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ReadyNAS OS 6.0
Add Protection to a Volume

Add Protection to an X-RAID2 Volume

X-RAID2 requires a minimum of two hard disks to provide protection against disk failure. If
you have a one-disk ReadyNAS storage system and want protection from disk failure, you
need to add a second disk that is at least as large as the first. It can be added while the
system is running. For more information about how to add a disk to your system, see the
hardware manual for your system, which is available at
http://support.netgear.com/product/ReadyNAS-OS6.
An X-RAID2 volume that includes two or more disks is automatically formatted to protect
against the failure of one disk. If you want to protect your data against the failure of two disks,
you must switch to Flex-RAID and select RAID 6. To use RAID 6, you must install four or
more disks. For more information about how to switch to Flex-RAID, see Change from
X-RAID2 to Flex-RAID on page 21.

Add Protection to a Flex-RAID Volume

In certain cases, you can add a disk to a Flex-RAID volume to increase data protection. The
following table indicates whether adding a disk for data protection is possible for each
Flex-RAID configuration.
Table 3.
Number of Disks
per Volume RAID
Level Can I add a disk to for data protection?
1RAID 1 Yes. (Additional disk provides redundancy.)
2RAID 1 No. (Volume protection is already redundant.)
2 or more RAID 0 No. (RAID 0 does not offer protection.)
3 or more RAID 5 Yes. (Additional disk provides dual redundancy and converts the volume to
RAID 6.)
4 RAID 10 No. (Volume protection is already redundant.)
4 or more RAID 6 No. (Volume is already protected with dual redundancy.)
Flex-RAID levels and data protection
Disks added to a Flex-RAID volume can only be used for protection. They cannot be used for
storage (horizontal expansion). If you want to add a disk for increased storage capacity, you
must do one of the following:
• Create a volume using the added disks (see Create a Volume on page 27).
• Change the RAID level (see Change to a Different RAID Level on page 23).
• Switch to X-RAID2 (see Change from Flex-RAID to X-RAID2 on page 22).
To add a protection to a Flex-RAID volume:
1. Add a disk to your ReadyNAS storage system.