear.com/22808/What-is-Flex-RAID-and-how-does-it-work-with-my-ReadyNAS-OS-6-storage-sy...

Also, both Flex-RAID and X-RAID volumes can be mounted in a standard linux box.  

So you might reconsider your reasons to avoid X-RAID."

Regards,

Warren

[WarrenT]

Hi Stephen,

Having read further including your recent reply and other notes, it seems a should re-phrase my original question to you about RAID 6.

Migrate from RN424 (X-RAID RAID 5) to New RN426 (X-RAID, RAID6)

I have a RN424 which holds all my data on 4 disks (X-RAID, RAID 5). I will purchase a new RN426 ‘Primary’ and re-purpose the RN424 as ‘Backup’. The 4 disks on the RN424 (4 x 2TB WD Red) will physically be migrated to the new RN426 as the starting core of 4 disks, containing all my data. I have two brand new WD Red 2TB disks to top up the 426 up to 6 disks. (In a later exercise I will repurpose the RN424 as my main Backup and close down the 2 x RN312 which are currently on Backup duty.)

RN426                6 x WD20EFAX from: 4 x WD20EFAX from RN424, and 2 x WD20EFAX new

1. Shut down 424. Remove all 4 disks, taking note of channel number. Keep in order 1-2-3-4.
2. Install 4 disks, in same order into 426, taking note channel number 1 is at top of box. This will bring across all the main attributes of the data volume on the RN424
3. Start up 426 – should be same password and IP address and configuration as old 424.
4. Change IP address to 192.168.1.60 and device name to ‘Primary’.
5. Change from X-RAID, RAID 5 to FLEX-RAID and configure as RAID 6.
6. Add 5th disk (new WD20EFAX). Add under FLEX-RAID as a Parity disk (I presume the second Parity Disk??), and allow to sync
7. Add 6th disk (new WD20EFAX), Add under FLEX-RAID as a what type of disk???, and allow to sync
8. Allow to run for 2 days to be sure of no problems
9. Change from FLEX-RAID back to X-RAID. RAID will remain as RAID 6

Your advice on this route will be appreciated.

Kind regards,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote: 4. Change IP address to 192.168.1.60 and device name to ‘Primary’.

The device name will already be Primary.  If the IP address is static, it would still be 192.168.1.60.   If it is reserved, you will need to change the reservation.

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@WarrenT wrote:

5. Change from X-RAID, RAID 5 to FLEX-RAID and configure as RAID 6.

6. Add 5th disk (new WD20EFAX). Add under FLEX-RAID as a Parity disk (I presume the second Parity Disk??), and allow to sync

7. Add 6th disk (new WD20EFAX), Add under FLEX-RAID as a what type of disk???, and allow to sync

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Not quite.  You 

5. Hot-insert the 5th disk and let the volume resync and expand

6. Change from XRAID to FlexRAID

7. Hot-insert the 6th disk.  Follow the instructions on page 43 of the user guide to "add parity" to the volume and allow it to resync.  http://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/READYNAS-100/READYNAS_OS_6_SM_EN.pdf

8. Change back to XRAID

To clarify- RAID 5 and RAID 6 don't have dedicated partity disks.  There are partity blocks that are distributed evenly across all the drives.

[WarrenT]

Good day Stephen,

Thanks for the helpful advice. I am out the office for some hours today so please allow me time to digest the advice.

Kind regards,

Warren

[WarrenT]

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for your patience. As I am inexperienced in terms of RAID matters, I would like to be quite sure I am following the correct process as I know that a wrong move in this area can often not be easily reversed. Could I ask you to look at the attached pdf document which summarises what you have told me and I have read in the OS Service Manual. In particular, I'd be grateful to your guidance on Q1 and Q2 within the document.

Kind regards and TIA,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote:

[Q1: What RAID level will be assigned based on the default for 5 disks? Probably RAID 5???]

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The RAID level isn't "assigned" when you switch to FlexRAID.  It's a property of the volume itself, and changing from XRAID to FlexRAID doesn't change that property.

In your specific case, your volume is RAID-5 now, and it will remain RAID-5 after you horizontally expand it in step 5.  So it will be shown as RAID-5 when you switch the mode to FlexRaid.

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@WarrenT wrote:

[Q2: Is this assumption regarding change of RAID from 5 to RAID 6 correct??]

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There will be no increase in the volume capacity with step 7(c), since the new disk is added for redundancy/parity.  But the process will result in a RAID-6 volume, and it does require reshaping/resynchronization to convert the volume to RAID-6.

[WarrenT]

Hi Stephen,

My sincere thanks for you advice - as usual it clear and to the point, which I much appreciate.

I am now happy that there is a clearly mapped way to bring a new RN426 into my system, and convert the RN424 to onsite backup duties, and the RN312 to offsite backup of the secondary ReadyDR snapsots. I will therefore place the order for the RN426 and disks.

