NETGEAR ReadyDATA 5200 Mounting instructions

350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
USA
March 2013
202-11025-06
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Software Manual
Models:
ReadyDATA 5200

2
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Support
Thank you for selecting NETGEAR products.
After installing your device, locate the serial number on the label of your product and use it to register your product
at https://my.netgear.com. You must register your product before you can use NETGEAR telephone support.
NETGEAR recommends registering your product through the NETGEAR web site. For product updates and web
support, visit http://support.netgear.com.
Phone (US & Canada only): 1-888-NETGEAR.
Phone (Other Countries): Check the list of phone numbers at
http://support.netgear.com/general/contact/default.aspx.
NETGEAR recommends that you use only the official NETGEAR support resources.
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NETGEAR, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Information is subject to change
without notice. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective
holders. © NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.
Revision History
Publication
Part Number Version Publish Month Comments
202-11025-06 OS 1.2 March 2013 • Updated information about File and Folder permissions.
(See Configure the File and Folder Access Settings on
page 89.)
• Added information about Smart Snapshot Management
for shares and LUNs. (See Smart Snapshot Management
on page 168.)
• Changed name of ‘lock period’ icon to ‘zoom’ icon and
updated description. For an example of how to use this
icon, see Roll Back to a Snapshot on page 162.
202-11025-05 OS 1.1 December 2012 • Revised information about cloned shares and LUNs. (See
Manage Snapshots for Shares and LUNs on page 158.)
202-11025-04 OS 1.1 November 2012 • Moved the chapter about managing disks and volumes
ahead of the chapter about configuring the system,
network, and global file-sharing protocol settings.
202-11025-03 OS 1.1 September 2012 • Revised Supported Browsers.
• Added Optional Uninterruptible Power Supplies.
• Revised multiple screens to remove the Language menu
that is now included in the Profile menu.
• Removed information about setting up share quotas for
users and groups. This information might be added back
for a later release.
• Where applicable, added a note to explain that without at
least one volume, changes are not saved after you reload
the ReadyDATA 5200.

3
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
202-11025-02 OS 1.1 June 2012 • Revised and added information to Manage Replication
and Recovery between Two or More Systems.
• Added information about share quotas to View and
Change the Properties of a Share.
• Changed the Language selection (see Select the
Language on page 44).
202-11025-01 OS 1.1 June 2012 First publication.

Table of Contents |4
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Getting Started
Quick-Start Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Additional Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Supported Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Install the ReadyDATA 5200 in Your Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Use RAIDar to Discover the ReadyDATA 5200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Register the ReadyDATA 5200 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 2 Manage Disks and Volumes
Supported Disks and Initial Startup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
About RAID Levels, Volumes, and Disk Representation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
RAID Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Volumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Optional Expansion Disk Arrays and Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Graphical Enclosure and Color Coding of the Disks Onscreen. . . . . . . 20
RAID and Volume Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Manage Volumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Create a Volume and Select the RAID Level. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
View the Properties of a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Search for a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Expand a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Configure Write and Read Boost Disks to Improve Performance . . . . . 32
Export and Import a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Delete a Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Scrub a Volume. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Configure Global Spare Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 3 Configure the System Settings
Customize the Basic System Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Set the Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Select the Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Set the Administrator Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Configure System Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Configure the Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Set the Theme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Configure the Network Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

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ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Configure the Physical Ethernet Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Configure the Virtual Network Interface Cards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Automatic Private IP Addressing without a DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . .59
Configure Channel Bonding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Configure Global File-Sharing Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Supported File-Sharing Protocols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Configure File-Sharing Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Chapter 4 Manage Shares and LUNs
Shares and LUNs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Manage Shares For Network Attached Storage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
About Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Create a Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
View and Change the Properties of a Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Migrate a Share to Another Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Delete a Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Set Up Access Rights to Shares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Configure the Network Access Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Configure the Advanced Access Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Configure the File and Folder Access Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Manage LUNs For Storage Area Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
About LUNs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Create a LUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
View and Change the Properties of a LUN, Including Size Expansion. .95
Migrate a LUN to Another Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100
Delete a LUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Assign LUNs to LUN Groups and Manage Access Rights. . . . . . . . . . . .103
Assign a LUN to a LUN Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Manage Access Rights for LUN Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Access a Share from Network-Attached Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Use a Windows Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Use a Mac OS X Device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Use a Linux or Unix Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Use an iSCSI Initiator to Set Up Access for an iSCSI-Attached Device. .114
Chapter 5 Manage User Groups and User Accounts
About Security, User Groups, and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Configure the Global Security Access Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Manage User Groups for the Local Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Create a User Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Delete a User Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Edit a User Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Manage User Accounts for the Local Database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Create a User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
Delete a User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131
Edit a User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

