ReadyNas 104 - what is the recommended HD upgrade path

[saf1]

Is there a recommended way to upgrade individual hard drives to increase total space? Or, does one usually back up all the applications and storage media, remove old hard drives, add new higher capacity hard drives, reload applications and restore? The last option seems rather time consuming but I've not upgraded my 104 yet so figured I'd ask.

Currently I have a ReadyNas 104 using 4 WD RED 2 TB which yields about 5.4 TB of data. I'm almost bingo with about 1 TB left. Single large volume, X-RAID, type RAID 5. Server is personal, home. Centralized storage that backs up 4 personal computers, itunes, photos, and holds our videos that a Linux plex server uses.

Since I believe there is a 14 TB limit somewhere on the box I was thinking I'd order 1 or 2 of the western digital 4 TB red drives and seeing if it is as simple as removing one of the 2 TB drives and replacing it. Letting it rebuilt. Then once that is done, remove another, replace, etc. Or is there a better or more reliable way of doing this? One thing that is a major issue is that I don't have a reliable backup of the NAS unit itself. I was looking at getting that taken care of at the same time but the though of moving 5 TB of the little 104 seems a bit, well, overwhelming...

I guess I could by a pair of 4's and 1 6, and back the whole thing to the single 6 just to be safe...

Thanks for any info, tips, or tricks.

[Nhellie]

This link might help you:

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detai ... dynas-os-6

If you are on X-Raid (which is the auto expansion) you can just add a new disk with higher volume and let it sync with the old (smaller) drives. You will have to keep adding and syncing until all drives are replaced (it takes some time in syncing).

You can also just backup your data, insert all new drives and start fresh -- then transfer your data back.

Check the link above and you will see some information about expansion.

[saf1]

Perfect. That is what I was looking for.

Appreciate the help Nhellie. I did a search but didn't find that article. Few other threads in here hinted to that but I wasn't exactly sure. I just double checked at it is X-Raid. So if it is as simple as removing a disk, inserting high capacity disk, letting it sync, then repeat I can go that route.

Article didn't say, but I'm assuming I can just shut down the system, remove a disk, replace, then power on and it will do its own thing?

Thanks again.

[Nhellie]

saf1 wrote:
Article didn't say, but I'm assuming I can just shut down the system, remove a disk, replace, then power on and it will do its own thing? Thanks again.

Yes that is correct, I believe you can also hot-swap it (which is much better and faster). "Your data volume will expand on the fly, giving you the added disk capacity while online while maintaining protection from a disk failure." - qouted from readynas.com

Here's a better look on how it works.

http://www.readynas.com/?p=656

OS6 units are probably on X-raid 2 btw.

[StephenB]

I recommend hot-insert. The reason is that the software "sees" the removal and insertion. If you power down and insert the drive, the software has to infer that the drive has been changed out.

[saf1]

Hi Nhellie, Stephen,

Thanks. That makes sense. And that is still applicable to the 104 series? Only reason why I ask is that it says X-Raid, not X-Raid 2 or anything.

One last question (I apologize for sneaking them in). I was reading a few of the threads regarding volume size. The 104 is limited to 16 TB. Is that total capacity or limited to a single folder or share? Hopefully I'm asking the question correctly. I mean can I buy a single WD 6 TB red drive today, replace one of the 2 TB's on the fly, and let it sync up. Once it is done add another. Would it let me then continue and replace all with 6's or should I just put the 4 TB's in.

I wasn't sure if it would let me add them then make a new volume, group, or lun. Ours is pretty much set up out of the box. I added the 4 drives and let it do its thing which maybe was a mistake. I'd like to do this a bit smarter this time since I'll need to plan some form of backup.

Thank you both again. Appreciate the help.

Just wondering what makes sense in regards to ordering drives. I was planning on buying 4 of the WD 4 TB reds. But if it is based on t

[StephenB]

OS6 uses xraid2. That means is supports both horizontal and vertical expansion (allowing you to replace 2-3 disks with larger ones, and gain all the space).

The RN104's processor doesn't have 64 bit addressing - that is why there is a 16 TiB limit. It applies to the volume size (not a folder, and also not the raw disk capacity).

You can insert 6 TB drives (though they aren't on the HCL, so there are support implications). You could use 3x6TB+4TB - if you go that route you need to make sure you insert the 4 TB first. 4x5TB would also work (giving you 1 TB less). 4x4TB would give you 12 TB of volume size.

[saf1]

Sound options. I was actually considering upgrading the base box since it has such a tiny processor in it and CPU usage on it is hit or miss at best but it is built like a truck and has been pretty reliable (although I wish I could use the virus scan). If I understand you correctly:

3x6TB+4TB would yield max storage limit but waste 6 TB of disk
4x5TB would yield 15 TB storage but waste less disk of about 4 TB of disk
4x4TB would yield 12 TB of storage but no wasted disk outside of ReadyNas requirements

So the trick is finding the right disk with associated cost to maximize storage without wasting partial disk (not to exceed 16 TB). Is that correct or did I totally blow it? Thinking on it now I've had this unit for about 2 or 3 years and just now running on bingo disk. Not too bad but I also only started my Plex server last year (slowly coping our home videos and physical media we own - maybe time to reduce size also outside of audio disks). So if I plan this right I'll probably have about two years use before I'd upgrade again. By then new boxes should be out and I can always upgrade while disk continues to drop in price (we hope).

Thank you very much. More food for thought I guess because the 4 TB drive is about 160, the 5 TB drive is 230, and the 6 TB is 270.

Appreciate the replies and patience. Thanks 🙂

[StephenB]

None of the three options waste disk space. In all cases the normal RAID-5 rules apply - you need two of largest size disks to avoid wasting space, and the RAID overhead is equal to the largest installed disk.

[saf1]

StephenB wrote:
None of the three options waste disk space. In all cases the normal RAID-5 rules apply - you need two of largest size disks to avoid wasting space, and the RAID overhead is equal to the largest installed disk.

You ever have one of those moments when the light bulb finally goes on after you finally understand something....that is what just happened. Thanks. I was ignoring the rules. For some reason I was assuming it was additive.

Excellent, and thanks. I'll actually order two drives today and get the process started. Appreciate the help and clarifications.