Professional Best Practices for Data Recovery from a Failed NAS Promise Vess R2600xi PRO RAID

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 Promise also introduce some modifications to this process, and that is why data can be written to hard disk in a wide variety of ways.

Are there any recommended practices for protecting NAS Promise Vess R2600xi PRO devices against physical theft or unauthorized access that can lead to data loss?

Yes, there are several recommended practices for protecting NAS Promise Vess R2600xi PRO devices against physical theft or unauthorized access that can lead to data loss. Here are some best practices:

1. Secure Physical Location: Place the NAS device in a secure and locked room or cabinet to prevent unauthorized physical access.
2. Restricted Access: Limit access to the NAS device to authorized personnel only. Implement strict access controls, such as strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, to prevent unauthorized login attempts.
3. Regular Firmware Updates: Keep the NAS device's firmware up to date with the latest security patches and updates provided by the manufacturer. This helps to protect against known vulnerabilities.
4. Network Segmentation: Place the NAS device on a separate network segment, isolated from the rest of the network. This prevents unauthorized users from gaining access to the NAS through other compromised devices on the network.
5. Encryption: Enable encryption on the NAS device to protect the data stored on it. This ensures that even if the device is stolen, the data cannot be accessed without the encryption key.
6. Backup and Disaster Recovery: Implement regular backups of the data stored on the NAS device to an off-site location or cloud storage. This helps to mitigate the risk of data loss in case of theft or physical damage to the device.
7. Monitoring and Logging: Enable logging and monitoring features on the NAS device to detect any suspicious activities or unauthorized access attempts. Regularly review the logs to identify any potential security issues.
8. Physical Security Measures: Implement additional physical security measures, such as surveillance cameras, motion sensors, and alarms, to deter theft and unauthorized access.
9. Employee Training: Educate employees about the importance of data security and the proper use of the NAS device. Train them on how to create strong passwords, recognize phishing attempts, and follow best practices for data protection.

By following these recommended practices, you can significantly reduce the risk of physical theft or unauthorized access leading to data loss on NAS Promise Vess R2600xi PRO devices.

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

Although NAS Vess R2600xi PRO 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 Promise Vess R2600xi PRO. 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 Promise

Vess R2600xi PRO has 16 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• RAID 1E;
• RAID 3;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• RAID 30;
• 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 Promise Vess R2600xi 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.

Comparison of software for RAID recovery