NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP RAID Arrays: Recovery Techniques for Mechanical and Logical Failures

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 does a NAS QNAP Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP device store and manage data?

The QNAP Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP is a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device that is primarily designed to store and manage data. Here's how it stores and manages data:

1. Storage Drives: The TS-h1283XU-RP supports multiple storage drives, typically hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs). These drives are installed in the NAS device and provide the physical storage space for data.
2. RAID Configuration: The NAS supports various RAID configurations such as RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60, and JBOD. These configurations allow for data redundancy, increased performance, or a combination of both. Users can choose the desired RAID level based on their requirements.
3. File System: The NAS device uses a file system to organize and manage data on the storage drives. QNAP NAS devices typically use the ext4 file system, which is a robust and widely-used file system in the Linux ecosystem.
4. Storage Pool: The TS-h1283XU-RP allows users to create storage pools, which are virtualized storage spaces that combine multiple drives into a single logical unit. Storage pools provide flexibility in managing storage capacity and can be expanded by adding more drives to the pool.
5. Storage Space Allocation: Within the storage pool, users can allocate storage space to create volumes. Volumes act as separate partitions or logical drives that can be accessed and managed independently. Users can create multiple volumes with different settings and permissions based on their needs.
6. Data Management Features: The NAS device offers various data management features such as file sharing, access control, data backup, and synchronization. Users can set up shared folders, create user accounts, and define access rights to manage data access. Additionally, the NAS supports backup and synchronization options to protect and manage data across different devices and locations.
7. Network Connectivity: The TS-h1283XU-RP is connected to the network, allowing users to access and manage data remotely. It supports various network protocols such as SMB/CIFS, NFS, FTP, and WebDAV, enabling seamless file sharing and data access across different devices and platforms.

Overall, the QNAP Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP device stores and manages data through a combination of storage drives, RAID configurations, file systems, storage pools, and data management features to provide a reliable and efficient storage solution.

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

Although NAS Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP 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 Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP. 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

Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP has 12 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 50;
• RAID 60;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• 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 Turbo Station TS-h1283XU-RP 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