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P/N: 900-10004-00 REV 02 USER GUIDE, IOSAFE R4
42
►
X-RAID HAS ONE DATA VOLUME
X-RAID devices only have one data volume. This volume encompasses one to four disks, utilizing
the capacity of the smallest disk from each disk. For instance, if you had one 80GB disk and two
250GB disks, only 80GB from each disk will be used in the volume. (The leftover space on the
250GB disks will be reclaimed only when the 80GB disk is replaced with a 250GB or greater
capacity disk. See “Replacing All Your Disks for Even More Capacity” below.)
►
ADDING A 2
ND
DISK FOR REDUNDANCY
A one-disk X-RAID device has no redundancy and provides no protection from a disk failure.
However, if and when you feel the need for redundancy, simply power down the device, add a new
disk with at least the capacity of the first disk, and power on. Depending on the size of the disk,
within a few hours, your data volume will be fully redundant. The process occurs in the
background, so access to the ioSafe R4 is not interrupted.
►
ADDING A 3
RD
AND 4
TH
DISK FOR MORE CAPACITY
At a certain point, you will want more capacity. With typical RAID volumes, you will have to
backup your data to another system (with enough space), add a new disk, reformat your RAID
volume, and restore your data back to the new RAID volume.
Not so with X-RAID. Simply power down the device, add the 3
rd
and perhaps 4
th
disk and power
on. The X-RAID device will initialize and scan the newly added disk(s) for bad sectors in the
background. You can continue working normally with the device during this process without any
lag in performance. When the process finishes, you will be alerted by email to reboot the device.
During the boot process, your data volume is expanded. This process typically takes about 15-30
minutes per disk, perhaps more, depending on the size of your disks. A 250GB disk takes
approximately 30 minutes. Access to the ioSafe R4 is not permitted during this time. You will be
notified by email when the process is complete.
After you receive your email, the ioSafe R4 will have been expanded with the capacity from your
new disk(s).
►
REPLACING ALL YOUR DISKS FOR EVEN MORE CAPACITY
A couple years down the line, you find the need more disk space, and 1 TB disks are available at an
attractive price. Again, you can expand your volume capacity quite easily, although you will need to
power down several times to replace your old disks.
First, power down the ioSafe R4, replace the first disk with the larger capacity disk, and boot. The
ioSafe R4 will detect that a new disk was put in place and will resync the disk with data from the
removed disk. This process will take several hours, depending on disk capacity. The disk will be
initialized and scanned for bad sectors first before the resync is started. The total time from the start
of initialization to the end of resync can be around 5 hours or more, depending on disk capacity.
You will be notified when this resync process is complete.
Upon completion, power down, replace the 2
nd
disk with another larger capacity disk, and boot. The
process will be the same as the 1
st
disk. You will do this also for the 3
rd
and 4
th
disk.