NETGEAR ReadyNAS 104, ReadyNAS 102, ReadyNAS 2120, ReadyNAS 2120 v2, ReadyNAS 312 User Manual

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Software Manual

Models:

ReadyNAS 102

ReadyNAS 104

ReadyNAS 312

ReadyNAS 314

ReadyNAS 316

ReadyNAS 516

ReadyNAS 716X

ReadyNAS 2120

ReadyNAS 2120 v2

ReadyNAS 3220

ReadyNAS 4220

EDA 500

December 2014 202-11207-07

350 E. Plumeria Drive

San Jose, CA 95134

ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Support

Thank you for purchasing this NETGEAR product.

After installing your device, locate the serial number on the label of your product and use it to register your product at https://my.netgear.com. You must register your product before you can use NETGEAR telephone support. NETGEAR recommends registering your product through the NETGEAR website. For product updates, additional documentation, and support, visit http://support.netgear.com.

Trademarks

©NETGEAR, Inc. NETGEAR and the NETGEAR Logo are trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. Any non-NETGEAR trademarks are used for reference purposes only.

Compliance

For regulatory compliance information, visit http://www.netgear.com/about/regulatory. See the regulatory compliance document before connecting the power supply.

2

Contents

Chapter 1 Getting Started

 

Quick-Start Guide..................................................................................................

8

Additional Documentation......................................................................................

9

Supported Operating Systems...............................................................................

9

Supported Browsers..............................................................................................

9

Diskless Systems.................................................................................................

10

Basic Installation..................................................................................................

10

Upgrade ReadyNAS Firmware for Use with ReadyCLOUD.................................

11

Discover and Set Up Your ReadyNAS..................................................................

13

Local Setup Wizard..............................................................................................

15

Local Admin Page................................................................................................

16

Access the Local Admin Page.............................................................................

17

Register Your System...........................................................................................

17

Five Levels of File Protection...............................................................................

18

Chapter 2 Volume Configuration

 

Basic Volume and RAID Concepts.......................................................................

20

Volumes...........................................................................................................

21

RAID................................................................................................................

21

Manage Volumes.................................................................................................

23

Change RAID Mode........................................................................................

24

View the Status of a Volume............................................................................

26

Configure the Checksum Function..................................................................

27

Create and Encrypt a Volume.........................................................................

28

Delete a Volume..............................................................................................

30

Expand Storage Capacity................................................................................

31

Add Protection to a Volume.............................................................................

33

Maintain Volumes............................................................................................

35

Chapter 3 Shared Folders

 

Basic Shared Folder Concepts............................................................................

37

Data Organization...........................................................................................

38

Shared Folder Defaults....................................................................................

39

File and Folder Names....................................................................................

39

File-Sharing Protocols.....................................................................................

39

Bit Rot Protection............................................................................................

40

Managing Bit Rot Protection............................................................................

41

Home Directories............................................................................................

42

Manage Shared Folders.......................................................................................

42

Create a Shared Folder...................................................................................

42

View and Change the Properties of a Shared Folder......................................

44

Delete a Shared Folder...................................................................................

46

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Browse a Shared Folder..................................................................................

46

Shared Folder Access Rights...............................................................................

47

User and Group Authentication.......................................................................

48

Set Network Access Rights to Shared Folders...............................................

48

Set Up Access Rights to Files and Folders.....................................................

57

Access Shared Folders from a Network-Attached Device...................................

59

Use a Web Browser.........................................................................................

60

Use a Windows Device....................................................................................

60

Use a Mac OS X Device..................................................................................

61

Use a Linux or Unix Device.............................................................................

62

Use FTP and FTPS.........................................................................................

63

Use Rsync.......................................................................................................

63

Access Shared Folders Using Cloud Services....................................................

64

Use ReadyCLOUD..........................................................................................

64

Use ReadyNAS Remote..................................................................................

72

Use ReadyDROP............................................................................................

79

Chapter 4 LUNs

 

Basic LUN Concepts............................................................................................

84

Thin and Thick Provisioning............................................................................

85

Default LUN Settings.......................................................................................

86

Manage LUNs......................................................................................................

86

Create a LUN..................................................................................................

86

View and Change the Properties of a LUN.....................................................

89

Expand the Size of a LUN...............................................................................

90

Delete a LUN...................................................................................................

92

LUN Groups and Access Rights..........................................................................

93

Create a LUN Group.......................................................................................

93

Assign a LUN to a LUN Group........................................................................

