× NETGEAR will be terminating ReadyCLOUD service by July 1st, 2023. For more details click here.
Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
Reply

ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

JLCosyn
Aspirant

ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

I have a ReadyNAS Ultra 4, with a single X-RAID2 volume on 4 drives. All 4 drives were 2TB and after 6 years the volume was getting full, so I began the process of replacing them with 4TB drives, one at a time. After replacing each drive, I let the system complete the sync, and after all 4 had been replaced and the final sync was complete, I rebooted to begin the volume expansion. However, there was apparently a problem with the expansion, and it failed. So the system currently remains at just 6TB (effective space, 2TB x 3, not including the parity drive), instead of expanding to 12TB effective (4TB x 3).

 

I'm looking for a way to tell the system to start a volume expansion. Perhaps a specific file needs to be present, or a config option set, during a reboot, to have the expansion started. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Here is the relevant portion o the log entry from Frontview (which reads in reverse chronological order):

 

 

Sun Jun 26 06:43:39 EDT 2022RAID sync finished on volume C.
 

 

Sat Jun 25 22:53:07 EDT 2022System is up.
 

 

Sat Jun 25 22:52:38 EDT 2022Volume expansion failed
 

 

Sat Jun 25 22:52:37 EDT 2022Incompleted file system expansion detected. Resuming...
 

 

Sat Jun 25 19:31:37 EDT 2022System is up.
 

 

Sat Jun 25 19:31:20 EDT 2022Volume expansion failed
 

 

Sat Jun 25 19:31:13 EDT 2022Continuing with volume expansion or migration. Do not interrupt the system during this time. When complete, email notification will be sent to the alert contact list.
 

 

Sat Jun 25 15:19:05 EDT 2022Found space that can be used to expand capacity, expansion process will start during next boot.
 

 

Sat Jun 25 15:17:44 EDT 2022RAID sync finished on volume C.

 

Message 1 of 9

Accepted Solutions
StephenB
Guru

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

I don't run LMS myself, but there is a thread from 2019 that might be useful: https://community.netgear.com/t5/ReadyNAS-Storage-Apps-Old-Legacy/ReadyNAS-RN424-Can-I-install-LMS-L...

 

OS-6 conversion steps are

 

(Optionally) make sure the latest BIOS is installed before you do the conversion.  To do this you install  http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin as an add-on and reboot the NAS.  Do this after you backup the NAS.  This isn't necessary, but if you so want to update the bios it is easiest to do it prior to conversion

 

Basic instructions for the conversion itself are

  1. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
  2. Upload PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin as an add-on using the ReadyNAS web gui, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
  3. Upload R4toR6_6.9.5.bin using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
  4. After you upload the addon+firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default.
  5. Go through the setup process on the converted NAS 
  6. Update the NAS to the current OS 6 (check for updates will work).
  7. Restore files from the backup.

Netgear won't provide paid support on a converted NAS, so that is one consideration.  There is a small risk that the process could fail, and if that were to happen it might not be possible to get the NAS running again.

 

If you do decide to convert the Ultra, then you should also consider increasing the RAM - especially since you want to run apps.  Shipping OS-6 NAS have at least 2 GB of RAM, your Ultra only has 1 GB.  

 


@JLCosyn wrote:

 

I have looked at the expansion.log file, but don't really follow everything it has to say.

You could upload the zip to cloud storage, and then send me a PM (private message) with a download link.  You use the envelope icon in the upper right of the forum page to send a PM.  Don't post the link here, there is some potential for privacy leakage.

View solution in original post

Message 6 of 9

All Replies
StephenB
Guru

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

What firmware are you running?

 

Do you recall the initial size of the volume?  For instance, if you only had one 2 TB drive in place in the beginning, then it would have started with a 2 TB volume.

 

FWIW, it should have been able to expand after the second 4 TB drive synced.  X-RAID2 supports unequal sizes.

 


@JLCosyn wrote:

not including the parity drive,

FWIW, there is no dedicated parity drive (though it is conceptually easier to think of it that way).  Parity blocks (and data blocks) are evenly distributed across all the drives.

Message 2 of 9
JLCosyn
Aspirant

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

Thanks for the response. RAIDiator 4.2.31  I know there's no "dedicated" parity drive; it's just a convenient way to express the size. As I said, the volume started with 4 drives of 2TB each, so effectively 6TB (minus system overhead), after allowing for parity. I replaced all 4 drives (one at a time, obviously) with 4TB, and allowed the sync to complete with each new drive. When all 4 had been replaced, I did a reboot, and it started the expansion, but the expansion then failed. Now it's sitting in fully redundant status, but the volume did not expand, and remains at only an effective 6TB. When the expansion is done, with 4 drives of 4TB each, it should be able to expand to an effective 12TB. But multiple reboots have not caused the expansion of the volume.

Message 3 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt


@JLCosyn wrote:

RAIDiator 4.2.31

A lot of Ultra/Pro owners have converted their NAS to run OS-6 firmware, so this is helpful to know.

