I have an NVX Business Edition with four 2TB drives in it. I want to replace all of them with 3TB or 4TB drives. Will the NVX handle the 12TB or 16TB capacity and if so can I expand the array the usual way, one dive at a time? Or do I need to start from scratch?
ReadyNAS NVX Business Edition [X-RAID2] Serial: xxxxx4RW001A9 Firmware: RAIDiator 4.2.26
It will not expand volumes more than 16 TiB. And there is a growth limit of 8 TiB over the life of the volume. So to answer your question we need to know the disk configuration you used at your original install (or last factory reset).
If you can't expand you current volume, you'll need to do a factory reset with the new drives in place. Given the 16 TiB limit, you might consider switching to flexraid, as it would give you more expansion options later on (as the 5 and 6 TB drives come onto the market).
It will not expand volumes more than 16 TiB. And there is a growth limit of 8 TiB over the life of the volume. So to answer your question we need to know the disk configuration you used at your original install (or last factory reset).
If you can't expand you current volume, you'll need to do a factory reset with the new drives in place. Given the 16 TiB limit, you might consider switching to flexraid, as it would give you more expansion options later on (as the 5 and 6 TB drives come onto the market).
Sometimes I can't even remember what I had for breakfast! It's probably been expanded three of four times. Likely started with 330 maybe 350 drives, then went to 500's or 750's then 1TB and lastly 2TB. Not so sure about the earlier ones but the last three 750/1TB/2TB I'm pretty sure about. I don't mind starting from scratch if I have to. But right now I'm almost out of space 6TB of storage. That's gonna take a loooooong time to restore over a USB 2.0 port. I'm currently backing up about 4TB of the total data.
I've not paid much attention to the boards in a while. Will have to check on Flexraid. I'm assuming my current hw and firmware supports it? Oh - btw - any suggestions on 3 or 4TB drives. I'm generally partial to Seagate, WD and Hitachi in that order. The "official" Netgear compatibility chart tops compatible drives out at 3TB for my NVX.
I also have the NVX Business Edition and need to replace a failing disc, with the intention of buying a third and considering upgrading them from 1TB.
Seagate have confirmed that they no longer produce the 1TB ST31000340NS, although they still appear to be available through retailers.
I'm willing to change brands if necessary, but want to know the best 1TB and 2TB drives (with Rotation Vibration Safeguard) to consider for the NVX from the Hardware Compatibility List, and to clarify the spec listed in the cache column. Is this how much the disc can process/transfer, and does it mean a disc listed as 64MB won't work in a x86 NAS like the NVX?
It will not expand volumes more than 16 TiB. And there is a growth limit of 8 TiB over the life of the volume. So to answer your question we need to know the disk configuration you used at your original install (or last factory reset).
If you can't expand you current volume, you'll need to do a factory reset with the new drives in place. Given the 16 TiB limit, you might consider switching to flexraid, as it would give you more expansion options later on (as the 5 and 6 TB drives come onto the market).
Sometimes I can't even remember what I had for breakfast! It's probably been expanded three of four times. Likely started with 330 maybe 350 drives, then went to 500's or 750's then 1TB and lastly 2TB. Not so sure about the earlier ones but the last three 750/1TB/2TB I'm pretty sure about. I don't mind starting from scratch if I have to. But right now I'm almost out of space 6TB of storage. That's gonna take a loooooong time to restore over a USB 2.0 port. I'm currently backing up about 4TB of the total data.
If you download the logs, you can trace the expansion history (tedious but possible). The net is that expansion will fail if you exceed the growth limit and if that occurs you will be forced to do a reset.
It will be faster to restore over a gigabit ethernet connection btw.
I've not paid much attention to the boards in a while. Will have to check on Flexraid. I'm assuming my current hw and firmware supports it? Oh - btw - any suggestions on 3 or 4TB drives. I'm generally partial to Seagate, WD and Hitachi in that order. The "official" Netgear compatibility chart tops compatible drives out at 3TB for my NVX.
