Recovering from a bad System HDD, need some help

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TeraBit
Getting the hang of things
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 1:32 am

Recovering from a bad System HDD, need some help

Post by TeraBit »

I had a pretty simple setup on my TS-251+: Two 2TB HDDs, each it's own volume (I guess that's the correct term?). One was the system volume (again, I hope I'm using the QNAP terminology correctly) with all my data and apps, the other was purely used for backup using HSB (I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was rsync under the hood).
And then my system volume croaked. I got a replacement 4TB HDD with the idea to start expanding my storage, currently 2TB is enough for my backups. I'm trying to replace my faulty 2TB system drive/volume with the new one, so I did the following:
1. Took out both 2TB Drives.
2. Inserted just the 4TB drive, upgraded the firmware (took a while for the drive to arrive).
3. Then it forced me to create a storage pool, to reserve some space for the system. Makes sense so far.

And now we get to my issue. I'm trying to create a Static Volume (I guess? that's the closest thing to the simple setup I had) in that storage pool so that I could start, you know, using the system. But it won't let me do that.
Volumes are not allocated within storage pools? Did I get that correctly?
Can I delete that storage pool I was forced to create and create a Volume instead?
I'm trying to keep it simple, just format the drive ext4 so if something bad happens to the NAS I can always connect it to my PC and access my data.
QTS 5.0.0.1850
TS-251+ with 2x2TB WD Red / Two static volumes (system and backup) for a simple home setup.
holger_kuehn
Easy as a breeze
Posts: 413
Joined: Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:45 pm
Location: Premnitz, Germany

Re: Recovering from a bad System HDD, need some help

Post by holger_kuehn »

You'll need to start from scratch and setup your apps anew. There is no way to avoid this as far as I know, this is basically the reason why you should setup a 2-bay-NAS with RAID-1. And internal backups are not really backups, but this is another matter.

On how to proceeed:

Storage Pools are used to store the system and volumes, so you should keep it. Storage Pools provide more features that are usually preferred over Static Volumes.
To get the best performace, compared to the older static volumes, you should create a thick volume on your newly created storage pool and transfer your data back onto it. As said after this is finished you'll need to configure your apps again.

To avoid this in the future I'd suggest doing the following after your system disk is the way you want it (this is my personal opinion, so you can as well ignore it):

remove your second (backup) disc, add a new 4 TB drive and convert the single disc setup to RAID 1
use your backup disk in am external USB dock to perform (actual) backups (that do not relay on the QNAP to function)

TeraBit wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:35 pm I'm trying to create a Static Volume (I guess? that's the closest thing to the simple setup I had) in that storage pool so that I could start, you know, using the system.
you can either use storage pools and thick volumes or static volumes; the former should be preferred for new setups
TeraBit wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:35 pm Volumes are not allocated within storage pools? Did I get that correctly?
no, volumes are part of storage pools
TeraBit wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:35 pm Can I delete that storage pool I was forced to create and create a Volume instead?
You should be able to create a static volume instead, after deleting the Storage Pool.
TeraBit wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:35 pm I'm trying to keep it simple, just format the drive ext4 so if something bad happens to the NAS I can always connect it to my PC and access my data.
That's what external backups are for. You should not rely on attaching the drives onto different system and read from it. There are different threads detailing the functions needed to do so, but not all attempts were successful. So I'd prefer a 3-2-1-backup solution over it, or at least 2-2-0.
NAS (production): TS-1635AX FW: QTS 5.1.4.2596 build 20231128
NAS (backup): TS-1635AX FW: QTS 5.1.4.2596 build 20231128
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 2TB Samsung Evo 860 M.2-Sata
Data (QTier): [RAID-6] 4 x 4TB Samsung 870 QVO Sata
Data (HDD): [RAID-6] 7 x 18TB Exos
RAM: 8 GB (QNAP shipped)
UPS: CyberPower CP900EPFCLCD
BACKUP: 10x4TB WD Red using a USB 3.0 Dock
Usage: SMB with rclone (encrypted)

NAS: TS-873U-RP FW: QTS 5.1.4.2596 build 20231128
Data (SSD): [RAID-10] 4 x 1TB Samsung Evo 860 Sata
RAM: 8 GB (QNAP shipped)
UPS: CyberPower PR2200ELCDRT2U
BACKUP: 4TB Synology DS214 FW: DSM 7.0.41890
Usage: SMB, Backup Domain Controller
TeraBit
Getting the hang of things
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 1:32 am

Re: Recovering from a bad System HDD, need some help

Post by TeraBit »

Thank you, holger_kuehn, for trying to help.
You wrote:
no, volumes are part of storage pools
and yet, I can't create a static volume inside the pool.
Some images that might help explain what's going on (I apologize about the fuzziness. The forum limits image width to 1024 pixels, and I resized instead of cropped the first 3 images).
As you can, hopefully, see, I can't create the volume because the list of where that volume should be created is empty.
You should not rely on attaching the drives onto different system and read from it.
That's exactly what I'm trying to accomplish - not being reliant. I don't want my data to be locked-in to a specific vendor's solution. I want to be able to recover both HDD failure (the backup) and NAS failure.


Image

Image

Image

Image
QTS 5.0.0.1850
TS-251+ with 2x2TB WD Red / Two static volumes (system and backup) for a simple home setup.
holger_kuehn
Easy as a breeze
Posts: 413
Joined: Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:45 pm
Location: Premnitz, Germany

Re: Recovering from a bad System HDD, need some help

Post by holger_kuehn »

Using the options from your third screenshot it should be possible to create a Static Volume, but you'll need to remove the existing storage pool for that.
NAS (production): TS-1635AX FW: QTS 5.1.4.2596 build 20231128
NAS (backup): TS-1635AX FW: QTS 5.1.4.2596 build 20231128
QTS (SSD): [RAID-1] 2 x 2TB Samsung Evo 860 M.2-Sata
Data (QTier): [RAID-6] 4 x 4TB Samsung 870 QVO Sata
Data (HDD): [RAID-6] 7 x 18TB Exos
RAM: 8 GB (QNAP shipped)
UPS: CyberPower CP900EPFCLCD
BACKUP: 10x4TB WD Red using a USB 3.0 Dock
Usage: SMB with rclone (encrypted)

NAS: TS-873U-RP FW: QTS 5.1.4.2596 build 20231128
Data (SSD): [RAID-10] 4 x 1TB Samsung Evo 860 Sata
RAM: 8 GB (QNAP shipped)
UPS: CyberPower PR2200ELCDRT2U
BACKUP: 4TB Synology DS214 FW: DSM 7.0.41890
Usage: SMB, Backup Domain Controller
TeraBit
Getting the hang of things
Posts: 69
Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2016 1:32 am

Re: Recovering from a bad System HDD, need some help

Post by TeraBit »

holger_kuehn wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 1:14 am Using the options from your third screenshot it should be possible to create a Static Volume, but you'll need to remove the existing storage pool for that.
That's what I thought. Thank you!
QTS 5.0.0.1850
TS-251+ with 2x2TB WD Red / Two static volumes (system and backup) for a simple home setup.
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