- 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?
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 regular performance monitoring and optimization help in preventing data loss on NAS Infortrend EonStor GS 4024 devices?
Regular performance monitoring and optimization can help in preventing data loss on NAS Infortrend EonStor GS 4024 devices in the following ways:
- Early detection of potential issues: By monitoring the performance of the NAS device regularly, you can identify any anomalies or performance degradation that may indicate underlying issues. This early detection allows you to take proactive measures to prevent data loss before it occurs.
- Capacity planning: Monitoring the performance of the NAS device helps you understand the storage capacity utilization and growth trends. By analyzing this data, you can plan for future storage requirements and ensure that you have enough capacity to accommodate data growth without risking data loss due to insufficient storage space.
- Identifying bottlenecks: Performance monitoring enables you to identify any bottlenecks in the NAS system, such as network congestion, disk latency, or CPU utilization. By addressing these bottlenecks through optimization techniques like load balancing, caching, or upgrading hardware components, you can improve the overall performance and reduce the risk of data loss.
- Proactive maintenance: Regular performance monitoring allows you to track the health and status of various components of the NAS device, such as hard drives, RAID arrays, or network connections. By identifying any potential hardware failures or degraded components, you can take proactive maintenance actions like replacing faulty drives or upgrading firmware to prevent data loss.
- Backup and disaster recovery planning: Performance monitoring can help you ensure that your backup and disaster recovery processes are running smoothly. By monitoring backup job completion rates, data transfer speeds, and recovery time objectives (RTOs), you can identify any issues that may impact data availability and take corrective actions.
- Security monitoring: Regular performance monitoring can also help in detecting any security breaches or unauthorized access attempts on the NAS device. By monitoring network traffic, user access logs, and system logs, you can identify any suspicious activities and prevent potential data loss due to security breaches.
Overall, regular performance monitoring and optimization of NAS Infortrend EonStor GS 4024 devices help in ensuring the reliability, availability, and performance of the system, thereby reducing the risk of data loss.
How to take hard disks out of the NAS and connect them to a PC?
Although NAS EonStor GS 4024 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:
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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.
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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.
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Make sure to mark each hard disk in accordance with how they were installed inside the NAS.
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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.
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Restoring data with Hetman RAID Recovery
This program recovers data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Infortrend EonStor GS 4024. 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.
EonStor GS 4024 has 24 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:
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Make sure that you have enough free space to save the image. The image file size usually equals the disk size.
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Select the disk in the main window, and choose from the menu Tools – Save Disk. You can select multiple disks to be saved.
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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.
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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 GS 4024 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
Product | Operating system | License type | RAID controller support | Supported file systems | Virtual RAID controller support | Data recovery from damaged RAID | File preview |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hetman RAID Recovery | Windows | Paid | Yes, over 100 controllers | FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, HFS+ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
DiskInternals RAID Recovery | Windows | Paid | Yes, over 100 controllers | FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, HFS+ | No | Yes | Yes |
R-Studio | Windows, Mac, Linux | Paid | Yes, over 200 controllers | FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, HFS+ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
UFS Explorer RAID Recovery | Windows, Mac, Linux | Paid | Yes, over 1,000 controllers | FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, HFS+ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
EaseUS Data Recovery | Windows | Paid | Yes, over 20 controllers | FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, HFS+ | No | Yes | Yes |
ReclaiMe Free RAID Recovery | Windows | Free | Yes, over 100 controllers | FAT, NTFS, Ext2/3/4, HFS+ | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Data recovery from a NAS Infortrend EonStor GS 4024 device can be attempted even if the device is showing signs of disk or storage media errors. However, the success of the recovery process depends on the extent and nature of the errors.
Here are some steps you can take to attempt data recovery:
Remember, data recovery from a NAS device with disk or storage media errors is a complex process that requires specialized expertise. It is important to choose a reputable data recovery service to maximize the chances of successful recovery.