Need help with my DNS-323 Raid

[holty]

I've had my DNS-323 for over a year now. I can't say i've had many problems with it, but I'm not really happy with it either. First of all, it vibrates like crazy even sometimes when its just sitting idle.

anyways, i don't access it much via the admin page but i checked on it yesterday and it says my RAID1 is "degraded". This means one of my drives is bad, correct? If that is what the DNS-323 is indicating, i don't be believe that to be true. Both of the HDD activity lights on the front blink normally when reading/writing. Also, the drives are fairly new, only about a year old or so. I know that makes no difference, but i just don't believe one of the drives is failed, i think the DNS-323 is reporting the RAID is "degraded" falsely. My main question here is i don't want to lose my drive's data, hence the reason i purchased this device in the first place. How can i rebuild the RAID without it wiping my drives? Both drives are WD's, one is 500GB and the other is 750GB if that makes any difference. Lastly, i tried searching the forums over at DLink but i'm unable to post for help there because my account is not yet been approved for posting by a moderator. I've been waiting for several days.

 

[thiggins]

Isn't the admin GUI telling you which drive is bad?

If you still have access to your data, get it backed up to someplace else ASAP.
You should be doing this anyway, since RAID is not backup.

Then check to make sure that both your drives are on the approved list. If not, get drives that are.

Then create a new array and restore your data. You also should set up email alerts so you know when there is a problem in the future.

 

[holty]

Isn't the admin GUI telling you which drive is bad?

If you still have access to your data, get it backed up to someplace else ASAP.
You should be doing this anyway, since RAID is not backup.

Then check to make sure that both your drives are on the approved list. If not, get drives that are.

Then create a new array and restore your data. You also should set up email alerts so you know when there is a problem in the future.

i'm confused, why is my setup not considered as a backup? If one drive fails, the other still holds all my data. To me that is a "backup".

No, the GUI is not telling me which drive is "bad". I'm at work, i'll look again when i get home, but i don't remember seeing how i could tell which drive was not working correctly.

 

[thiggins]

RAID is not backup. If the controller board or power supply fails during a write, you can lose the whole array and all your data. See Smart SOHOs Don't Do RAID

 

[holty]

RAID is not backup. If the controller board or power supply fails during a write, you can lose the whole array and all your data. See Smart SOHOs Don't Do RAID

Damn, never thought of it that way (after reading the article you linked me to). Now i need to buy another NAS to backup my first one!

Dosn't nightly backups take HOURS if you've got several hundred GB's of data over a 1000Mbps network connection?

 

[thiggins]

Dosn't nightly backups take HOURS if you've got several hundred GB's of data over a 1000Mbps network connection?

If you do an incremental backup, the first will take hours. But unless you add an awful lot of stuff each day, subsequent backups will complete in minutes.

 

[holty]

If you do an incremental backup, the first will take hours. But unless you add an awful lot of stuff each day, subsequent backups will complete in minutes.

I see, so the important thing here is that the NAS i use for backups supports incremental backups?

 

[thiggins]

I see, so the important thing here is that the NAS i use for backups supports incremental backups?

I don't think I've seen one that doesn't.

 

[holty]

I don't think I've seen one that doesn't.

Cool thanks.

Now i just don't know what to do here.... Besides the fact that i hate the DNS-323 and i have one bad drive. Do i buy two whole new complete NAS setups, one for storage, and one to backup the storage? I know a lot of people just build a whole PC to do this but i really don't want to do that.

 

[holty]

what are your thoughts on the HP EX495? It looks to have everything, EXCEPT RAID. So that would cover me for my NAS needs, backup needs, and remote access to my files. If i went this route, how do i cover myself in the event of a hardware (HDD) failure?

 

[thiggins]

If you are using the NAS to back up your computers, then you already have backup. In the event that the NAS fails, files are still on the computers. Of course, you'll have to back them all up again.

If the NAS is the primary file store, then it needs to be backed up. At minimum you need to back it up to an attached drive. But if you want the files to really be secure, you should get two attached drives and alternate them, storing one offsite or in a fireproof box.

Re the EX495 or any other Windows Home Server based NAS. WHS doesn't do RAID but instead has a different file duplication scheme for data security. However, it still suffers from the same single-point-of-failure as any other NAS if it's the only place that your files live. But the file duplication is somewhat more robust than RAID because it doesn't treat multiple drives as a single logical volume.

 

[holty]

If you are using the NAS to back up your computers, then you already have backup. In the event that the NAS fails, files are still on the computers. Of course, you'll have to back them all up again.

If the NAS is the primary file store, then it needs to be backed up. At minimum you need to back it up to an attached drive. But if you want the files to really be secure, you should get two attached drives and alternate them, storing one offsite or in a fireproof box.

Re the EX495 or any other Windows Home Server based NAS. WHS doesn't do RAID but instead has a different file duplication scheme for data security. However, it still suffers from the same single-point-of-failure as any other NAS if it's the only place that your files live. But the file duplication is somewhat more robust than RAID because it doesn't treat multiple drives as a single logical volume.

My workstations are NOT currently being backed up. The current DNS-323 is the primary file store and i agree it NEEDS to be backed up. What do you mean by back it up to an "attached drive". That is what is confusing me.

 

[thiggins]

Sorry, my error. The DNS-323 doesn't have any built-in backup features. You need a NAS that supports this. Most current NASes do.

 

[holty]

Sorry, my error. The DNS-323 doesn't have any built-in backup features. You need a NAS that supports this. Most current NASes do.

the more i read about the HP EX495 the more i like it. i went ahead and ordered one from newegg. hopefully it will turn out as good as the reviews its getting. thanks for your help.

 

[thiggins]

Hope it works out for you.