ReadyNAS NV+ V2 Expansion from 2TB to 4TB disks

[readynasdu0]

I'm running a ReadyNAS NV+ V2 with two 2TB RED disks running XRAID2 - I would like to push these to four 4TB RED disks eventually.

What's the best way to expand - to insert two 4TB disks in the empty slots? Then eventually swap the two 2TB for finally two more 4TB when space becomes an issue again?

I'm not 100% on how XRAID2 distributes files what's possible, or how to transition to larger disks.

Thanks.

[RX]

You may insert the two new 4TB disks one-at-a-time to the empty bays. Insert the first 4TB disk to the 3rd bay then let it resync. After resync has completed, then insert the second 4TB disk to the 4th bay and let it resync.

Then, if you want to swap the existing two 2TB drives with two new 4TB disks, then do it one-at-a-time again.

[StephenB]

readynasdu0 wrote:
I'm running a ReadyNAS NV+ V2 with two 2TB RED disks running XRAID2 - I would like to push these to four 4TB RED disks eventually. What's the best way to expand - to insert two 4TB disks in the empty slots? Then eventually swap the two 2TB for finally two more 4TB when space becomes an issue again?

First we should confirm that you actually own a v2. Many owners go by the label on the back, which is misleading. What firmware are you running? The v2 platform runs 5.x.x firmware, the v1 platform runs 4.1.x firmware.

If you are running 4.1.x: your NAS is not capable of handling 4 TB drives.

If you are running 5.x.x: There is an 8 TB growth limit for your NAS - so your existing 2 TB volume can expand to 10 TB, but no further. 4x4TB would have a 12 TB volume size, so somewhere between now and then you'll need to do a factory reset - reconfiguring the NAS, and reloading all the data from backup. It is quicker to do that if you have less data to restore.

So if you want to get the factory reset out of way now, then you can back up your data (and your configuration). Then power down, and insert the two 4 TB drives into the empty slots. Then do a factory reset with all the drives in place. You'll end up with a volume size of 8 TB. That will let you expand in the future to the limit of 16 TB if you desire. After the reset, you can restore your configuration, and reload the data from the backup.

If you want to defer the reset, then hot-Insert a single 4 TB drive in an empty slot, and wait for the expansion to complete. You should end up with 4 TB total. Adding a second 4 TB drive into the last slot will expand it to 8 TB. Replacing a 2 TB drive with a 4 TB drive in the future will increase space to 10 TB. At that point you have to do the reset to grow any larger.

[readynasdu0]

Many thanks for your replies.

I can confirm I have a ReadyNas NV+ V2 running firmware 5.3.11

When inserting two 4TB disks would this only actually give me 4TB of storage? I thought X-RAID2 was equal redundancy to storage - but I think I'm wrong. If I add two 4TB disks with two existing two 2TB disks inserted (which currently gives me 2TB of storage) - what would be the total actual storage capacity available with this setup? 2TB | 2TB | 4TB | 4TB

The ReadyNas does have a USB harddrive attached backing up - but this isn't sync'd - so has current files and deleted files. I would assume I need to change my settings to do a full backup and erase contents on the backup drive to get an up-to-date backup. I'm not comfortable having a single backup when doing a factory reset, so will need to consider some options or get a second USB drive while performing a factory reset.

[StephenB]

readynasdu0 wrote:
...When inserting two 4TB disks would this only actually give me 4TB of storage? I thought X-RAID2 was equal redundancy to storage - but I think I'm wrong. If I add two 4TB disks with two existing two 2TB disks inserted (which currently gives me 2TB of storage) - what would be the total actual storage capacity available with this setup? 2TB | 2TB | 4TB | 4TB

RAID redundancy overhead is equal to the largest inserted disk. 2TB | 2TB | 4TB | 4TB would give you 8 TB of total storage (which is what I said in my post). 2TB | 2TB | 4TB would give you 4 TB (with 2 TB totally unused).

readynasdu0 wrote:
The ReadyNas does have a USB harddrive attached backing up - but this isn't sync'd - so has current files and deleted files. I would assume I need to change my settings to do a full backup and erase contents on the backup drive to get an up-to-date backup.

That's probably the most direct way at this point. Most readynas would let you use rsync with the USB drive (which has an option to remove files that were deleted on the source). However, I don't own a V2, so I am not sure if it lets you do that or not.

If you have a gigabit connection, it will be faster to connect the USB drive to a PC and copy the data over the network. If you opt for that, then sing a copy utility that verifies (teracopy for instance) is a good idea.

[readynasdu0]

Thanks stephenB... I must have simply got lost in your original explanation! Thanks for clarifying. The fact two 4TB give me an extra 6TB gives me plenty of time to either consider an EDA500 addon for my 312 or a 314/316 upgrade.

[StephenB]

readynasdu0 wrote:
stephenB... consider an EDA500 addon for my 312 or a 314/316 upgrade.

At the moment an RN314 is the same price as an EDA500 - I'd certainly go with the RN314 myself.