94

Remove a LUN from a LUN Group.................................................................

95

Delete a LUN Group........................................................................................

95

Manage Access Rights for LUN Groups.........................................................

96

Access LUN Groups from an iSCSI-Attached Device........................................

101

Set Up Initiator Access..................................................................................

102

Initialize and Format LUNs............................................................................

106

Chapter 5 Snapshots

 

Basic Snapshot Concepts..................................................................................

110

Smart Snapshot Management......................................................................

112

Rolling Back..................................................................................................

112

Clones...........................................................................................................

112

Manually Take a Snapshot.................................................................................

112

Browse Snapshots Using Recovery Mode.........................................................

113

Roll Back to a Snapshot.....................................................................................

116

Roll Back to a Snapshot Using Recovery Mode............................................

116

Roll Back to a Snapshot Using the Timeline.................................................

118

Clone Snapshots................................................................................................

121

Delete Snapshots...............................................................................................

123

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Delete Snapshots Using Recovery Mode......................................................

123

Delete Snapshots Using the Timeline...........................................................

125

Recover Data from a Snapshot..........................................................................

128

Recover Data from a Snapshot to a Network-Attached Device.....................

128

Recover Data from a Snapshot to an iSCSI-Attached Device.......................

128

Chapter 6 Users and Groups

 

Basic User and Group Concepts.......................................................................

130

Home Folders................................................................................................

131

User and Group Account Limitations.................................................................

131

User and Group Management Modes................................................................

131

User Accounts....................................................................................................

133

Create User Accounts...................................................................................

134

Edit User Accounts........................................................................................

135

Delete User Accounts....................................................................................

136

Change User Passwords...............................................................................

136

Group Accounts.................................................................................................

137

Create Groups...............................................................................................

137

Edit Groups...................................................................................................

138

Delete Groups...............................................................................................

139

Cloud Users.......................................................................................................

140

Grant Access to Cloud Users........................................................................

140

Cloud User Access Rights.............................................................................

141

Chapter 7 System Settings

 

Customize the Basic System Settings...............................................................

142

Set the Clock.................................................................................................

143

Select the Language.....................................................................................

144

Set the Administrator Password....................................................................

144

Configure System Alerts...............................................................................

146

Configure the Host Name..............................................................................

150

Enable Antivirus............................................................................................

151

Configure the Network Settings.........................................................................

152

Network Basic Concepts...............................................................................

152

Configure the Ethernet Interfaces.................................................................

153

Configure Bonded Adapters..........................................................................

157

Configure Global Settings for File-Sharing Protocols........................................

163

Basic File-Sharing Concepts.........................................................................

164

Supported File-Sharing Protocols.................................................................

164

Configure File-Sharing Protocols..................................................................

165

Configure Media Services..................................................................................

171

ReadyDLNA..................................................................................................

171

iTunes Streaming Server...............................................................................

173

Configure Discovery Services............................................................................

174

Install and Manage Apps...................................................................................

175

Install Apps....................................................................................................

175

Manage Installed Apps..................................................................................

176

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Chapter 8 System Maintenance

 

System Monitoring.............................................................................................

178

System and Disk Health Information.............................................................

179

System Real-Time and Historical Monitoring................................................

179

System Logs.................................................................................................

182

Downloading Logs.........................................................................................

183

SNMP Monitoring..........................................................................................

184

System Maintenance.........................................................................................

186

Update Firmware...........................................................................................

186

Reset the Firmware to Factory Defaults........................................................

189

Recover the Administrator Password............................................................

189

Shut Down or Restart the System.................................................................

191

Manage Power Usage...................................................................................

191

What Is Disk Spin-Down...........................................................................

193

Set or Change Disk Spin-Down................................................................

194

Optional Uninterruptible Power Supplies............................................................

195

Uninterruptible Power Supplies.....................................................................

195

UPS Configurations.......................................................................................

196

Manage UPS Devices...................................................................................

196

Chapter 9 Backup and Recovery

 

Back Up or Restore System Configuration........................................................

202

Basic Data Backup and Recovery Concepts.....................................................

204

Backup Concepts..........................................................................................

204

Recovery Concepts.......................................................................................

205

Secure Cloud Backups..................................................................................

206

Backup Protocols..........................................................................................

206

Backup Job Recommendations.....................................................................

207

Manage Backup and Recovery Jobs.................................................................

208

Create a Backup Job.....................................................................................

208

Create a Recovery Job..................................................................................

209

Configure a Backup or Recovery Job............................................................

