NAS Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+ Data Recovery Essentials: RAID Array Tips

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+
• How to Remove Hard Disks from Your NAS and Connect Them to a PC
  • Step-by-Step Data Recovery with Hetman RAID Recovery
  • How to Safely Recover Data from Disk Images
  • Where Are the User’s Files Actually Stored?
  • RAID Recovery Software: Detailed Comparison

Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID

Conventional hard drives store user data by writing it sequentially across the disk surface, which means an entire file is typically located on a single drive. In contrast, when data is written to a RAID array, each file is split into multiple fragments. These fragments are then distributed and written in sequence across all the drives in the array. Depending on the configuration, fragment sizes can range from 2 KB to 2 MB, so every file is physically stored across several disks at once.

This approach significantly increases read and write performance — after all, writing two halves of a 1 GB file to two drives simultaneously is much faster than writing the full 1 GB to a single disk. However, this same mechanism makes file recovery far more complex.

Different RAID levels use different methods to distribute and protect data. On top of that, manufacturers like Digiever often add their own proprietary structures and variations. As a result, data can be written to disks in many different formats, and each requires a specific approach during recovery.

How can conducting regular backups on external storage devices mitigate data loss risks for NAS Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+ devices?

Conducting regular backups on external storage devices can mitigate data loss risks for NAS Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+ devices in the following ways:

1. Redundancy: By backing up data on external storage devices, you create redundancy, ensuring that even if the primary NAS device fails or data is lost, you have a secondary copy available.
2. Protection against hardware failure: NAS devices can experience hardware failures, such as hard drive crashes. Regular backups on external storage devices provide an additional layer of protection against such failures, allowing you to restore data from the backups.
3. Protection against data corruption: Data corruption can occur due to various reasons, including software bugs, malware, or power outages. By backing up your data regularly, you can safeguard against data corruption and restore a clean copy from the backups.
4. Disaster recovery: In case of a catastrophic event like fire, flood, or theft, having backups stored on external devices ensures that your data remains safe and can be restored to a new NAS device or another location.
5. Version control and accidental deletion: Regular backups allow you to maintain multiple versions of your data. In case of accidental deletion or overwriting of files, you can retrieve previous versions from the backups.

To ensure effective backup practices for NAS Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+ devices, consider the following tips:

a. Use reliable external storage devices: Invest in high-quality external hard drives or network-attached storage (NAS) devices for backups that offer sufficient capacity and reliability.

b. Automate backup processes: Schedule regular backups using built-in backup software or third-party backup solutions. Automation reduces the risk of human error and ensures backups are performed consistently.

c. Implement an off-site backup strategy: Store backups in a separate physical location or leverage cloud storage services to protect against physical damage or theft of both the NAS device and the backup.

d. Test backup integrity: Periodically verify the integrity of your backups by restoring files from them to ensure they are complete and usable.

e. Consider incremental or differential backups: To optimize storage space and backup time, utilize incremental or differential backup methods that only store changes made since the last backup, rather than duplicating entire datasets.

By implementing these backup practices, you can significantly mitigate data loss risks for NAS Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+ devices and ensure the safety and availability of your valuable data.

How to Remove Hard Disks from Your NAS and Connect Them to a PC

Although the NAS DS-165112-RM Pro+ can be accessed over the network, you still need to remove its hard disks and connect them directly to a Windows PC. Only then can the recovery software properly scan and analyze the drives. Follow these steps:

1. Power off the NAS and disconnect it from the power source.

   WARNING! Before removing any drives, carefully read the device manual. Improper actions may damage both the NAS enclosure and the hard disks in the RAID array.

2. Remove the hard disks one by one, gently sliding each drive out of its slot. Remember that hard disks are highly sensitive: any impact or drop can cause serious physical damage.

3. Label each hard disk according to its position inside the NAS. The order of the drives is crucial for correct RAID reconstruction.

4. Connect the drives to your computer. In this video, we explain which ports you can use to connect hard disks and what to do if your PC does not have enough free connectors.

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   How to Order Remote Data Recovery

Step-by-Step Data Recovery with Hetman RAID Recovery

This program restores data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+. Each hard disk in the array contains technical metadata describing how files were written. When launched, Hetman RAID Recovery analyzes this metadata, automatically reconstructs the damaged array, and provides access to its contents. After that, you can browse the recovered disk and save your files. The program can also restore files that were accidentally deleted from the network drive.

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How to recover data from a Digiever

DS-165112-RM Pro+ has 16 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• RAID 50;
• RAID 60;
• JBOD;

NAS supports:

• exFAT, VFAT, FAT 12 / 16 / 32;
• NTFS / ReFS;
• APFS / HFS+;
• Ext2 / 3 / 4 / ReiserFS / XFS / UFS / ZFS / Btrfs;
• VMFS / HikvisionFS;

How to Safely Recover Data from Disk Images

This utility allows you to create a complete copy of a disk and work with the disk image instead of the physical drive. This approach helps protect your data from:

• Overwriting during the recovery process;
• Additional data loss caused by bad sectors;
• User errors.

To create a disk image, follow these steps:

1. Ensure you have enough free space to store the image. Its size will typically match the size of the original disk.

2. In the main window, select the target disk and choose Tools - Save Disk. You can also select multiple disks if needed.

3. When the Image Creation Wizard opens, select whether you want to save the entire disk or only a specific region. Adjust the settings and click Next.

   

4. Choose the directory where the image will be saved. You may select any available disk connected to your PC or upload the image via FTP.

   

Where Are the User’s Files Actually Stored?

The Digiever DS-165112-RM Pro+ network-attached storage keeps OS Linux operating system files on a separate RAID 1 (mirrored) array. Usually, all NAS systems create several volumes on every hard disk, and the first of them takes up to 2 Gb of space. This is where operating system files are stored. Other volumes are united into a RAID array where user’s data is written.

RAID Recovery Software: Detailed Comparison