RAID1 to RAID5 Upgrade, Can't Expand Volume Or Edit Pool

RAID, Volume, storage pool, hard drive, USB, SSD cache and iSCSI LUN
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noxiousnick
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Joined: 18 Feb 2022, 23:20

RAID1 to RAID5 Upgrade, Can't Expand Volume Or Edit Pool

Post by noxiousnick »

Hello,

I have the F4-210 running version 4.2.12-2104281637.

I have been using two identical disks as RAID1 for about a year, and I just bought two additional identical disks (same as the first two) with the goal to upgrade to RAID6.

I added the first disk and it automatically upgraded from RAID1 to RAID5 for me, and I just added the 2nd disk. After adding the 2nd disk successfully, it still shows the capacity from 3 disks and the "edit" menu staying greyed out, so I can't make any more changes to the storage pool.

I also cannot grow the volume. After adding the 3rd disk, I was unable to grow the volume to the new capacity, and it is still unable to grow after adding the 4th disk too.

Did I miss a step or do something wrong? I don't mind keeping RAID5 instead of RAID6 if that has to be the case, but I would like to grow my existing volume to use the new capacity.

I am also able to SSH into the NAS if that helps to get more info.

Thanks!
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noxiousnick
Posts: 2
Joined: 18 Feb 2022, 23:20

Re: RAID1 to RAID5 Upgrade, Can't Expand Volume Or Edit Pool

Post by noxiousnick »

After some more searching around I was able to find this post which was very helpful: viewtopic.php?f=79&t=2342

However the instructions weren't complete so here's what I ran into while trying to follow them:

* I was not able to easily umount the /home directory because SSH'ing into the server keeps that directory in use. What I had to do was use the lazy option "umount -l /home", and then log out and log back in to clear my session. After that I was able to proceed with the next steps.

* This command is either a typo or incorrect: "lvextend -l +100%100FREE /dev/vg0/lv0", it was actually "lvextend -l +100%FREE /dev/vg0/lv0"

* Because I'm using ext4 I had to do an extra step before running the resize2fs command, the system will recommend this automatically but it's worth noting to add the -y flag to save some headache "e2fsck -y -f /dev/mapper/vg0-lv0"


Some feedback:

* I wish the menus were more clear up front about exactly what changes were happening and what other possible alternatives I was locking myself out of. (Like, "you're about to add a disk to RAID5, this will prevent you from migrating to RAID6, are you sure that's what you want?). The options look like they make more sense now in hindsight but only after researching why I made the wrong choice.

* Even though I accidently locked myself into a RAID5, I still had to fight the operating system to fully utilize the space. If I have to SSH into the NAS then something's gone wrong. I still think the GUI should have been able to let me grow the storage pool and then expand the volume after adding the additional disks.
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