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

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

NASguru
Apprentice

Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

I'm contemplating upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6 but a bit hestitant given some of the posts with issues of fan speed, write speed performance, etc.  I recently purchased a 626 and have already moved everything over to it and factory defaulted/resetted my old Ultra 4 Plus.  The Ultra 4 Plus will primarily be used as a backup to my 626, but before I set that all up I wanted to get some opinions on upgrading the firmware to OS 6.6.  I figure it couldn't hurt given the Ultra 4 is out of warranty at this point but wanted to hear from others who took the plunge.  Are there still issues and if so what are they?  Is there much benefit for me to perform the upgrade given the way I intend to use the Ultra 4 Plus?  I've made no hardware changes to my Ultra 4 Plus so my first question should be if it's even meets the requirements for OS6.6.  Is there a guide for performing the upgrade and what's needed to be successful?

 

Thanks in advance!

Model: RNDP400U|READYNAS ULTRA 4 PLUS|EOL
Message 1 of 25
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

You can do the upgrade.  It requires a factory reset, so you'd lose all the data.  It's also useful to check the bios version first.

 

The benefit of course is that you'd get OS 6 on both systems.  That would enable ReadyDR backup for instance.  Plus it removes the expansion limits of OS 4. 

 

FWIW, my pro-6 is running 4.2.30.  When/if I need a factory reset anyway I'll upgrade it.  But for now I'm leaving it alone.

Message 2 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@StephenB wrote:

You can do the upgrade.  It requires a factory reset, so you'd lose all the data.  It's also useful to check the bios version first.

 

The benefit of course is that you'd get OS 6 on both systems.  That would enable ReadyDR backup for instance.  Plus it removes the expansion limits of OS 4. 

 

FWIW, my pro-6 is running 4.2.30.  When/if I need a factory reset anyway I'll upgrade it.  But for now I'm leaving it alone.


 

No worries on the factory reset as there's nothing on my Ultra 4 Plus at the moment.  I'm uncertain how to check the bios. What version do I need?  Good points on the ReadyDR and expansion limits.  Yeah, part of me feels I should just leave it as-is since it meets my needs and part of me thinks if I'm going to do it then nows the time since nothing would be lost.  

Message 3 of 25
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

A review of this recent post (for an Ultra 6) https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/Ultra-6-OS-Upgrade-from-4-2-30-to-OS-6/m-p/1183...

may help, it tells you there the steps to take and gives links to the files you need.

One link is to an add on to update your Bios, this must be done in OS 4.2.x not OS 6.

I upgraded my Pro 4 to OS 6 some months back and it is now running perfectly, there were some hiccups along the way

Message 4 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@bedlam1 wrote:

A review of this recent post (for an Ultra 6) https://community.netgear.com/t5/Using-your-ReadyNAS/Ultra-6-OS-Upgrade-from-4-2-30-to-OS-6/m-p/1183...

may help, it tells you there the steps to take and gives links to the files you need.

One link is to an add on to update your Bios, this must be done in OS 4.2.x not OS 6.

I upgraded my Pro 4 to OS 6 some months back and it is now running perfectly, there were some hiccups along the way


I probably should have done some reading before posting, but this helps.  Is that BIOS update applicable to all RN regardless of model?  I want to make sure I'm not installing a BIOS file for a Pro 4 on an Ultra 4 Plus only to brick it.  Man LOL

Message 5 of 25
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

What Bios version and date have you got currently installed ?

You can check this by downloading your logs and viewing bios_ver.log

The latest version for Ultra 4 and Pro 4 (plus others) is actually Ver 080016  dated 08/23/2011

Message 6 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@bedlam1 wrote:

What Bios version and date have you got currently installed ?

You can check this by downloading your logs and viewing bios_ver.log

The latest version for Ultra 4 and Pro 4 (plus others) is actually Ver 080016  dated 08/23/2011


 

It shows:  09/20/2010 ReadyNAS-NVX-V2 V1.9

 

So from your other link @StephenB posted:  The newest one is I know of is 6/10/10 - the download link is here:  http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin

I presume that link is applicable to my Ultra 4 Plus and not just an Ultra 6?

 

That said it looks llike @StephenB posted all the steps needed but it appears I need to update the firmware first while the Ultra 4 Plus is on OS 4.2.30

 

Basic instructions are

  1. BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
  2. Download PREP4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin
  3. Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
  4. Download R4toR6_latest.bin
  5. Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
  6. After you upload the addon/firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default. 

As you can see it does a factory default, so all data on the NAS will be lost.

 

 

 

 

Message 7 of 25
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

The Ultra 4 Plus has a different BIOS to the Ultra 6 (and hence the latest BIOS has a different date) but the add-on automatically detects which system you have and installs the correct BIOS update for your system.

Message 8 of 25
bedlam1
Prodigy

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

Thanks for popping in @mdgm-ntgr, I was 95% sure of what you have confirmed re Bios update but nervous of advsing wrongly

Message 9 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@mdgm wrote:

The Ultra 4 Plus has a different BIOS to the Ultra 6 (and hence the latest BIOS has a different date) but the add-on automatically detects which system you have and installs the correct BIOS update for your system.