211

Manually Start a Backup or Recovery Job....................................................

219

Delete a Backup or Recovery Job.................................................................

220

View or Clear a Job Log................................................................................

220

Configure the Backup Button.............................................................................

221

Back Up Windows Computers and Mac Computers to ReadyNAS...................

222

File Synchronization Across Computers............................................................

223

Work on Files Across Windows Computers and Mac Computers Using

 

ReadyNAS.........................................................................................................

224

Time Machine....................................................................................................

226

Back Up Your Mac Using a Shared Time Machine........................................

227

Back Up Your Mac Using a Private Time Machine........................................

229

Increase Your Time Machine Backup Capacity.............................................

231

ReadyNAS Vault................................................................................................

233

Dropbox..............................................................................................................

235

ReadyNAS Replicate.........................................................................................

236

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Enable ReadyNAS Replicate

........................................................................237

Chapter 10 Help Videos

 

Available Videos.................................................................................................

239

ReadyCLOUD Setup.....................................................................................

240

Time Machine................................................................................................

240

Antivirus........................................................................................................

240

iTunes............................................................................................................

240

Remote..........................................................................................................

240

ReadyDROP..................................................................................................

240

ReadyDLNA..................................................................................................

240

PLEX Media Server.......................................................................................

241

Continuous Data Protection..........................................................................

241

Tool-less Drive Installation.............................................................................

241

Viewing Videos...................................................................................................

241

7

Getting Started

1

 

This manual describes how to configure and manage your ReadyNAS® storage system.

Your ReadyNAS storage system relies on the following applications:

ReadyCLOUD. Use this online service to discover your ReadyNAS system on your local area network and access the local admin page.

Local admin page. Use this browser-based interface to configure and manage your ReadyNAS system.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Quick-Start Guide

Additional Documentation

Supported Operating Systems

Supported Browsers

Diskless Systems

Basic Installation

Upgrade ReadyNAS Firmware for Use with ReadyCLOUD

Discover and Set Up Your ReadyNAS

Local Setup Wizard

Local Admin Page

Access the Local Admin Page

Register Your System

Five Levels of File Protection

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Quick-Start Guide

This manual provides conceptual information about storage systems, detailed instructions about using your system, and NETGEAR’s recommendations about configuring, managing, and backing up your system. NETGEAR recommends that you read this manual to make the best use of your storage system.

To quickly start using your system, review the following sections in this order:

1.Basic Installation on page 10.You use ReadyCLOUD to discover your storage system on your network.

2.Create a Shared Folder on page 42. Shared folders are the way you organize the data you store on your ReadyNAS system.

3.Create a LUN on page 86. LUNs are SAN data sets that allow data transfer and storage over iSCSI.

4.Basic Snapshot Concepts on page 110. Protect the data that is stored in folders and LUNs by creating snapshots.

5.Create User Accounts on page 134.You create a user account for each person that you want to allow to access your ReadyNAS system.

6.Configure Global Settings for File-Sharing Protocols on page 163. File-sharing protocols enable you to transfer files across a network.

7.Basic Data Backup and Recovery Concepts on page 204.You can back up the data that you store on your ReadyNAS system and you can use your ReadyNAS system to back up data that you store on other devices.

Additional Documentation

NETGEAR maintains a community website that supports ReadyNAS products. Visit http://www.netgear.com/readynas for reviews, tutorials, comparison charts, software updates, documentation, an active user forum, and much more.

For information about your system’s hardware, see the hardware manual for your system, which is available at http://support.netgear.com/product/ReadyNAS-OS6

Supported Operating Systems

The ReadyNAS supports the following operating systems:

Microsoft Windows 8

Microsoft Windows 7

Microsoft Windows Vista

Apple Mac OS X10.5 Leopard or later

Linux, Unix, Solaris

Apple iOS

Google Android

Supported Browsers

The ReadyNAS local admin page supports the following browsers:

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.0+

Apple Safari 6.0+

Google Chrome 20+

Mozilla Firefox 14+

If you have difficulty accessing the local admin page or if you notice unexpected behavior, try using another browser.

Diskless Systems

If you have a diskless ReadyNAS, you must first install and format at least one disk before you can discover your system with ReadyCLOUD or visit the local admin page. You must use supported disks. For a list of supported disks, visit http://www.netgear.com/readynas-hcl. Make sure that the ReadyNAS is powered off before inserting any disks.

