RAID 1 with 2 different sizes HDD

[claudioita]

Currently I have two 2TB disks in RAID 1 mode. One of the disks is giving an error, Qnap software suggests to change it.

I was going to buy one 3TB disk. So I will have one 2TB disk and one 3TB disk.

Is it possible to have RAID 1 for 2TB space and use the extra 1TB of data?

[dolbyman]

no, all drives have to be the same size in order for the extra space to be used

in your case that extra TB will stay unused until you change both disks

[claudioita]

Ok, thanks.

My plan is:
a) change the defective 2TB with a 3TB disk (hence in the system I will have a 3TB and a 2TB disk)
wait for some more money to come
b) change the other 2TB with another 3TB, will a that point all 3TB be available? Is the system expanding the size automatically, or?

[storageman]

No, when both new disks are in, expand the pool, then the volume(s)

[claudioita]

No, when both new disks are in, expand the pool, then the volume(s)

Can I do this without the need for a backup?

[storageman]

Never a bad idea for backup!
If it crashes and I said no who would you blame?

[claudioita]

Never a bad idea for backup!
If it crashes and I said no who would you blame?

Qnap

[Don]

Never a bad idea for backup!
If it crashes and I said no who would you blame?

Qnap

Wrong answer. See my signature.

[claudioita]

Yes I understand. Then a Qnap NAS is a wrong product, as a concept

[storageman]

Good luck finding the right product then...

[MrVideo]

No, when both new disks are in, expand the pool, then the volume(s)

But, the OP must follow the procedure for increasing the HD size. Just hot swapping out the 2nd HDD will not result in the new size being available for expansion.

[MrVideo]

Yes I understand. Then a Qnap NAS is a wrong product, as a concept

No, it isn't. The idea behind QNAP RAID, or anyone's RAID, is to help reduce the possibility of data loss due to HD failure. If you were to get a 2nd NAS and use one to back up the other, that would be a strategy.

[claudioita]

Yes I understand. Then a Qnap NAS is a wrong product, as a concept

No, it isn't. The idea behind QNAP RAID, or anyone's RAID, is to help reduce the possibility of data loss due to HD failure. If you were to get a 2nd NAS and use one to back up the other, that would be a strategy.

So I need 2 NAS and 4 Hdd to backup 1 Hdd?
Even more convinced that the qnap nas is wrong as a concept

[MrVideo]

No, it is just one possibility. Another way is to have a USB 3.0 docking station with an HDD that is at least the size of the RAID. That would means one NAS, one docking station and a total of three drives.

If you pay for a "cloud" storage service, then it is only the drives in the NAS.

[P3R]

So I need 2 NAS and 4 Hdd to backup 1 Hdd?

If the NAS itself is the backup for another disk, then of course you don't absolutely need a third backup. I would still recommend it though as multiple objects (in this case disks) can actually break at roughly the same time. It's all a question about how much your data is worth to you...

Even more convinced that the qnap nas is wrong as a concept

No but your posts here indicate that you may have misunderstood the NAS concept. A NAS is much, much more than just a backup destination for a single computer but it can never protect data on it's own.

A NAS is a very low powered device that can do tasks 24/7 without the need to keep a computer powered on. It's a server that can give access to shared data between multiple clients. It offers many different media streaming capabilities and many, many more things in addition to being a backup destination.

If backup of a single computer is the only thing you need from your NAS, then it may be overkill and you may be better off with a simple external disk dock and multiple disks used in a rotating scheme, with at least one disk always kept at another physical location.