I am partial to WD myself. The Seagate VN drive line or the WD Red (or even Red Pro) should all work. Getting support if you stray from the HCL might be a future problem, but honestly Netgear's refusal to update the HCL on the older NAS leaves you little choice.
I've read the thread already. What you've requoted doesn't answer my questions:
I'm willing to change brands if necessary, but want to know the best 1TB and 2TB drives (with Rotation Vibration Safeguard) to consider for the NVX from the Hardware Compatibility List, and to clarify the spec listed in the cache column. Is this how much the disc can process/transfer, and does it mean a disc listed as 64MB won't work in a x86 NAS like the NVX?
I'm willing to change brands if necessary, but want to know the best 1TB and 2TB drives (with Rotation Vibration Safeguard) to consider for the NVX from the Hardware Compatibility List, and to clarify the spec listed in the cache column. Is this how much the disc can process/transfer, and does it mean a disc listed as 64MB won't work in a x86 NAS like the NVX?
(a) the cache size is invisible to the NAS (or any PC), so 64 MB will work fine.
(b) Asking "which disk is best" is like asking which automobile or mobile phone is "best". Opinions differ, and to some degree it depends what you want. Highest performance? Most power efficient? Does acoustic noise matter to you? How about warranty?
Personally I'd get the WD20EFRX. I've had good results from the WDC Reds in my Pro-6, my duo v1, my RN102, and my RN202.
Thanks for clarifying that. Can you also confirm whether or not Rotation Vibration Safeguard is listed amongst specs of drives with such? I know it sounds obvious but I haven't always seen this spec when searching for drives on HCL confirmed to have RVS.
If cache size invisible to NAS/PC what purpose does it serve and is NAS/PC faster? If so, what difference will 64MB have from 32MB on x86 NAS?
@daztrue wrote: Thanks for clarifying that. Can you also confirm whether or not Rotation Vibration Safeguard is listed amongst specs of drives with such? I know it sounds obvious but I haven't always seen this spec when searching for drives on HCL confirmed to have RVS.
I believe the name RVS was first used by Hitachi (now hgst). There are other names for similar features used by other manufacturers. WDC calls it "3D Active Balance™ Plus", Seagate includes the feature as part of their "NASWorks™ technology" in the VN disks. The basic feature is to compensate for vibration from a nearby disk (in the adjacent bays). All NAS-purposed drives and enterprise drives should have this feature. I don't see any reason to use desktop drives in a NAS any more, now that NAS purposed drives are available from both Seagate and WDC.
If cache size invisible to NAS/PC what purpose does it serve and is NAS/PC faster? If so, what difference will 64MB have from 32MB on x86 NAS?
The cache is memory inside the disk drive that improves the performance of the disk. The disk can save data in that memory, and then optimize the order of writes. Also, if something was just read/written, and then is read again, the disk can return the data without accessing the platter. All things being equal, a disk with a large cache will have better performance than a disk with a smaller cache.
The NAS (or PC) can't access this cache, it is internal to the disk drive and is managed by the disk itself.
All things being equal, a disk with a large cache will have better performance than a disk with a smaller cache.
The NAS (or PC) can't access this cache, it is internal to the disk drive and is managed by the disk itself.
Thanks again, very informative. However, the cache info raised further questions: does it matter if discs in the same array have different sized caches? And could those with a higher cache cause 'strain' or potential disruption of some kind to those with a lower cache - or the whole array?
I've no idea what the cache size of my existing discs is. Is it simply down to disc model number or can I find out on the disc or in settings somehow?
@daztrue wrote: However, the cache info raised further questions: does it matter if discs in the same array have different sized caches? And could those with a higher cache cause 'strain' or potential disruption of some kind to those with a lower cache - or the whole array?
No, it doesn't matter. Your ReadyNAS handles mixed drives very well, so there is no problem with different cache sizes.
