Practical Steps for Accessing Files on a RAID Disk Without an Active NAS Uniview VX1616-C

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 Uniview 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 performance monitoring and optimization help in preventing data loss on NAS Uniview VX1616-C devices?

Regular performance monitoring and optimization can help prevent data loss on NAS Uniview VX1616-C devices in the following ways:

1. Early detection of potential issues: Regular performance monitoring allows you to identify any performance degradation or anomalies in the NAS device. This can help you detect potential issues that may lead to data loss, such as hardware failures, disk errors, or network connectivity problems.
2. Proactive maintenance and troubleshooting: By monitoring the performance of the NAS device, you can proactively address any underlying issues before they escalate and cause data loss. This includes performing regular maintenance tasks like firmware updates, disk health checks, and system optimizations to ensure the device is running smoothly.
3. Capacity planning and resource optimization: Performance monitoring helps you understand the resource utilization of the NAS device, including CPU, memory, and disk space. By analyzing this data, you can identify any bottlenecks or capacity constraints and take appropriate actions to optimize resource allocation. This prevents situations where the NAS device runs out of storage space or becomes overloaded, reducing the risk of data loss.
4. Backup and disaster recovery planning: Regular performance monitoring can help you assess the effectiveness of your backup and disaster recovery strategies. By monitoring backup job completion rates, data transfer speeds, and overall system performance, you can ensure that your data is adequately protected and recoverable in case of any unforeseen events or data loss incidents.
5. Security monitoring: Performance monitoring can also help in detecting any security breaches or unauthorized access attempts on the NAS device. By monitoring network traffic, user activity logs, and system logs, you can identify any suspicious activities that may compromise the integrity or confidentiality of your data. Prompt detection of such security threats can prevent data loss due to malicious actions.

Overall, regular performance monitoring and optimization provide valuable insights into the health and performance of NAS Uniview VX1616-C devices, allowing you to proactively address any issues and minimize the risk of data loss.

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

Although NAS VX1616-C 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 Uniview VX1616-C. 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 Uniview

VX1616-C has 16 HDD slots, and it supports the following array types:

• RAID 0;
• RAID 1;
• RAID 5;
• RAID 6;
• 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 Uniview VX1616-C 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