If you want to use disks that were previously formatted for an operating system other than ReadyNAS OS 6 (for example, Windows, Linux, or previous-generation ReadyNAS), you must reformat the disks. You can reformat the disks by installing them, powering on the system, and performing a factory reset before continuing the configuration.

The details of installation for both new and previously formatted disks depend on the model. For detailed instructions, see the hardware manual for your system, which is available at http://support.netgear.com/product/ReadyNAS-OS6.

For basic configuration information, see Basic Installation on page 10.

For information about disk formats, see RAID on page 21.

Basic Installation

After you follow these instructions, your ReadyNAS system is ready to use in a production environment. Setup takes approximately 15 minutes.

To install your storage system:

1. Install all available disks that you want to use in your storage system.

Note: If you are using previously formatted disks that contain data, you must reformat these disks before continuing. For information about formatting disks, see the hardware manual for your system.

For a list of supported disks, see the Hardware Compatibility List at

http://www.netgear.com/readynas-hcl

For information about installing disks, see the hardware manual for your system.

2.Place your system in a location that provides adequate ventilation.

High-capacity disks can produce considerable heat. It is important to ensure that the fan exhausts are unobstructed.

Getting Started

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NETGEAR ReadyNAS 104, ReadyNAS 102, ReadyNAS 2120, ReadyNAS 2120 v2, ReadyNAS 312 User Manual

ReadyNAS OS 6.2

For a complete list of placement considerations, see the hardware manual for your system.

3.Connect the power adapter to the power cord.

4.Connect the power adapter to the back of the system and plug the power cord into a wall outlet or power strip.

5.Use an Ethernet cable to connect an Ethernet port on the storage system to your network.

6.If necessary, press the Power button to turn on the system.

7.Wait for the Power LED to turn solid blue or for the status display screen to display the system’s IP address.

8.Use ReadyCLOUD to discover and set up your system on the network. See Discover and Set Up Your ReadyNAS on page 13.

Upgrade ReadyNAS Firmware for Use with ReadyCLOUD

The first time you log into ReadyCLOUD after upgrading your ReadyNAS, you see a message about needing to upgrade the ReadyNAS system firmware.

When you log into ReadyCLOUD you see the following window:

ReadyCLOUD now includes major new features, but these features require new firmware on the ReadyNAS system. When you log into ReadyCLOUD from a ReadyNAS system, ReadyCLOUD checks to see if the

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

ReadyNAS system firmware is recent enough to work with the new ReadyCLOUD. If it is not, you see the message and the Upgrade Now button. Click the button to start the download and automatic restart.

During the download you see the following window:

When the download and restart complete, you see the following window:

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Click the OK button to dismiss the message and continue to ReadyCLOUD.

Discover and Set Up Your ReadyNAS

ReadyCLOUD is the online service that you use to discover and set up ReadyNAS storage systems on your network. You can also use ReadyCLOUD to access and manage data on your ReadyNAS systems. For you to use ReadyCLOUD, your computer and storage system must have Internet access.

Note: If your computer and storage system do not have Internet access, install and run the RAIDar utility instead. RAIDar is on the resource CD that came with your system. It includes versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. It is also available at http://www.netgear.com/raidar

When you discover your device using ReadyCLOUD, you can choose whether to immediately use ReadyCLOUD to setup and manage your device, or whether to use the device's local admin page. If you choose to use local administration now, you can still use ReadyCLOUD later.

To discover and set up your storage system:

1.Visit http://readycloud.netgear.com on a computer that uses the same local area network (LAN) and Internet connection as your storage system.

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

2.Click the Discover button.

ReadyCLOUD automatically detects your ReadyNAS system on the network. Your new ReadyNAS system is marked with a NEW label.

3.Click the Setup button.

4.Select whether to use ReadyCLOUD or the local admin page to use to set up your system:

Option 1. Select Join Now.

a. Sign in to ReadyCLOUD or create a user account.

Tip: If you have a ReadyNAS Remote account, you can sign in to ReadyCLOUD using your ReadyNAS Remote credentials.

b. Follow the prompts to set up your ReadyNAS system.

For more information about ReadyCLOUD, see Use ReadyCLOUD on page 64.

Option 2. Select Join Later.

An SSL certificate security warning displays. This warning ensures an encrypted authentication and secure access to the ReadyNAS local admin page for your storage system.

a.Accept the certificate. A login prompt displays.

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

b.Enter admin for the user name, enter password for the password, and click the OK button. Both user name and password are case-sensitive.

You can change these credentials when you configure your system. NETGEAR recommends that you change your password as soon as possible.

