In certain cases, you can add a disk to a Flex-RAID volume to increase data protection. The following table indicates whether adding a disk for data protection is possible for each Flex-RAID configuration.
|
Number of Disks per Volume |
RAID Level |
Can I add a disk to for data protection? |
|
1 |
RAID 1 |
Yes. (Additional disk provides redundancy.) |
|
2 |
RAID 1 |
No. (Volume protection is already redundant.) |
|
2 or more |
RAID 0 |
No. (RAID 0 does not offer protection.) |
|
3 or more |
RAID 5 |
Yes. (Additional disk provides dual redundancy and converts the volume to RAID 6.) |
|
4 or more |
RAID 10 |
No. (Volume protection is already redundant.) |
|
4 or more |
RAID 6 |
No. (Volume is already protected with dual redundancy.) |
Disks added to a Flex-RAID volume can only be used for protection. They cannot be used for storage (horizontal expansion). If you want to add a disk for increased storage capacity, you must do one of the following:
-
Create a volume using the added disks. For more information on creating a volume, see the How do I create a volume on my ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system?
-
Change the RAID level. For more information on changing the RAID level, see the How do I change to a different RAID level on my ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system?
-
Switch to X-RAID2. For more information, see the How do I change the volumes on my ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system from Flex-RAID to X-RAID 2?
To add a protection to a Flex-RAID volume:
1. Add a disk to your ReadyNAS storage system.
For more information about how to add a disk to your system, see the hardware manual for your system, which is available at https://support.netgear.com/product/ReadyNAS-OS6.
2. Select System > Volumes.
The new disk is displayed in the enclosure graphic and is colored black.
3. Select the new disk from the enclosure graphic.
4. Click the Add Parity button next to a volume that allows or requires additional protection.
A pop-up screen appears and asks you to confirm your decision.
5. Click the Yes button.
Your data protection is increased in the background while you continue to use your storage system.
You can continue to use your ReadyNAS system while the extra disks are incorporated in the background. The process of increasing data protection can take several hours. If you set up email notifications for your system, you receive an email message when the process finishes. For more information about alert notifications, see the What are system alerts and how do they work with my ReadyNAS OS 6 storage system?