Direct Mounting of Data Drives

[TMroy]

What is direct mounting of data drives?
Direct mounting of data drives is a storage technology that allows users to directly connect external hard drives to NAS devices, accessing the data on the hard drives over the network without the need for repartitioning or reformatting the drives. In previous TOS 6 systems and other similar NAS devices in the market, users had to partition and format the hard drive first before installing it for use in the NAS device. This meant that users could not retain the existing data on the hard drive. However, the direct mounting feature in the latest TOS 6 system has changed this scenario. It enables users to hot-swap storage-filled hard drives into TNAS devices without the need for repartitioning or reformatting, allowing them to access the data on the hard drive over the network. This technology provides users with a more convenient and efficient data storage solution.

Requirements for Direct Mounting of Data Drives
What conditions need to be met for direct mounting of data drives?
To perform direct mounting of data drives, certain requirements must be met. Therefore, when using direct mounting of hard drives, please pay attention to the following:

1. Your TNAS device must have at least one system drive running TOS 6.0.x. This ensures that your device supports the direct mounting feature. The system drive can be either an HDD or an SSD, as long as it is running the required operating system version.
2. The data drive you intend to mount must meet specific specifications. Data drives can be 3.5-inch SATA hard drives, 2.5-inch SATA hard drives/SSDs, or M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs. These specifications ensure compatibility between the data drive and the TNAS device, allowing for normal data transfer and storage.
3. It's important to note that the direct mounting feature only supports specific file systems, including EXT4, Btrfs, EXT3, NTFS, ExFAT, and HFS+. Before using direct mounting of data drives, ensure that your data drive uses one of these file systems to guarantee compatibility with the TNAS device and to smoothly achieve data sharing and access.
In summary, to meet the conditions for direct mounting of data drives, you need to ensure that the TNAS device has a system drive that meets the criteria, use data drives with compatible specifications, and select a supported file system. Only then can you successfully implement direct mounting of data drives and enjoy an efficient and convenient data storage and access experience.

How to Operate Direct Mounting of Data Drives?
To operate direct mounting of data drives, you can follow the steps below:
1. Please ensure that your TNAS device is turned on and functioning properly; if you need to directly attach an M.2 NVMe SSD, you will need to power off the device, attach the disk, and then power it back on.
2. Insert your disk into the slot on the TNAS device. Make sure it is inserted correctly and ensure a stable connection.
3. Log in to your TOS and navigate to "TOS > Control Panel > Storage Manager > Hard Drive." This will take you to the hard drive management interface, where you can manage your hard drives.
4. In the list of hard drives, find the disk you just inserted and click the "Mount" button. This will make the hard drive usable within the system.
5. You can go to "TOS > File Management > External Storage" to view the mounted disk directories. Each disk partition will be mounted as an independent directory.

Important notes:
Firstly, due to differences in file systems and mounting methods, the directories of directly mounted data drives are not subject to TOS's ACL (Access Control List) permission management rules. This means that directories on directly mounted data drives cannot have access permissions set for TOS users and user groups; only administrators can access these directories.
Second, if you intend to add the data drive to TOS's storage pool, you need to manually unmount the disk before adding it.
Third, data drives only support manual mounting and do not support automatic mounting. Therefore, after restarting or shutting down the TNAS device, you will need to manually mount the disk again.
By following these steps and considerations, you will be able to successfully operate directly mounted data drives and effectively manage and access your data.

[DanielB]

3. Log in to your TOS and navigate to "TOS > Control Panel > Storage Manager > Hard Drive." This will take you to the hard drive management interface, where you can manage your hard drives.
4. In the list of hard drives, find the disk you just inserted and click the "Mount" button. This will make the hard drive usable within the system.
5. You can go to "TOS > File Management > External Storage" to view the mounted disk directories. Each disk partition will be mounted as an independent directory.

I'm having trouble at Step #5 - I don't see that option available in File Manager and so can't view the mounted disk directories.

I just got a F2-424 and installed TOS 5 it on on a NVME, then upgraded it to TOS v6.
In HDD1 caddy, I have a brand new SATA3 HDD, while in HDD2 caddy, I installed an old WD SATA3 HDD that was previously inside a WD MyBookLive ( single-drive NAS, in EXT4 format). The MyBookLive controller boards went bad but I've verified through a Windows EXT4-reading utility that its drive is readable and the data is intact. Once I get the data off it onto HDD1, I will discard that drive and install a new drive that's identical to HDD1 in HDD2.

• In Step #3, it correctly identifies that both caddies have drives, shows correct drive size info, and it even alerts me that HDD2 is 'at risk'.
• In Step #4, having clicked the 2nd 'tab' at the top called 'Hard Drive'*, I select the HDD2 drive, then click the 'more' icon to see and click on 'Mount Disk'. After clicking 'Start' in the next window that appears, after a few moments a 'Operation Succeeded!' message appears, so all appears well. (*note: this menu item, and the similar menu item on the left might be better written as 'Hard Drive(s)' as there is likely but not necessarily more than 1 HDD drive mounted in the TNAS.
• Step #5 says 'go to TOS > File Management' and from there, go to 'External Storage'; In the toolbox at the top of TOS 6, I see 'File Manager' but not 'File Management'. But assuming this is what was intended, once File Manager is open, I see on the left side a heading 'User space' and below that 'Favorites', 'My Shares', 'Recents', 'Desktop', 'Safe Box', 'Document' - and a heading 'Location' and below that 2 items, 'Volume1' (my boot NVMe) and 'Volume2' (my blank HDD1). I do not see the mounted EXT4 HDD2 or any heading or option for 'External Storage'.
• If I click the '+' next to 'Location', I see various 'Mount' options: 'Virtual Disk', 'NFS Folder', 'SMB Folder', 'Cloud Drive'.

So how do I see External Storage drives/folders??

[TMroy]

If the disk has been used on other NAS devices before, it is likely that an array has already been created on it and a VG has been established on this array. In this case, the disk cannot be mounted. Please note that the disk mounting function only supports disks with simple partitions.

[MikeTaku]

If the disk has been used on other NAS devices before, it is likely that an array has already been created on it and a VG has been established on this array. In this case, the disk cannot be mounted. Please note that the disk mounting function only supports disks with simple partitions.

Hi there!
I want to can a disk that was used in another NAS device with an existing array and volume group still be mounted if it doesn't have simple partitions?

[TMlinda]

If you plan to mount the entire hard disk array, please plug in the hard disk after shutting down the computer, then restart the computer, and the system will automatically add it as a storage pool and volume (please note: this operation only applies when both devices are X86 or both are ARM architecture).
If you want to use the data hard disk direct mounting function described in this post, please note that since your hard disk is already configured as an array, you can no longer use this function.

[RayKah]

So, my F8 SSD, if I have another M.2 SSD and have data in the SSD, and the format is compatible, I can insert and check the data, right?

[TMzethar]

So, my F8 SSD, if I have another M.2 SSD and have data in the SSD, and the format is compatible, I can insert and check the data, right?

That's correct.