The ReadyNAS local admin page displays in your browser and launches a setup wizard.

c.Follow the prompts of the setup wizard that launches in your browser.

Local Setup Wizard

The first time you access the local admin page, a setup wizard prompts you to configure the basic settings of your ReadyNAS storage system.

Note: The local setup wizard is for users who choose to set up their ReadyNAS system using Offline mode. If you set up your system using ReadyCLOUD mode and the ReadyCLOUD setup wizard, the local setup wizard does not display.

Figure 1. Setup wizard (Welcome screen)

You can change the language setting for the setup wizard by clicking Language at the top right corner of the screen and selecting a language from the drop-down list.

The setup wizard guides you through the initial configuration process to help you quickly integrate your ReadyNAS storage system into your network. Follow the setup wizard’s prompts to configure the following settings:

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Time and date. For more information, see Set the Clock on page 143.

Alert contact. For more information, see Configure System Alerts on page 146.

Host name. For more information, see Configure the Host Name on page 150.

Administrator password and password recovery. For more information, see Set the Administrator Password on page 144.

Local Admin Page

The local admin page is a browser-based interface that you use to configure and manage your ReadyNAS system. When you visit the local admin page, the Overview screen displays, as shown in the following figure.

Figure 2. Local admin page (Overview screen)

The following list describes the features of the local admin page:

To navigate through the local admin page, use the navigation bar across the top of the screen and the navigation icons below it.

Some screens are divided into multiple sections. You can collapse or expand sections of the screen by clicking the triangle icons () next to each section heading.

To refresh the screen, click the Refresh icon () in the top right corner of the screen.

For more information about your product, visit an official NETGEAR support page by clicking the

Support icon () in the top right corner of the screen.

To log out of the local admin page, click the Logout icon () in the top right corner of the screen. Other features of the local admin page are described in other chapters.

In this manual, instructions for navigating through the local admin page begin by specifying the selection from the navigation bar and then, if necessary, specifying the selections from the row of navigation icons and section headings. For example, to configure the global file-sharing protocols, select System > Settings > Services. System is the selection from the navigation bar. Settings is the selection from the row of navigation icons. Services is the selection from the section headings on the Settings screen.

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Access the Local Admin Page

If your computer is connected to the same LAN as your storage system, follow these instructions to access the local admin page.

For information about remote access to the local admin page, see the ReadyNAS Remote User Manual.

To access the local admin page:

1.Open a web browser and visit https://<hostname>.

<hostname> is the name that you assigned to your ReadyNAS system or the default host name if you did not change it.

Note: You can also enter https://<ReadyNAS IP address>, where <ReadyNAS IP address> is the IP address of the ReadyNAS.

An SSL certificate security warning displays.

2.Accept the certificate. A login prompt displays.

3.Enter the login credentials for your system and click the OK button.

If you did not change the credentials, the default credentials are as follows:

user name. admin

password. password

Both user name and password are case-sensitive.

The local admin page displays.

You can also access the local admin page from ReadyCLOUD (see Use ReadyCLOUD on page 64).

Register Your System

You must register your product before you can use NETGEAR telephone support. Register your ReadyNAS system at the NETGEAR Product Registration web page.

To register your ReadyNAS system:

1.Locate the serial number of the system.

You can find the serial number on the Overview screen of local admin page or on the chassis label of your product.

Getting Started

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

2.Open a web browser and visit http://www.NETGEAR.com/register. The Product Registration web page displays.

3.Take one of the following actions:

If you have never registered a NETGEAR product, click the Continue button.

If you have registered a NETGEAR product in the past, enter your email address and password and click the Log in button.

4.Follow the prompts.

The ReadyNAS is registered.

Five Levels of File Protection

File and data protection strategies such as various RAID levels or snapshots can go only so far in protecting data from loss, but ReadyNAS OS provides five separate strategies that work together to provide substantially better protection than any one strategy.

The different levels of disk redundancy provided by RAID types provide degrees of file protection from the loss of one or more disks, but cannot do anything about accidental deletion or corruption; can mask, but not prevent, gradual corruption caused by the slow degradation of the disks; and cannot provide protection from a site disaster. Snapshot technologies provide protection against accidental deletion or corruption but by themselves cannot protect against disk loss or site loss.

ReadyNAS OS allows you to use five different types of protection simultaneously:

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

RAID. Protects against disk failure.

Snapshot technology. Protects against accidental data deletion or corruption by providing point-in-time recovery.