 

Excellent, so even I can't mess this up.  Smiley LOL  I'll give it a whirl tomorrow when I have more time.

Message 10 of 25
Sandshark
Sensei

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

I initially only updated one system to OS6, to see if I liked it.  Ultimately, I made the move to OS6 on all systems (except a retired NVX that's can't be upgraded), and have not looked back.  I'm not one of the first to try any new updates.  I was on 6.4.x for a long time because of the need to move from ReadyNAS Remote to ReadyCloud.  But I made the switch to 6.6.0 just a few weeks ago, mostly after I discovered Zerotier, which I think trumps both ReadyNAS Remote and ReadyCloud.

 

I don't even own any native OS6 NASes, so having compatibility with them was not a driver for me.

Message 11 of 25
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

But once you are running OS6 if your legacy hardware happens to fail you'll then have a much easier migration to an OS6 x86 NAS provided the disks, OS, RAID array and volume are fine.

Message 12 of 25
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@mdgm wrote:

But once you are running OS6 if your legacy hardware happens to fail you'll then have a much easier migration to an OS6 x86 NAS provided the disks, OS, RAID array and volume are fine.


Very true, and that does offset the lack of support somewhat.

 

In my own case, OS-6 is in my Pro-6's future, but since it is now a backup NAS (with the RN526X becoming primary) there is no rush.  It's reached the expansion limit (8 TB growth over volume lifetime), so the next time I need to add capacity I need a factory reset anyway.

Message 13 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@mdgm wrote:

But once you are running OS6 if your legacy hardware happens to fail you'll then have a much easier migration to an OS6 x86 NAS provided the disks, OS, RAID array and volume are fine.


 

I presume you're implying I could move the disks from one OS6 NAS to another OS6 NAS?  I don't think that's an option though if my 626 fails as it has 6 drives where my Ultra 4 Plus only has 4.  However, it makes sense if my Ultra 4 Plus fails that I can move all 4 disks to my 626 and recover my data.  Hopefully I got that right, but please let me know either way.    

Message 14 of 25
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

You'd power down and remove the existing disks in your 626X first.  Then insert the disks from the other OS 6 system and power up.  This works even if one system is ARM and the other is x86 (though there are issues with apps in that scenario).

 

By comparison, If you migrate OS 4.2 to OS 6 then you need to use an x86 OS-6 system.  The volume is mounted read-only and you then need to copy it off to a backup device and do a factory reset. 

Message 15 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@StephenB wrote:

You'd power down and remove the existing disks in your 626X first.  Then insert the disks from the other OS 6 system and power up.  This works even if one system is ARM and the other is x86 (though there are issues with apps in that scenario).

 

By comparison, If you migrate OS 4.2 to OS 6 then you need to use an x86 OS-6 system.  The volume is mounted read-only and you then need to copy it off to a backup device and do a factory reset. 


 

Right, however I think the catch is the NAS you are trying to recover data from can't have more drives in it's volume than the NAS you're inserting them into.  So my 626 can't be recovered usnig my Ultra 4 Plus but it would work the other way around.  Is that right?

Message 16 of 25
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@NASguru wrote:

Right, however I think the catch is the NAS you are trying to recover data from can't have more drives in it's volume than the NAS you're inserting them into.  So my 626 can't be recovered usnig my Ultra 4 Plus but it would work the other way around.  Is that right?


Correct.

 

BTW, I did report the mismatch in behavior in the manual/actual system with RAID-6.

Message 17 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

All, I just wanted to report back that I followed through with the steps and was able to successfully upgrade my Ultra 4 to OS6.  As instructed, I first update my BIOS using the following link http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin  In case anyone missed it, that is done using the ADD-ON tab and NOT the firmware tab.  It does require a reboot to become effective though.  After that, I confirmed my before/after BIOS just to make sure:

 

Old BIOS:

09/20/2010 ReadyNAS-NVX-V2 V1.9

 

New BIOS:

08/23/2011 ReadyNAS-NVX-V2 V1.10

 

I then followed the instructions posted by @StephenB 

 

Basic instructions are
BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP
Download http://www.readynas.com/contributed/mdgm/r4tor6/PREP4TOR6_0.1-x86.bin
Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update, but do not reboot afterwards (avoids the need to do manual factory resets)
Download https://www.readynas.com/contributed/mdgm/r4tor6/R4toR6_latest.bin
Upload it using the ReadyNAS web gui firmware update
After you upload the addon/firmware and reboot, it will update the firmware and start a factory default.
As you can see it does a factory default, so all data on the NAS will be lost.

 

I should mention that after uploading the R4toR6 it literally jumps you to the system/shutdown tab where you have to select shutdown/reboot and hit apply to complete the upgrade.  I also watched the LCD screen on the front and within the first 10-20 seconds it showed ERR: Could not properly extract. It then went to Booting with a percentage followed by a bar, rebooted again showed Factory Rest and then Installing FW X-RAID2 Mode.  It then showed Booting...XX% bar graph one more time before showing ReadyNAS Ultra 4 6.6.0 and entering the Rsync data setting.  

