Does an off site remote backup second EX4 unit have to be exactly the same size and raid configuration as the source drive? Can I expand as I need?
1327409
No it does not. This system functions much like a simple External HDD with all the benefits of a raid. I have several sites that share information from backups of my main 16TB unit, all of which are 12TB or smaller. A complete backup would only require the amount of space that is currently in use on your main drive.
1895543
It's either/or. When you set the drive up you have the choice of using the RAID 1 or 0 configuration. If you decide to change your mind later, you'll end up losing everything you've stored on the drive. I stuck with the RAID 1 config to provide redundancy, even though it cut the capacity by half.
2264350
Hi Steve: I Can't verify, already installed in a customer's server. FW revision # looks familiar. I wouldn't bank on getting another drive with the same firmware on a different order - sometimes they are different on the same order. I use the RAID Controller (Adaptec) to update firmware on disks to get them the same.
117366
No, I am using it in a non-raid setup. I did try to use it with a 2 TB drive as a 4th drive. It didn't work. I then put a 500 MB drive on it and it worked. I put the 2 TB directly on a standard sata port.
1235418
Regarding use of multiple sized drives; you should not only use the same size, but the same brand and model if possible to avoid issues. The only configuration that this doesn't apply/mean as much to could be JBOD (Basically just one big data dump w/no redundancy). Data gone is gone:)
399560
yes you can. I am currently running two of the 4 TB NAS drives from Seagate and I left the others empty. The device is scalable in that way however you will need to backup data on your current drive if you later want the added performance or redundancy of adding it to a RAID array.
228614
The diskless NAS does not have any drives installed in it. I bought the diskless thinking I would use the four matched drives I had in an existing server. That would have been perfect, but the drives were not supported by the EX4. If you have existing drives, and they are on the WD EX4 supported list, this would be a great way to make use of them. Otherwise, you might as well purchase with disks and have a single warranty covering the entire NAS and drives.
800516
Can you run RAID that way? Id like to install 2 2TB drives, for large capacity RAID.
327454
That's the way it's designed to work. Otherwise, there's no point to having a RAID array and you might as well sync two hard drives. I own this enclosure and like it very much but I've not experienced a hard drive failure yet so I have no personal experience. Apparently, Mr. Morrissey does. I do not think the drives necessarily have to be identical, but the RAID array will end up being the size of the smaller hard drive.I would also note that the StarTech enclosure does not support RAID 5 (only 0 and 1) so Showman's RAID 5 could not have been in this StarTech enclosure.
2235683
Using X-RAID is the only way to make that work. But you are limited to 1 volume, if you want more than 1 volume you would turn off X-RAID but you cant go back without reformatting your drives. X-RAID will manage your redundancy
750550
The documentation is a bit unclear on this. In one place it says to use the same size drive, but in the "Replacing a Drive" section is says that you should use the same size or larger, but the extra capacity would be unused. Assuming you are using RAID1 then you should use the same size drives. The drives are SATA interface. I used two identical (same manufacturer, model and probably the same lot) 2TB drives in my configuration.
251042
Yes you can perform an online raid expansion. I'm sure you already know the standard warning but here goes anyway. Raid is not a backup. Always backup your data. Make sure your backed-up data is up to date before you perform the raid expansion!
1374986
You can program the unit with the supplied software or through the Gui via web browser.. I currently have 2 servers backing up to this unit. You can have it setup to backup 2 computers on there own hard drive. Or do what I did and let them backup on the same hard drive but using there own folders. then you can create a internal backup to the unit where it will archive all backups onto the other hard drive. Otherwise setup the raid in the Gui and the hard drives will always back each other up. there's so many different options you can do with this unit. Its well worth it.
1555872
You should ALWAYS have redundancy, especially with these kinds of drives. Yeah, they are cheap, but your data isn't. Buy two and use one as a backup. I learned the hard way myself.
475147
If you buy cheap externals like I did yes but it will also force your RAID into read only. If you spend the extra on NAS drives then you're fine. It's not the enclosure that dictates that but the firmware on the drives themselves.
750546
First, The drives are sata. Second, The drives do not have to be the same size if you are not mirroring them (RAID 1). The drives can be setup as individual drives or as combined drives ( Drive 1 = 500 GB, Drive 2 = 1000 GB. Combined drive 1500 GB).
2276887
You can certainly copy it. I do not use automated backup routines (except for C: drive) so cannot comment on these.