Real-time antivirus. Protects against loss or corruption from viruses.

Bit rot protection. Protects against the degradation of data from disk aging.

Offsite backup using ReadyNAS Vault or a second ReadyNAS. Protects against site loss.

Getting Started

19

Volume Configuration

2

 

This chapter describes how to configure and manage the volumes in your ReadyNAS storage system. It includes the following sections:

Basic Volume and RAID Concepts

Manage Volumes

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

Basic Volume and RAID Concepts

To get the most out of your ReadyNAS storage system, it is helpful to understand the basics of volumes and RAID. Understanding these concepts is the first step to making good decisions about how to configure, manage, and use your ReadyNAS storage system.

Volumes

In the most general sense, volumes are data storage devices.Your computer treats an internal hard drive as a volume. It also treats a portable USB thumb drive as a volume.

Volumes can be either physical or logical. Usually, the term physical volume refers to a hard disk drive. When this term is used in this way, a two-bay storage system can have up to two physical volumes (hard disk drives). A four-bay storage system can have up to four physical volumes. A six-bay storage system can have up to six physical volumes.

The term logical volume refers to the way that you divide, or partition, your storage space. For example:

Each logical volume can correspond to a hard disk drive.

A logical volume can be made up of more than one hard disk drive.

In this manual, the term volume refers to a logical volume. The terms hard disk drive and disk refer to a physical volume.

RAID

Your ReadyNAS storage system allows you to configure your hard disks using one of the many RAID technologies.

RAID is short for redundant array of independent disks. RAID is a storage technology that balances data protection, system performance, and storage space by determining how the storage system distributes data. Many different ways of distributing data have been standardized into various RAID levels. Each RAID level offers a tradeoff of data protection, system performance, and storage space. For example, one RAID level might improve data protection but reduce storage space. Another RAID level might increase storage space but also reduce system performance.

Your ReadyNAS storage system supports X-RAID™ mode, a proprietary single-volume RAID architecture that is easy to administer, and Flex-RAID mode, which allows you to format your disks in a variety of industry-standard RAID levels.

When you power on your system for the first time or if you reset your system to its factory default settings, the optimal RAID mode and level are automatically selected for you based on the number of disks that are installed. You can also configure the RAID settings manually (see Change RAID Mode on page 24).

X-RAID

X-RAID is an auto-expandable RAID technology that is available only on ReadyNAS systems.With X-RAID, you do not need to know intricate details about RAID to administer your system. X-RAID allows you to add storage space without reformatting your drives or moving your data to another location. Because the

Volume Configuration

21

ReadyNAS OS 6.2

expansion happens online, you can continue to use your ReadyNAS system while the volume capacity increases.

Because X-RAID is a single-volume architecture, if you configure your hard disk drives to use X-RAID, your storage system has only one volume that is made up of all installed hard disk drives. X-RAID’s single-volume architecture has two major advantages:

Easy system management

Auto-expansion

With Flex-RAID formatting, if you want to add disks to expand your storage capacity, you must back up the data to another system, add a disk, reformat the RAID volume, and restore the data to the new RAID volume. With X-RAID, none of those administrative tasks are required. Instead, with X-RAID, your volume automatically expands to accommodate additional disks or larger-capacity disks.

With X-RAID, you can start out with one hard disk, add a second disk for data protection, and add more disks for additional storage capacity. X-RAID accommodates the new disks automatically.You can replace existing disks with larger-capacity disks and X-RAID automatically accommodates the new disks.

X-RAID requires a minimum of two hard disks to provide protection against disk failure. If you have a one-disk ReadyNAS storage system and want protection from disk failure, you must add a second disk that is at least as large as the first. It can be added while the system is running.

X-RAID uses the capacity of one disk for data storage and reserves the capacity of a second disk for data protection, which allows the volume to recreate data if a disk fails. In a two-disk system, the usable storage space is one disk. In a three-disk system, the usable storage space is two disks. In general, the total capacity of your storage system equals the capacity of all your disks minus the capacity of one disk.

The following figure illustrates how X-RAID uses new disks.

Figure 3. X-RAID disk usage

Flex-RAID

NETGEAR’s Flex-RAID technology allows you to choose from among several industry-standard RAID levels :

Volume Configuration

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ReadyNAS OS 6.2

JBOD. This most basic RAID level does not protect your data from loss if one of your drives fails. JBOD is available only on volumes consisting of a single hard disk.

