Adding new disk to a RAID5 Storage Pool

[mgilbarrio]

Hi all.

I'm using a 3 Disk RAID5 on a TS-451 NAS, and I want to add a new hard disk to the RAID.

Using the "Expand Pool" option will add the 4th disk to the RAID5, or it will add the new disk like a new pool with out the RAID 5 redundancy?

What I want is to add the disk to the RAID, and have a 4 Disk in RAID5, and not to have 3 Disk in Raid5 + 1 Disk.

Thanks.

[MrVideo]

Version of firmware/build date? Did you read the manual for you firmware version?

[mgilbarrio]

Hi Mr Video.

Yes, manual:

Expanding Storage Pools
Follow these steps to expand a storage pool:
1. Go to "Storage Manager" > "STORAGE" > "Storage Space".
2. Double click a storage pool to be expanded to bring up the Storage Pool Management page.
3. Click "Expand Pool".
4. Select to create and add a new RAID group. Select "Adding new hard drive(s) to an existing RAID
group"(the option "Create new RAID groups" will be covered in the following section), choose an
existing RAID group from the drop-down list and click "Next".
5. Select the hard drive(s) to expand the storage pool and click "Next".
6. Click "Expand".
7. Please note that all data on the selected hard disk drive(s) will be erased. Click "OK" if you are
certain about this.
8. The chosen storage pool will be expanded.

It don't say how the disk are added to the Storage Pool, it say only that the new hard disk is used to expand the storage pool. What i want to know is: the RAID 5 will be converted from 3 HD to 4 HD?, or the new HD is added to the actual RAID, like a different storage and its not added to the RAID?.

Is n the same, sorry for my bad english, because, if the disk is added to the RAID5, then I'm following with the RAID5 protection it that mean, 4 disk on the raid, whatever disk could fail and no data loss.

By the other sde, if the hard disk is added like plus space, I will have a 3HD in RAID5 (with the RAID5 protection), and one disk without protection, if this disk fail, i will loose all the data included on it.

Thanks for your reply.

BYe...

[storageman]

It adds to the RAID, so you move from 3 disks RAID 5 to 4 disks RAID 5.
Then you expand the volume(s).

[mgilbarrio]

Ok Thanks Storageman.

So when I add a new disk it will be configured like another disk in the RAID5, so I will maintain the redundancy in all the disk, olds and new one.

This can be done with data inside the disks?, I mean, will I loose something from my actual RAID5 doing this?

Thanks.

[storageman]

Commonsense should tell you Qnap are not going to set out to destroy your data when you want to expand the RAID group.
But you should have backups anyway.

[mgilbarrio]

Of course, backup always. Thanks a lot for your help StorageMan.