Forcing RAID10 on QNAP NAS

[jasonvp]

Heya folks -

I emailed back and forth with Tim Higgins, and he asked me to direct the discussion over here. I've been posting this same thing on the QNAP user/support forums and am not getting any bites on it, so I'll try here.

The ultimate goal: RAID10 on a QNAP 439. I haven't actually purchased the unit yet, and I'm considering either it or the Thecus N5500. The latter supports RAID10 natively, but they're pretty closed with remote logins via SSH, etc. And I'm a Linux geek, so I want access to the NAS's shell.

That leaves the QNAP, which doesn't support RAID10 natively. I'm wondering if anyone has a "spare" one and some drives that they can attempt an experiment on? I expect VeryBadThings(tm), which is why I'm suggesting an extra unit with no data on it.

What I want to see is whether using the CLI tools (mdadm, specifically) to create a RAID10 volume will work. Specifically, will the volume last after a reboot, or will the NAS see it and cry foul (and maybe nuke it?)

Sorry if some of these questions seem noob'ish. I've not driven a NAS in the past, but I'm really interested in experimenting.

Thanks!

jas

 

[bigsy]

Did you get this answered?

I suggest go back to the QNAP forums and send PM to QNAPIvan with cc: to QNAPAndy. They will get an answer to your question. Likely this will be a feature in the next round of releases due at the end of Q1 2010. Let us know what you learn. I'm interested!