RAID 0. RAID 0 distributes data across multiple disks, resulting in improved disk performance compared to systems that do not use RAID formatting. The total capacity of your storage system equals the capacity of the smallest of your disk drives times the number of disks. RAID 0 is available on volumes consisting of two or more hard disks.

RAID 1. This RAID level provides full redundancy of your data, because it duplicates data across multiple disks. Exactly the same data is stored on two or more disks at all times. RAID 1 protects your data from loss if one disk fails. The total capacity of your storage system equals the capacity of your smallest disk.

RAID 5. This RAID level also provides data redundancy, but it requires at least three disks. RAID 5 uses the capacity of one disk to protect you from data loss if one disk fails. Your data is distributed across multiple disks to improve disk performance. The total capacity of your storage system equals the capacity of all your disks minus the capacity of one disk. It is supported on systems with at least four drive bays.

RAID 6. This RAID level can recover from the loss of two disks.Your data is distributed across multiple disks to improve disk performance. The total capacity of your storage system equals the capacity of all your disks minus the capacity of two disks. It is supported on systems with at least four drive bays.

RAID 10 (or 1+0). This RAID level uses both RAID 1 and RAID 0 technology. First, your data is duplicated so that exactly the same data is stored on two or more disks. Then, the data is distributed across additional disks to improve disk performance. It is supported on systems with at least four drive bays.

The Flex-RAID levels that you can select depend on the number of disks included in the volume. The following table describes the Flex-RAID levels that are available for a given number of disks. It also indicates whether adding a disk for data protection is possible for each configuration.

Table 2. Flex-RAID levels and data protection

Number of Disks per Vol-

RAID Level

ume

 

1

JBOD

2

RAID 1

2 or more

RAID 0

3 or more

RAID 5

4 or more(even number)

RAID 10

4 or more

RAID 6

Can I add a disk for data protection?

No. (JBOD is available only for volumes consisting of one disk)

No. (Volume protection is already redundant.) No. (RAID 0 does not offer protection.)

Yes. (Additional disk provides dual redundancy and converts the volume to RAID 6.)

No. (Volume protection is already redundant.) No. (Volume is already protected with dual redundancy.)

Manage Volumes

This section discusses volume management on your ReadyNAS system. You can add or delete volumes from the system. Additionally, you can change the volume’s RAID mode and level.This section also covers

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volume status, volume maintenance and volume protection. In addition to volume topics, this section also covers extending the storage capacity on you ReadyNAS system.

Change RAID Mode

You can change the RAID mode that your ReadyNAS storage system uses. By default, your system’s hard disks are configured into a single X-RAID volume.

Change from X-RAID to Flex-RAID

Your ReadyNAS system can easily change a volume from X-RAID to Flex-RAID mode. Data on the X-RAID volume is preserved when you switch to Flex-RAID. The RAID level of the resulting Flex-RAID volume is automatically assigned based on the number of disks that are installed.

To change from X-RAID to Flex-RAID:

1.Select System > Volumes.

2.Click the X-RAID button at the right side of the screen.

3.Confirm that you want to switch from X-RAID to Flex-RAID.

The volume switches from X-RAID mode to Flex-RAID mode and the indicator on the X-RAID button turns gray.

The RAID level is automatically assigned based on the number of disks that are installed.

Change from Flex-RAID to X-RAID

If your system contains only one volume, you can easily switch from Flex-RAID to X-RAID. Data on the Flex-RAID volume is preserved when you switch to X-RAID.

If your system contains multiple volumes, you must first reconfigure your disks into a single volume.

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Note: When you switch to X-RAID mode, any extra disks installed in your system are automatically reformatted and used for storage expansion.You cannot change the RAID mode of a RAID 0 or RAID 10 volume.

To change from Flex-RAID to X-RAID on a single-volume system:

1.Select System > Volumes.

2.Click the X-RAID button at the right side of the screen.

3.Confirm that you want to switch from X-RAID to Flex-RAID.

The volume switches from Flex-RAID mode to X-RAID mode and the indicator on the X-RAID button turns green.

Any available drives are automatically used for storage expansion.

Change to a Different Flex-RAID Level

In Flex-RAID mode, you assign one of several RAID levels to your volume. Available RAID levels depend on the number of disks that you want the volume to include. For more information, see Flex-RAID on page 22. You can reconfigure your volumes to use a different RAID level.

Note: Changing the RAID level of a volume erases all data. If data is stored on your system, you must back up the data to another storage device before changing the RAID level.You cannot change the RAID level of a RAID 0 volume.

