Professional Insights for Recovering NAS Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT Data from RAID Arrays

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT
• 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 Infortrend 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 regular disk health monitoring and analysis help in preventing potential data loss on NAS Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT devices?

Regular disk health monitoring and analysis can help in preventing potential data loss on NAS Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT devices in the following ways:

1. Early detection of disk failures: By regularly monitoring the health of disks, you can identify any signs of impending disk failures such as bad sectors, increased read/write errors, or abnormal temperature readings. This allows you to proactively replace the failing disks before they completely fail and cause data loss.
2. Predictive analysis: Disk health monitoring tools often provide predictive analysis based on historical data and SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) attributes. These analyses can help identify patterns or trends that may indicate potential issues with the disks. By acting upon these predictions, you can prevent data loss by replacing the disks in a timely manner.
3. RAID array monitoring: NAS devices like Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT typically use RAID configurations for data redundancy and protection. Regular disk health monitoring allows you to monitor the status of RAID arrays, ensuring that all disks are functioning properly and no disks have been dropped from the array. If any issues are detected, you can take immediate action to rebuild the array or replace the failed disks to prevent data loss.
4. Proactive maintenance: Disk health monitoring provides valuable insights into the overall health and performance of the disks. By regularly analyzing this data, you can identify any potential performance degradation, high disk utilization, or other anomalies that may lead to data loss. Proactive maintenance, such as optimizing disk configurations, defragmenting disks, or reallocating storage space, can help prevent data loss by ensuring the disks are functioning optimally.
5. Data backup and recovery: Disk health monitoring can also help in ensuring the effectiveness of your data backup and recovery strategies. By monitoring the health of the disks, you can verify the integrity of the backup data and identify any potential issues that may affect the recoverability of the data. This allows you to take corrective actions to fix any backup-related problems before data loss occurs.

Overall, regular disk health monitoring and analysis provide valuable insights into the health, performance, and reliability of disks in NAS devices. By acting upon the information provided by these monitoring tools, you can proactively prevent potential data loss and ensure the continuous availability of your data.

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

Although the NAS EonStor GSi 5016GT 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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Step-by-Step Data Recovery with Hetman RAID Recovery

This program restores data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT. 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 Infortrend

EonStor GSi 5016GT 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 Infortrend EonStor GSi 5016GT 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