 


@JLCosyn wrote:

Now it's sitting in fully redundant status, but the volume did not expand, and remains at only an effective 6TB. When the expansion is done, with 4 drives of 4TB each, it should be able to expand to an effective 12TB. But multiple reboots have not caused the expansion of the volume.


4.2.x does have two expansion limits, but you should not have hit them.

 

One option is to download the full log zip file, and see if you can get more details on what exactly failed in the expansion process.

 

Another is to back up all the files, do a factory default, and then set up the NAS again.  After that restore the files.  If you take this path, you might consider conversion to OS-6.

 

 

Message 4 of 9
JLCosyn
Aspirant

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

Thanks again for the very quick reply.

 

I have looked at the expansion.log file, but don't really follow everything it has to say.

 

I was hoping to avoid having to do a factory default and full rebuild, but perhaps that would be the way to go, if it would mean I can upgrade to OS-6. Can you point me to a page that would tell me how to get OS-6 installed during the process of reset/rebuild?

 

One other question, though: I use this ReadyNAS not only as a data backup device, but as a music system, running the old Logitech Media Server. I know it's old architecture, but I have many Squeezebox players throughout a large house, and don't want to have to change to another system. Will OS-6 support running LMS?

 

Thank you again for your helpful responses!

Message 5 of 9
StephenB
Guru

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

I don't run LMS myself, but there is a thread from 2019 that might be useful: https://community.netgear.com/t5/ReadyNAS-Storage-Apps-Old-Legacy/ReadyNAS-RN424-Can-I-install-LMS-L...

 

OS-6 conversion steps are

 

(Optionally) make sure the latest BIOS is installed before you do the conversion.  To do this you install  http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin as an add-on and reboot the NAS.  Do this after you backup the NAS.  This isn't necessary, but if you so want to update the bios it is easiest to do it prior to conversion

 

Basic instructions for the conversion itself are

  1. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
  2. Upload PREPR4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin as an add-on using the ReadyNAS web gui, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
  3. Upload R4toR6_6.9.5.bin using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
  4. After you upload the addon+firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default.
  5. Go through the setup process on the converted NAS 
  6. Update the NAS to the current OS 6 (check for updates will work).
  7. Restore files from the backup.

Netgear won't provide paid support on a converted NAS, so that is one consideration.  There is a small risk that the process could fail, and if that were to happen it might not be possible to get the NAS running again.

 

If you do decide to convert the Ultra, then you should also consider increasing the RAM - especially since you want to run apps.  Shipping OS-6 NAS have at least 2 GB of RAM, your Ultra only has 1 GB.  

 


@JLCosyn wrote:

 

I have looked at the expansion.log file, but don't really follow everything it has to say.

You could upload the zip to cloud storage, and then send me a PM (private message) with a download link.  You use the envelope icon in the upper right of the forum page to send a PM.  Don't post the link here, there is some potential for privacy leakage.

Message 6 of 9
JLCosyn
Aspirant

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

This is all excellent information, and I truly appreciate it. I do back up the NAS (which is itself the primary nightly backup repository for multiple PCs), so doing a full rebuild won't be a problem. Just time consuming.

 

If I do decide to do the OS-6 upgrade, I will bump the memory in the box, too; that makes good sense. But none of it is likely to happen at least until the weekend, when I have time to devote to the project. Obviously the bulk of the time will be just restoring data after the upgrade, but I will also have to review the process of configuring everything, because it has been many years since I did the set-up on the Ultra, and I have barely had to touch it since. The thing has been a real workhorse, running continuously and doing its job with no trouble or complaint. I've always been of the "if it ain't broke, don't mess with it" philosophy, so until the X-RAID2 volume started to fill up, I just let the box sit there and run. But eventually, everything has to have an upgrade, and I suppose this might be the time.

 

Thank you, yet again, for your help.

Message 7 of 9
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

The set-up for OS6 differs from OS4.2, so how long it's been since you last did it doesn't really matter.  I did want to add that you cannot save the 4.2 configuration file and restore it on OS6.  You do have to do everything manually.

 

Even with email alerts, a NAS is best not considered a "set and forget" device.  I make sure I "check in" with my primary NAS at least weekly and my backup (on a power schedule) NAS at least monthly.  Many issues reported here could have been avoided if the user had been more attentive to the needs of his/her NAS, though likely not your issue.

Message 8 of 9
JLCosyn
Aspirant

Re: ReadyNAS - Force volume expansion after failed attempt

Perhaps I expressed myself badly. I don't just forget or ignore the NAS; I do run manual backups from the NAS to offsite storage weekly (or more often if warranted), and I monitor both the output of the backups and the front message panel (the box sits on a desk in my office and is always visible). And I do have all possible alerts set to email. I reboot it occasionally, and shut it down if I'm going out of town for more than a day or two. What I meant was, it's been trouble-free for the past six or seven years, ever since the last time I expanded storage. I'd be reluctant to switch to another make, after having nothing but solid performance from the ReadyNAS line, going all the way back to my first NV+. 

Message 9 of 9
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
  • 8 replies
  • 1548 views
  • 2 kudos
  • 3 in conversation
Announcements