 

So far, it looks like it went well and I should be good here once the Rsync finishes in 8 hours.  On a side note, this volume is 2x3TB + 2x2TB.

 

As always, thanks for the walk through!

 

Message 18 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

I found this a bit interesting that the when performing a NAS 2 NAS backup (626X to Ultra4) the Ultra4 runs considerably cooler.  I'm guessing that's due to less drives/etc.  I also noticed that the average transfer speed between the two NAS via a Netgear Gigbit switch is about 55MB/s.  As a comparison, I can routinely get 100-110 MB/s from my PC to the 626X and 80-90MB/s to the Ultra4 from my PC using the same switch.  I am using Rsync though for the backup job so that may be part of the reason for slower speeds?  FWIW, this backup job has been running all night and is moving about 4.5TB of data over so the numbers are fairly consistent.  

 

Here's some screen shots for anyone interested.

 

626X status:

 

626X-status.JPG

 

Ultra4 Status:

 

Ultra4-status.JPG

 

626X utilization:

 

626X-Network-utilization.JPG

 

Ultra4 utilization:

 

Ultra4-Network-utilization.JPG

 

 

Message 19 of 25
StephenB
Guru

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@NASguru wrote:

 I am using Rsync though for the backup job so that may be part of the reason for slower speeds?

 

Rsync is slower than SMB, so that is the reason. Once you get past the full backup, then the incremental backups from Rsync should make it faster overall.

 


@NASguru wrote:

I found this a bit interesting that the when performing a NAS 2 NAS backup (626X to Ultra4) the Ultra4 runs considerably cooler.  I'm guessing that's due to less drives/etc.  


Interesting.  Note also that the fan speed is slower on the 626X, even though both are set to "cool".  So the 626X fan settings might be aiming for a somewhat warmer operating point.

Message 20 of 25
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

By design, I believe the fan on the Ultra 4 has to run faster to keep components at a reasonable temperature.

Message 21 of 25
Rootax
Luminary

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6

I upgraded a Pro 4 with OS 6.X a while ago, and the best thing for me was the newer SMB version. If I remember correctly, at the time, 4.x versions were limited to SMB 1.5 or 2, don't remember exactly. With OS6, it was 3, and 3.1 now. It give a nice write speed boost on my  volume. 80mo/sec => 115 (limit of my gb link), because smb3 is easier on the cpu I guess.

 

 

Message 22 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@StephenB wrote:

@NASguru wrote:

 I am using Rsync though for the backup job so that may be part of the reason for slower speeds?

 

Rsync is slower than SMB, so that is the reason. Once you get past the full backup, then the incremental backups from Rsync should make it faster overall.

 



 

Right, I remember that from before with Rysnc.  Incremental updates is all I'm interested in after the first initial backup job so it works well.

 

Message 23 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@mdgm wrote:

By design, I believe the fan on the Ultra 4 has to run faster to keep components at a reasonable temperature.


 

I supsect there is some physics at play too as the fan is larger on the 626X.  Either way, it makes sense and was just something I noticed.  

Message 24 of 25
NASguru
Apprentice

Re: Ultra 4 Plus - Is it worth upgrading from 4.2.30 to OS 6.6


@Rootax wrote:

I upgraded a Pro 4 with OS 6.X a while ago, and the best thing for me was the newer SMB version. If I remember correctly, at the time, 4.x versions were limited to SMB 1.5 or 2, don't remember exactly. With OS6, it was 3, and 3.1 now. It give a nice write speed boost on my  volume. 80mo/sec => 115 (limit of my gb link), because smb3 is easier on the cpu I guess.

 

 


 

Unfortunately, I didn't see any change in write speed (80MB/s +) to my Ultra4 +.  However, prior to the upgrade I occasionally experience transfers stopping for 10-20 seconds on large files.  Sometimes it would resume and be fine and other times it would never resume but also reflected the whole file was on the Ultra4+.  The file essentially became corrupt since something was going wrong with the transfer process.  I would typically have to reboot/volume scan to fix the issue and then delete the file and re-transfer to get a clean copy onto the Ultra4+.  I have not experienced this since the factory default and OS upgrade to 6 and it was becoming more frequent.  I also checked the drives and none were having errors or any other issues.  To be fair, my Ultra4+ was probably long over due for a factory default since it's being running over 5 years through multiple OS upgrades, multiple volume expansions and 10s of terabytes transfers.  This was one of my reasons for upgrading to the 626 as I had fears the Ultra4+ might have been ready to give up the ghost.  But so far, it has been performing well and is still using the same exact drives prior to the OS6 upgrade.  Overall, I agree with others that it's worth the time to upgrade your older platforms to OS6.

 

Message 25 of 25
Top Contributors
Discussion stats
  • 24 replies
  • 4460 views
  • 2 kudos
  • 6 in conversation
Announcements