RAID Array Recovery on NAS QNAP TS-2888X: What to Do When It Breaks Unexpectedly

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 QNAP 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 system monitoring and alerting help in early detection and prevention of data loss events on NAS QNAP TS-2888X devices?

Regular system monitoring and alerting can help in early detection and prevention of data loss events on NAS QNAP TS-2888X devices in the following ways:

1. Disk Health Monitoring: Monitoring the health status of the hard drives in the NAS can help identify potential issues such as bad sectors, high temperature, or impending drive failures. Alerts can be set up to notify administrators when any abnormalities are detected, allowing them to take proactive action, such as replacing the failing drive before it completely fails and leads to data loss.
2. RAID Array Monitoring: QNAP NAS devices support various RAID configurations for data redundancy. Regular monitoring of the RAID array can help detect any degraded or failed disks, as well as any synchronization issues. Alerts can be set up to notify administrators when the RAID array status changes, enabling them to address the issue promptly and prevent data loss.
3. Storage Usage Monitoring: Monitoring the storage usage on the NAS can help identify situations where the available storage is running low. This can be crucial in preventing data loss due to insufficient storage space. Alerts can be set up to notify administrators when the storage reaches a certain threshold, allowing them to take necessary actions like adding more drives or deleting unnecessary data to free up space.
4. Network Monitoring: Monitoring the network connectivity and performance of the NAS can help identify any issues that may impact data access or data loss. This includes monitoring network bandwidth, latency, and packet loss. Alerts can be set up to notify administrators when network issues are detected, enabling them to investigate and resolve the problem promptly.
5. Backup Monitoring: If regular backups are performed on the NAS, monitoring the backup process and ensuring its successful completion is essential. Monitoring alerts can be set up to notify administrators if backups fail or encounter any issues. This ensures that data is properly backed up and can be restored in case of data loss events.

By regularly monitoring these aspects of the NAS and setting up appropriate alerts, administrators can detect potential data loss events early on and take necessary preventive measures to minimize the risk of data loss on QNAP TS-2888X devices.

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

Although NAS TS-2888X 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.

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   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 QNAP TS-2888X. 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.

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How to recover data from a QNAP

TS-2888X has 28 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 50;
• RAID 60;
• RAID 6;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 10;
• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• JBOD;

NAS supports:

• ZFS;
• EXT4;
• EXT3;
• exFAT;
• FAT32 (External Disk Only);
• NTFS (External Disk Only);
• HFS+ (External Disk Read Only);

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 QNAP TS-2888X network-attached storage keeps QTS (QuTS hero) 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