NETGEAR RN12P0610 - ReadyNAS 3200 Software Manual page 32

ReadyNAS 3200 Software Manual
Adding More Disks
At a certain point, you will want more capacity. With typical RAID volumes, you have to back up
your data to another system (with enough space), add a new disk, reformat your RAID volume,
and restore your data back to the new RAID volume.
With X-RAID2, you simply add the third disk using the ReadyNAS hot-swap disk tray. If you are
adding multiple disks at the same time, power down the ReadyNAS, add the disk(s), and power
back on. The X-RAID2 device initializes and scans the newly added disk(s) for bad sectors in the
background. You can continue working normally without any lag in performance.
Reboot the ReadyNAS to initiate the background expansion. You can continue using the
ReadyNAS while the expansion proceeds. You will get an email notice when the expansion
completes.
After you receive your e-mail, the ReadyNAS 3200 will have been expanded with the capacity
from your new disk(s).
Replacing Disks for More Capacity
When you need more disk space and larger disks are available at an attractive price, you can
expand your volume capacity by replacing the existing disks.
The ReadyNAS 3200 supports hot-swapping, so you can swap disks without powering down. The
Replace the first disk, and the ReadyNAS will detect that a new disk was put in place and
resynchronizes the disk with data from the removed disk. This process can take 30 minutes or
longer, depending on disk capacity, but you can use the ReadyNAS while the new disk
synchronizes. Upon completion, replace the second disk with another large-capacity disk, allow
that disk to synchronize. X-RAID2 lets you expand the volume when a minimum of two disks are
replaced. At one time, you cannot replace disks that add up to more than the current volume
capacity. When you have replaced the desired number of disks, simply reboot the ReadyNAS to
initiate the background expansion. You can continue using the ReadyNAS while the expansion
proceeds. You will get an email notice when the expansion completes.
Changing between X-RAID2 and Flex-RAID Modes
You can switch between X-RAID2 and Flex-X-RAID modes. The process involves setting the
ReadyNAS 3200 to the factory default and using RAIDar to configure the volume during a 10-
minute delay window during boot. Setting the ReadyNAS 3200 to the factory default setting will
erase all its data. See the ReadyNAS 3200 Hardware Manual for more information.
2-18 Managing Your ReadyNAS 3200
v1.0, June 2009