Our NAS series appliances offer quick and easy transitions between volume types without the need of formatting the drives. This article describes valid conversion targets and guides you through the process.

Table of Contents

1. Valid conversion targets
2. Converting basic disk to RAID1 volume
3. Converting RAID volumes to a higher level RAID volume

1) Valid conversion targets

While the idea between RAID arrays is always the same, the techniques of storing the data can be very different. For this reason, only limited operations are possible without the need to format the drives:

1. Basic disk to RAID1 (mirror)
2. RAID1 (mirror) to RAID5 (stripping + single parity)
3. RAID5 (stripping + single parity) to RAID6 (stripping + dual parity)

RAID1 volume can be expanded to RAID6 indirectly within two steps if desired. Similarly, a basic disk can be converted to RAID5 by first creating a RAID1 array.

Please note that JBODs cannot be expanded without formatting due to the technique of data recording (stripping) - while technically possible, this operation would be highly dangerous as any interruption to the task would destroy all of your data. If you intend to expand your JBOD array, please back up all your data and re-create the array with the desired number of drives.

2) Converting basic disk to RAID1 volume

1. Log into the NAS WebGUI
2. Open Storage Manager. Go to Internal Storage > Volume tab.
3. Select the desired volume in the list and click on Manage.
   
4. Confirm Change RAID type as requested task.
   
   
5. Select disk to be added to the array and proceed to the next screen.
   
   
6. Verify the operation parameters and confirm it.
   
7. You can monitor the status of the operation in the storage manager.
   
   
8. After the conversion is done, the screen should look like this.
   
   

3) Converting RAID volumes to a higher level RAID volume

1. Log into the NAS WebGUI
2. Open Storage Manager. Go to Internal Storage > Volume tab.
3. Select the desired volume in the list and click on Manage.
   
   
4. Confirm Change RAID type as requested task. NOTE: while it is available to expand the RAID1 array, this would merely create another mirror of the drive, using all the added space to secure the array from the failure of the second drive. In most cases, this is not what we need.
   
   
5. Select either one or two disks, depending on your preference, to be added to the array and proceed to the next screen.
   
   
   
6. Verify the operation parameters and confirm it.
   
   
7. You can monitor the status of the operation in the storage manager.
   
   
8. After the conversion is done, the screen should look like this.