I have say how useful it was to have access (which you provided) to the ReadyNAS OS6 Software Manual (all 300 pages!!) -Ver May2019. It is a very informative, up-to-date and well set-out reference document that covers so many aspects of NAS technology. I can recommend this to anyone embarking on the NAS journey. It is very good for explaining the significance of the different options for settings when configuring your NAS.

With warm wishes,

Warren

[WarrenT]

Stephen,

I have been trying to set up a monthly (or 4 weekly) RSYNC backup job. I could not find any setting beyond 24 hours. I contacted ReadyNAS tech support and they said there is no way on ReadyNAS to set up a backup job (between two NSA devices) on either a weekly, 4-weekly or monthly basis and that I should do such backups manually when I need them.

Can you give me any advice on setting up a weekly/4-weekly/monthly backup job from one NAS to a second NAS (on the same network).

Thanks,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote:

I contacted ReadyNAS tech support and they said there is no way on ReadyNAS to set up a backup job (between two NAS devices) on either a weekly, 4-weekly or monthly basis and that I should do such backups manually when I need them.

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Someone in Support needs more training.

They are correct in saying that you can't do monthly, but you can easily do weekly.

Just click on the days in "repeat" to enable or disable the backup on that day. If it's blue (as shown above), the backup is scheduled.

Personally I run daily backup jobs for each share.  They complete very quickly if there are no changes in the source share.

[Sandshark]

Note that if your volume started with any drives smaller then 2TB, and thus has more than one layer to the volume, you will be unable to switch back to XRAID.  I ran into that completely undocumented restriction on my system.  And I can see no reason for it.

[WarrenT]

Thank you for that warning. My volume started with 4 x 2TB drives to which I will add 2 more 2TB drives. I think this means I will not run into the problem you experienced, but I appreciate your warning. Cheers, Warren

[WarrenT]

Thanks Stephen, That advice worked well. I set the day of the week to Saturday, and this morning I checked and the backup jobs had run as expected. your help is much appreciated.

I would like to 'sharpen up' my focus on guarding my data against physical loss of my backup data due to onsite fire. I have the usual onsite safeguards in places such as a good firewall, antivirus and antimalware software on the PCs, no VPN operating, being careful about dodgy emails, controlled access for visitors on my Wifi. In addition to my main backup NAS (BackupA), I have a secondary Backup NAS (BackupB) dedicated to duplicate ReadyDR snapshot files. I have used Readynas Vault Services for 10 years for backup jobs, but feel they are now too expensive. I use 500GB (out of 1TB max) storage for my backups. I wanted to consder using Microsoft OneDrive for offsite backup. Is there a way of backing up a ReadyDR job to OneDrive that you are aware of (together with a recovery/rollback mechanism in case of the dreaded fire on premises)?

Any thoughts you or Sandshark may have will be very welcome to help shape my thinking.

Warren

[StephenB]

Personally I use CrashPlan for disaster recovery.  I run it on a Windows PC that has the NAS mapped to a network drive letter (note I only back up files on the NAS, not the PC itself). Cost is $10/month (per computer - which is the NAS in my case).  https://www.crashplan.com/en-us/

There is no storage limit, and it does retain old versions and deleted files.  But it's not intended to back up the operating system itself, so there are some file types it excludes: https://support.code42.com/CrashPlan/6/Troubleshooting/What_is_not_backing_up  Also it won't handle ReadyDR - instead it would back up the files in the shares of your main NAS.

With effort you should shift your backup NAS to an offsite location - for instance, a close friend or relative's home.  But you would need to trust your friend/relative, since they'd have physical access to the backup NAS.

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@WarrenT wrote:

Is there a way of backing up a ReadyDR job to OneDrive that you are aware of (together with a recovery/rollback mechanism in case of the dreaded fire on premises)?

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I don't.  There are cloud services (on the cloud page in the web ui) that allow you to sync shares to cloud storage (including OneDrive).  But they won't handle ReadyDR.

One thing to keep in mind - two-way sync isn't the same as backup. 

[WarrenT]

Thanks for those insights about CrashPlan. On a single device basis, it will certainly be cheaper than Netgear Vault Services on a pa basis.

I cannot locate CrashPlan on the 'Cloud' tab of OS6.10. Can I assume that CrashPlan interface will run directly on the NAS so my PC does not have to be running when the backups are scheduled to run? You say you run it on a Win10 PC to which the NAS volume is mapped. I note your advice on exclusions, which I have now read. These are OK for me.

Thank you,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote:

Can I assume that CrashPlan interface will run directly on the NAS so my PC does not have to be running when the backups are scheduled to run?

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No, it runs on the PC. Though it is possible to install it on the NAS, it is not easy to do that - and it requires use of ssh).  The PC I use is always on (generally I don't use apps on the NAS - instead I dedicate a PC as an applications server).  

You could also look into Acronis - that would run on the PC also.  It might actually be a bit cheaper for you, and it supports backup of network shares.

