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RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?

elfworks
Tutor

RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?

I think I crammed most of it in the title...

 

I just added four new 4TB drives (WD40EFRX) to an empty RN104 running the latest OS. (6.4.0)

 

On boot, it began a Resync that is estimated to take ~70 hours.

Is a Resync required on an empty set of disks? (If not, can I cancel?)

 

If I must Resync, can I just go ahead and start writing stuff to the drive while it's Resyncing? (I'm willing to take whatever performance hit there might be.)

 

Thanks!

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meverz
Apprentice

Re: RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?

The Sync is done on the block level of the drives, so even thoug hthey are empty, they still need to be resynced.

 

If it is that critical to copy the data across, you can start adding data while the resync is taking place. Although you will take a significant performance hit, on both the Sync and the write speed. AND, you will not have the benefit of reduncancy until the resync is finished.

 

Unless it is critical data, my suggestion would be to wait until the resync is finished, THEN copy the data across.

 

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Message 2 of 6

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meverz
Apprentice

Re: RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?

The Sync is done on the block level of the drives, so even thoug hthey are empty, they still need to be resynced.

 

If it is that critical to copy the data across, you can start adding data while the resync is taking place. Although you will take a significant performance hit, on both the Sync and the write speed. AND, you will not have the benefit of reduncancy until the resync is finished.

 

Unless it is critical data, my suggestion would be to wait until the resync is finished, THEN copy the data across.

 

Message 2 of 6
StephenB
Guru

Re: RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?


@meverz wrote:

The Sync is done on the block level of the drives, so even thoug hthey are empty, they still need to be resynced.

 

If it is that critical to copy the data across, you can start adding data while the resync is taking place. Although you will take a significant performance hit, on both the Sync and the write speed. AND, you will not have the benefit of reduncancy until the resync is finished.

 

As meverz suggests, syncing first and then uploading data will get you there quickest.  But there isn't any risk to going in parallel, just make sure you don't delete the data you are copying from the original source until the resync is done.   So if you wish, you could upload some data while the sync is completing.  Maybe start with a smaller folder, so you'll get some idea of the impact on the sync time.

 

You might also want to use a more robust copy method than drag/drop.  Windows Robocopy is good, but is a command line tool.  Teracopy is also reasonable (and can verify the copy).  These methods usually take a bit longer, but in my opinion it is good to do what you can to ensure that everything is copied properly - esp. if you are uploading a lot of data with a wifi connection.

 

And keep in mind that even with RAID you do need to back up data on the NAS.

 

Message 3 of 6
elfworks
Tutor

Re: RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?

Thank you both for the feedback. The manual said to wait for resync to finish, but then says you can use it normally while the resync is running. I thought it best to ask first.

I tried a smaller folder and it did take a considerable performance hit. (Resync went from ~55 hours to ~160!)

 

I'm just upgrading from an older home server. None of this is 'mission critical,' so I'll just let it resync for a few days.

 

Is it possible to shut the RN104 down before the resync finishes, or will it have to restart the resync on reboot? (I'd like to move the NAS off my desk and into the basement with the other server. I didn't realize it was going to be stuck on my desk for three days once I booted it. I'm afraid I'm going to bump into it and corrupt the resync.)

 

On the subject of copying:

Since I'm copying from another NAS box, I was planning on using the Backup service in the ReadyNAS control panel to copy the old NAS server to the new one. I figured that would copy the files directly between the two NAS devices. I did a small backup as my test, and it seemed to work fine - it was just slow because of the resync going on in the background.

Teracopy would be great if I was copying from my local machine, but I'm guessing it would probably double my network traffic to use my machine as the middle man?

Message 4 of 6
StephenB
Guru

Re: RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?


@elfworks wrote:

 

Is it possible to shut the RN104 down before the resync finishes, or will it have to restart the resync on reboot? (I'd like to move the NAS off my desk and into the basement with the other server. I didn't realize it was going to be stuck on my desk for three days once I booted it. I'm afraid I'm going to bump into it and corrupt the resync.)

 

You are supposed to be able to shut it down.  It might cost you some time (it is possible it will resync from the beginning).  If you can leave it there, that would be best.  

 

If you are careful, you can move it to the floor while it is running.  There is a fair amount of angular momentum (think gyroscopes or flywheels) so if you do that try not to rotate it.


 

On the subject of copying:

Since I'm copying from another NAS box, I was planning on using the Backup service in the ReadyNAS control panel to copy the old NAS server to the new one. I figured that would copy the files directly between the two NAS devices. I did a small backup as my test, and it seemed to work fine - it was just slow because of the resync going on in the background.

Teracopy would be great if I was copying from my local machine, but I'm guessing it would probably double my network traffic to use my machine as the middle man?


For NAS to NAS I use rsync frontview backup jobs (one share at a time usually).  You can speed it up some if you use NFS, then edit the job to use Rsync and rerun.  

 

Using Teracopy (or robocopy) would double the traffic load.  With a switch, that has little effect on the network if you use ethernet. The switch should have enough internal bandwidth to keep up, and gigabit is full duplex.  But still, its'

 

Message 5 of 6
elfworks
Tutor

Re: RN104 - Added 4 new 4TB drives. 2.5 days to Resync. Start copying files, or wait til it's done?

I was able to shut down the RN104 without issue. When it booted, it continued resyncing from the point it left off. (18.2% done and counting! Woohoo!)

So, it looks like you don't lose any resyncing if you have to shut it down for any reason.

 

Thanks for the tip about using Rsync and NFS! I will read up on those features. (I've got time. It'll be at least two days before it's done resyncing. 🙂 )

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