That should work. Although with only a single disk installed, you don't need to (can't??) set it to RAID0.
I assume you are wanting to move from the RN102 to the 312? What is your final goal, to run the 312 in RAID0 for 8TB of total space (without redundancy, with all the data from the RN102?
I think it might even be possible to just take the drive from the 102 and insert it into the (empty) 312, and keep all your data. I'm sure someone else can confirm whether it is possible or not.
You have unneeded steps (assuming you want the usual xraid setup).
1) Install the new 4TB drive into the 312.
2) Copy over files from the 102 as needed
3) Move the drive from the 102 to the 312, and add it to the array.
Though I'd keep the RN102 running myself, and use it for backup.
1) Install the new 4TB drive into the 312.
2) Copy over files from the 102 as needed
3) Set up daily backup jobs on the RN102
4) Later on get another 4 TB drive for the RN312 (upgrading to RAID-1).
RAID is a good thing, but I'll take a completely independent backup over RAID any day.
Actually I'm considering switching to FlexRAID to get the full 8TB storage space. I haven't fully made up my mind though, as I'm not sure how likely a problem is to occur (I've got WD Red drives) and, as you suggest, I've got completely independent backups of the most important stuff anyway (Using Bittorrent Sync).
In actual fact, I may be passing the 102 on to my parents, and then setting that up (again, with Bittorrent Sync) so that we each back up the other's important files anyway.
That should work. Although with only a single disk installed, you don't need to (can't??) set it to RAID0.
I assume you are wanting to move from the RN102 to the 312? What is your final goal, to run the 312 in RAID0 for 8TB of total space (without redundancy, with all the data from the RN102?
That's what I'm thinking of aiming for, yes. If I can't set a single volume to RAID0, how do I do it? Won't it reformat the drive if I do it after installing the second drive?
I think it might even be possible to just take the drive from the 102 and insert it into the (empty) 312, and keep all your data. I'm sure someone else can confirm whether it is possible or not.
I've got another thread elsewhere with a long, sorry tale as to why that doesn't seem to be working for me and which prompted me to buy the new 4TB drive in the first place (I hadn't really wanted to spend the money). I think it might have been solved now (need to test it tonight) but since I have the new drive...
That should work. Although with only a single disk installed, you don't need to (can't??) set it to RAID0.
I assume you are wanting to move from the RN102 to the 312? What is your final goal, to run the 312 in RAID0 for 8TB of total space (without redundancy, with all the data from the RN102?
That's what I'm thinking of aiming for, yes. If I can't set a single volume to RAID0, how do I do it? Won't it reformat the drive if I do it after installing the second drive?
That is a bad idea. If either drive fails you'd lose all your data on both drives.
A better approach would be to switch to flexraid and then add the second disk as jbod (a second volume). You'd need to set up shares on each volume - a minor inconvenience. But then when a disk fails, you only lose the files on that disk.
That's what I'm thinking of aiming for, yes. If I can't set a single volume to RAID0, how do I do it? Won't it reformat the drive if I do it after installing the second drive?
That is a bad idea. If either drive fails you'd lose all your data on both drives.
A better approach would be to switch to flexraid and then add the second disk as jbod (a second volume). You'd need to set up shares on each volume - a minor inconvenience. But then when a disk fails, you only lose the files on that disk.
That's an interesting thought. So how does the process work? When I've got a single disk in there it seems to be labelled as JBOD already. Can I simply install another and choose JBOD and not have to reformat any data?
Just to make sure I've got all bases covered, it's a lot simpler if I give up on aiming for 8TB of storage space and just use the second drive in an XRAID2 configuration, isn't it? I would just:
1) Install the new drive in the new 312. Factory reset or setup as required.
2) Copy files over from the older 4TB drive from the 102
3) Plug in the older 4TB drive from the 102
4) Wait for the system to
5) Reorganise files/folders etc. as needed
I do need step 2, don't I? The second drive being put in would be wiped and used for backup, if I've understood correctly?
Just to make sure I've got all bases covered, it's a lot simpler if I give up on aiming for 8TB of storage space and just use the second drive in an XRAID2 configuration, isn't it? I would just:
1) Install the new drive in the new 312. Factory reset or setup as required.
2) Copy files over from the older 4TB drive from the 102
I do need step 2, don't I? The second drive being put in would be wiped and used for backup, if I've understood correctly?
Yes, you would need step 2. Though the second drive isn't used for backup, it is part of the RAID-1 array. It's best not to think of RAID redundancy as a backup.
