Professional Strategies for Recovering NAS Infortrend EonStor DS 3048 Data from RAID Arrays

Contents

• Why can’t ordinary software tools restore files from RAID?
• How to take hard disks out of the NAS and connect them to a PC?
  • Restoring data with Hetman RAID Recovery
  • Safe recovery from disk images
  • Where are user’s files stored?
  • Comparison of software for RAID recovery

Why can’t ordinary software tools restore files from RAID?

Conventional hard disks keep user’s data by writing it to their surface in a consecutive way, and this is how an entire file is stored on a single hard disk. However, when data is written to a RAID system, a file is divided into several parts. Then these parts are written consecutively to all hard disks within such array. The size of such parts may range from 2 KB to 2 MB, so each file is stored on several hard disks at the same time.

Such approach helps to speed up read and write operations, and it is evident that saving two parts of a file having the size of 1 GB to two hard disks simultaneously is much faster than saving the same 1 GB of data to one hard disk. However, this peculiarity makes file recovery more complicated.

Various RAID levels store information in different ways. Additionally, manufacturers like Infortrend also introduce some modifications to this process, and that is why data can be written to hard disk in a wide variety of ways.

How can storage tiering or caching strategies impact data availability and potential loss on NAS Infortrend EonStor DS 3048 devices?

Storage tiering and caching strategies can have a significant impact on data availability and potential loss on NAS devices like the Infortrend EonStor DS 3048. Here are some ways in which these strategies can affect data availability:

1. Improved Performance: Storage tiering and caching can enhance data access speeds by keeping frequently accessed data in faster storage tiers or cache. This improves overall system performance and reduces latency, ensuring that data is available more quickly when requested.
2. Increased Reliability: By utilizing different storage tiers, including high-performance SSDs and capacity-focused HDDs, storage tiering can improve data reliability. Critical data can be stored on redundant and fault-tolerant storage tiers, reducing the risk of data loss due to hardware failures.
3. Enhanced Data Protection: Storage tiering can also be used to create multiple copies of important data across different storage tiers. This redundancy ensures that even if one storage tier fails, the data remains available on other tiers, minimizing the risk of data loss.
4. Efficient Resource Utilization: Storage tiering and caching strategies optimize the use of storage resources by automatically moving data between different tiers based on usage patterns. This ensures that frequently accessed data is stored in faster tiers, while less frequently accessed data is moved to slower, more cost-effective tiers. By efficiently utilizing storage resources, data availability is improved.

However, it's important to note that there are potential risks and challenges associated with storage tiering and caching strategies, which can impact data availability and potential loss:

1. Data Loss Risks: If the storage tiering or caching strategy is not properly implemented or managed, there is a risk of data loss. For example, if data is cached but not immediately written to persistent storage, a power outage or system failure could result in data loss.
2. Complexity and Management: Storage tiering and caching strategies can introduce complexity to the storage infrastructure, requiring careful planning, configuration, and ongoing management. If not properly managed, misconfigurations or errors can impact data availability and potentially lead to data loss.
3. Performance Impacts: While storage tiering and caching can improve performance, improper configuration or limitations of the storage infrastructure can result in performance bottlenecks or reduced data availability. It's important to consider the specific capabilities and limitations of the Infortrend EonStor DS 3048 device when implementing these strategies.

In summary, storage tiering and caching strategies can have a positive impact on data availability and reliability on NAS devices like the Infortrend EonStor DS 3048. However, proper planning, configuration, and ongoing management are crucial to ensure the desired benefits are achieved while minimizing the risks associated with data loss or reduced availability.

How to take hard disks out of the NAS and connect them to a PC?

Although NAS EonStor DS 3048 can be accessed over the network, you still need to take the hard disks out of the storage device and connect them to a Windows computer. Only in this case will the software be able to scan them properly. Here is what you should do:

1. Turn off the storage and disconnect it from the power supply.

   WARNING! Before you start taking hard disks out of your NAS device, read the manual carefully. Incorrect actions may damage your network-attached storage and/or the hard disks within the RAID system.

2. Take the hard disks out of the NAS one by one, carefully removing them from their slots. Remember that the disks are extremely vulnerable: hitting or dropping them may result in serious physical damage.

3. Make sure to mark each hard disk in accordance with how they were installed inside the NAS.

4. Remove the hard disks and connect them to the computer. In this video, we have explored what ports are used to connect hard disks, and what to do if there are not enough ports or connectors.

   Go to view

   

   How to Order Remote Data Recovery

Restoring data with Hetman RAID Recovery

This program recovers data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Infortrend EonStor DS 3048. The hard disks that make up the RAID contain technical information about the algorithm used to save files. When launched, Hetman RAID Recovery reads this information and puts the damaged array together. Then you can open the disk and save your files. Also, you can recover the files accidentally deleted from the network drive.

Go to view

How to recover data from a Infortrend

EonStor DS 3048 has 48 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;

Safe recovery from disk images

This utility lets you save an entire copy of the disk to file and then work with this image instead of the actual disk. Such feature helps to protect data on the disk from:

• Overwriting during the recovery process;
• Loss resulting from bad sectors;
• User mistakes.

To create an image, do the following:

1. Make sure that you have enough free space to save the image. The image file size usually equals the disk size.

2. Select the disk in the main window, and choose from the menu Tools – Save Disk. You can select multiple disks to be saved.

3. When the image creation wizard starts, you can choose to save the entire disk or select only a part of it. Specify the parameters and click Next.

   

4. At this stage, you need to choose a directory where to save the image. Choose any disk connected to this PC, or save the image by FTP.

   

Where are user’s files stored?

The Infortrend EonStor DS 3048 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.

Comparison of software for RAID recovery