Professional Steps for RAID Array Data Recovery on NAS Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R Devices

Contents

• Why Regular Data Recovery Tools Can’t Restore Files from RAID
• Key Information About the NAS Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R
• 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 Qsan 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 does a NAS Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R device store and manage data?

The NAS Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R device stores and manages data through a combination of hardware and software components.

1. Storage Drives: The device typically includes multiple hard disk drives or solid-state drives, which provide the primary storage capacity for data. These drives are organized into a storage pool or RAID configuration to enhance data protection and performance.
2. RAID Configuration: The XCubeNAS XN3004R supports various RAID configurations such as RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and JBOD. These configurations determine how data is distributed and protected across the drives.
3. File System: The device utilizes a file system, such as Btrfs or ZFS, to organize and manage the stored data. These file systems offer advanced features like data deduplication, snapshotting, and data integrity checks.
4. Network Connectivity: The NAS device is connected to a network, allowing users to access and manage data remotely. It supports various network protocols like SMB/CIFS, NFS, FTP, and iSCSI, enabling seamless file sharing and storage access across different devices and platforms.
5. Data Management Software: The XCubeNAS XN3004R comes with built-in software that provides management capabilities. This software allows users to create and manage user accounts, set access permissions, create shared folders, and configure backup and synchronization options.
6. Data Protection: The device offers data protection mechanisms such as RAID redundancy, snapshotting, and backup options. These ensure that data remains safe and can be restored in case of accidental deletion, hardware failure, or other data loss scenarios.
7. Additional Features: The NAS device may offer additional features like data deduplication, compression, encryption, and remote replication. These features help optimize storage capacity, enhance data security, and facilitate data replication to other NAS devices or cloud storage.

Overall, the NAS Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R device combines hardware components, storage configurations, file systems, and management software to efficiently store and manage data for users and organizations.

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

Although the NAS XCubeNAS XN3004R 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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   How to Order Remote Data Recovery

Step-by-Step Data Recovery with Hetman RAID Recovery

This program restores data from damaged RAID arrays and is fully compatible with Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R. 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 Qsan

XCubeNAS XN3004R has 4 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• 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 Qsan XCubeNAS XN3004R network-attached storage keeps SANOS 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