A variant is to set up a secondary backup of your NAS to an external drive connected to the PC.  Then you can use Crashplan to back up the USB drive.  That approach also lets you use other backup providers (for instance BackBlaze, and of course Acronis).  

FWIW, the backups aren't scheduled.  The application runs in the background, and updates the backups as needed.  With my setup, Crashplan doesn't always immediately discover updated files - but it does do a full file scan every day, which catches anything it might have missed.

[WarrenT]

Hi Stephen,

Many thanks for sharing your experiences in this area. Lots of food for thought. I had previously looked at Acronis, but considered it to 'heavy duty'. I will give further consideration to CrashPlan. I will also consider lodging my spare RN312 with my brother who is in the same town as I am (1 mile from my house) and has FTTC broadband link. Would that require a VPN between us?

Thanks again,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote:

I will also consider lodging my spare RN312 with my brother who is in the same town as I am (1 mile from my house) and has FTTC broadband link. Would that require a VPN between us?

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There are two approaches.  One is to use a VPN. 

The other is to forward the ReadyDR port (5253) in his router to the NAS and enable encrypted transport on the backups.  You'd reach his router by setting up DDNS on his side.

You'd also want to set up a secondary HTTPS port and forward that in his router as well (so you can remotely manage the RN312).  If you set up a secondary HTTPS, make sure you have a strong admin password on the RN312 (and disable http access to the shares on the RN312)

You might also need to forward 5253 at your end (and also set up DDNS for your router) to reverse the backup direction (running a ReadyDR backup job on the remote system to restore to the local one).

If you have Netgear routers there might be a free DDNS service already built into them.  You can also use NoIP.com (one account for you, the other for your brother).

[WarrenT]

Thanks Stephen for your guidance on establishing a link via the internet.

Much to weigh up.

Warren

[WarrenT]

Am now thinking of IDrive (for offsite backup) as it offers an app that is 'approved' for ReadyNAS. (I have still to check this fact somehow). I will ask IDrive about how 'robust' their Netgear RN426 app is. You may know of some experiences with IDrive and ReadyNAS (current models on OS 6.10.1).

My new RN426 has arrived and I am following the 'migration' protocol that you helped me establish. So far so good - thank you. Am waiting for the new 5th disk (WD Red 2TB) to sync and reshape data (X-RAID, RAID 5).

The RN426 has 4 GB ethernet ports on it, so I am trying to bond all 4 ports together (with 4 Cat6 cables linked to the switch (which supports link aggregation). I cannot bond all 4 ports together. It seems to me that I can bond together Eth0 + Eth1 into bond 0, and Eth2 + Eth3 into bond 1. But I cannot get all 4 ethernet ports to bond into a single bond. The team mode is XOR with Hash 2+3. Have I understood bonding correctly or am I missing something?

On my BackupA RN424 (2 ports), I have bonded those 2 ports OK with a single static IP address, with 2 cables to the (same as RN426) switch, with team mode = XOR with Hash 2+3, and all is working well.

My intention in using all 4 ports on the RN426 is to help improve data flow through the switch to the RN424 during daily backup operations.

[StephenB]

How many simultaneous clients do you expect to be using the NAS?  For most home users, bonding doesn't really matter much - it only helps when you have simultaneous users, since each user is still limited to 1 gigabit (assuming you use normal gigabit ethernet for your PCs).

Also, does your switch support LACP? 

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@WarrenT wrote:

I cannot bond all 4 ports together. It seems to me that I can bond together Eth0 + Eth1 into bond 0, and Eth2 + Eth3 into bond 1. But I cannot get all 4 ethernet ports to bond into a single bond. The team mode is XOR with Hash 2+3. Have I understood bonding correctly or am I missing something?

My own NAS only have two NICs, so this isn't something I can try. (FWIW, I use 10GBaseT with my RN526).

Are you saying that the system won't let you bond all four ports?  Or that you don't understand how that would work with XOR?

[WarrenT]

Thanks. Max clients is 3. Switch supports Static Link Aggregation.

I bonded two (Eth0 and Eth1), under TOR & Hash2+3. The system labelled this bond as bond0. To bond0 I tried to add a third ethernet port (Eth2). The OS would not allow adding of any further ports, so I eventually bonded Eth2 and Eth3 and the system allowed that bond (under TOR and Hash2+3) and called it bond1. So I now have bond0 and bond1. It looks to me as if you can only bond in pairs, and not as a quad. Your contacts at Netgear may know the answer to this condundrum.

Thanks,

Warren

[StephenB]

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@WarrenT wrote:

Thanks. Max clients is 3. Switch supports Static Link Aggregation.

I suggest using Round-Robin instead of XOR.  That should give you somewhat better throughput.  XOR has one chance in 8 of putting all traffic on the same link; Round-Robin will never do that.

Hopefully Netgear will chime in on your bonding question.  Personally though I'd just bond two connections.