To change to RAID levels:

1.If any data is stored on the volumes that you want to reconfigure, back up your data.

2.Delete the volumes that you want to reconfigure (see Delete a Volume on page 30).

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The disks that were part of the volumes become available again for other purposes (the color of the disks turns black).

3.Create a new volume from the available disks and select the RAID level (see Create and Encrypt a Volume on page 28).

The volume is formatted according to your specifications. Formatting can take quite a while, depending on the size of your hard disk drives.

View the Status of a Volume

To view a summary of the volume status:

Select System > Volumes.

The volumes are listed at the left side of the screen.

The following summary information is displayed next to each volume.

Item

Description

Data

The storage space that is consumed by data in MB, GB, or TB.

Free

The storage space that is available in MB, GB, or TB.

Type

The configured RAID level.

Health indicator

The color of the indicator to the right of the volume icon indicates the health of the

 

volume:

 

Green. The volume is healthy.

 

Yellow. The volume is degraded.

 

Red. The volume is bad or faulty.

To view the I/O stats and disk status:

1.Select System > Volumes.

2.Select the volume from the list on the left.

3.From the pop-up menu that displays, select Settings.

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A pop-up screen displays the I/O stats in the Summary tab.

4.Click the Disks tab.

5.From the Disk drop-down list, select one of the disks in the volume to view its status.

Note: The disks are listed by their position in the enclosure: <column>x<row>. For example, Disk 3X1 is the third disk from the left in the top row of the enclosure.

Configure the Checksum Function

Checksum functions help detect data transmission errors. The ReadyNAS uses a checksum function to improve accuracy and consistency when writing data to a volume.You can enable or disable the checksum

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function on each volume. Enabling the checksum function improves the integrity of your data but reduces performance speeds.

Enable or disable the checksum function:

1.Select System > Volumes.

2.Select one of the volumes listed on the left side of the screen.

3.From the pop-up menu that displays, select Settings.

A pop-up screen displays.

4.In the Summary tab, select or clear the Checksum check box.

5.Click the Apply button.

6.Click the OK button. Your changes are saved.

Create and Encrypt a Volume

During volume creation you can also enable volume encryption. Encryption is optional. When encryption is enabled, data is encrypted in real time as it is written to the volume.You cannot encrypt existing volumes. Encryption is possible only when you are creating new volumes. When created, the volume will be a Flex-RAID volume, but after you create it, you can change it to an X-RAID volume.

You need a USB drive to store the encryption key that is generated during volume creation. You can also have the encryption key emailed to you for safe keeping. If you lose the USB drive with the encryption key, you can load the emailed encryption key onto another USB drive.

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You must insert the USB drive with the encryption key into a USB port on the ReadyNAS for the volume to be unlocked and accessible. You must insert the USB drive to unlock an encrypted volume during reboot. If you do not insert the USB key on reboot, there is a 10-minute timeout during which you can insert the key, otherwise you wll not be able to access the encrypted volume until the ReadyNAS is again rebooted. You can remove the USB drive after unlocking the volume. NETGEAR recommends storing the USB drive with the encryption key in a safe and secure location when not in use.

WARNING:

If you lose the encryption key, the encrypted drive is irrecoverable.

To create a volume, select the RAID level and enable encryption:

1.Select System > Volumes.

2.From the enclosure graphic, select the disks that you want to include in the new volume.

Available disks are colored black.

3.Click the New Volume button at the right of the screen. The New Volume pop-up screen displays.

4. Configure the following settings:

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Name. Enter a name for the volume. The volume must not have the same name as a folder in the root folder system. The volume names home , apps , and job_ are reserved and cannot be used.

Encryption. Select this check box to enable encryption on the volume. A key will be generated. If you lose your key, the data on the volume will be irrecoverable.

USB to store key. If you enabled encryption, select a USB storage device from the drop-down list to store the generated key.

Send key by Email. If you enabled encryption, select this check box to have the generated key sent to a email address associated with the admin account. Make sure that you have set the email account before creating the volume.

5.Click the Create button.

The new volume is created and appears in the list of volumes at the left of the screen.

Delete a Volume

Before you delete a volume, make sure that you back up any data (folders and LUNs) that you want to save to another volume or another storage device.

To delete a volume:

1.Select System > Volumes.

2.Select the volume that you want to delete.

3.From the pop-up menu that displays, select Destroy.

Note: The Destroy option is not available when the ReadyNAS has a single volume only. The Destroy option is available if you have at least two volumes.

A pop-up screen displays.

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