How to recover data from QNAP TVS-872N NAS

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 TVS-872N device store and manage data?

The QNAP TVS-872N is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device that is designed to store and manage data. It utilizes various components and technologies to perform these functions.

1. Hard Drives: The TVS-872N typically comes with multiple hard drive bays that can accommodate 3.5" or 2.5" SATA hard drives or solid-state drives (SSDs). Users can install drives of their choice and capacity to create a storage pool.
2. Storage Pool: The device supports various RAID configurations (such as RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60) that allow for data redundancy and improved performance. These RAID configurations distribute data across multiple drives in different ways, depending on the chosen configuration.
3. File System: The TVS-872N uses the QTS operating system, which supports multiple file systems like EXT4, NTFS, and exFAT. The file system manages how data is organized, stored, and accessed on the drives.
4. Data Management: The NAS device offers various data management features, including snapshots, version control, and data deduplication. Snapshots allow users to take point-in-time copies of data for backup or recovery purposes. Version control enables tracking changes to files, while data deduplication eliminates redundant data to optimize storage space.
5. Network Connectivity: The TVS-872N has multiple network ports (including Gigabit Ethernet and 10GbE ports) that allow it to connect to a local network. This enables users to access and manage data from multiple devices simultaneously.
6. Software Applications: QNAP provides a range of software applications that can be installed on the TVS-872N. These applications allow users to perform various tasks such as file sharing, data backup, media streaming, virtualization, and more.
7. User Management: The device supports user and group management, allowing administrators to create multiple user accounts and assign different access permissions to the stored data. This ensures data security and privacy.

Overall, the TVS-872N combines hardware components, software, and network connectivity to provide a robust storage solution that can efficiently store and manage data for personal or business use.

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

Although NAS TVS-872N 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 TVS-872N. 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

TVS-872N has 8 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 TVS-872N 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