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ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Chapter 6 System Maintenance and Monitoring
System Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Update the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135
Reset the Firmware to Factory Defaults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Shut Down or Restart the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
Recover the Administrator Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141
System Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
System Real-Time and Historical Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142
System Health Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145
Disk Status and Health Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
System Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
SNMP Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Optional Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
About Uninterruptible Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
UPS Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150
Add and Monitor UPS Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Chapter 7 Backup, Replication, and Recovery
Manage Snapshots for Shares and LUNs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Basic Snapshot Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158
Automatic and Manual Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Roll Back to a Snapshot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
Clone a Snapshot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
Delete a Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168
Recover Data from a ReadyDATA 5200 to an Attached Device . . . . . . .172
Recover Data from a Snapshot to a Network-Attached Device . . . . . .172
Recover Data from a Snapshot to an iSCSI-Attached Device . . . . . . .172
Manage Replication and Recovery between Two or More Systems . . . .173
About Replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Access ReadyDATA Replicate and Register Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . .174
Schedule Periodic Replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Configure Continuous Replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183
Recover Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
View the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
View the Jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Monitor the Jobs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Run Job Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192
Appendix A Factory Default Settings
Appendix B Notification of Compliance
Index

7
1
1. Getting Started
This software manual describes how to configure and manage a ReadyDATA 5200 that runs the
ReadyDATA OS 1.2 for production storage, backup storage, and disaster recovery.
Because this product is intended for business use, this manual is written for network and data
center administrators who are familiar with RAID networking concepts.
This chapter includes the following sections:
•Quick-Start Guide
•Additional Documentation
•Supported Operating Systems
•Supported Browsers
•Install the ReadyDATA 5200 in Your Network
•Use RAIDar to Discover the ReadyDATA 5200
•Register the ReadyDATA 5200
Note: For more information about the topics covered in this manual, visit
the Support website at http://support.netgear.com.
Note: Firmware updates with new features and bug fixes are made
available from time-to-time on downloadcenter.netgear.com. Some
products can regularly check the site and download new firmware,
or you can check for and download new firmware manually. If the
features or behavior of your product do not match what is described
in this guide, you might need to update your firmware.
Note: In this manual, the term volume refers to a logical volume with a
RAID configuration, and the terms hard disk drive and disk refer to a
physical storage device.

Getting Started
8
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Quick-Start Guide
This manual provides detailed instructions about using the ReadyDATA 5200, and
NETGEAR’s recommendations about configuring and managing the system and backing up
the data and system configuration.
The ReadyDATA 5200 relies on the following software applications:
•RAIDar. A setup utility to locate the ReadyDATA 5200 on the LAN and launch
Dashboard.
•Dashboard. A browser-based interface to configure and manage the ReadyDATA 5200.
To start using the ReadyDATA 5200 quickly, review the following sections and chapters in
this order:
1. Install the ReadyDATA 5200 in Your Network on page 9. Follow the instructions in the
ReadyDATA 5200 Installation Guide and ReadyDATA 5200 Hardware Manual, and connect
the ReadyDATA 5200 to a DHCP server.
2. Use RAIDar to Discover the ReadyDATA 5200 on page 10. Use RAIDar to locate the
ReadyDATA 5200 on the network.
3. Create a Volume and Select the RAID Level on page 23. Assign the disks to volumes and
select the RAID level for each volume. Without at least one volume, changes are not
saved after you reload the ReadyDATA 5200. Make sure that you create a volume
before you configure any other settings.
4. Chapter 3, Configure the System Settings. Configure the basic system components, network
settings, and global file-sharing protocols.
5. Create a Share on page 70 and Create a LUN on page 92. Create shares (NAS data sets)
for data transfer and storage over SMB, NFS, AFP, and FTP. Create LUNs (SAN data
sets) for data transfer and storage over iSCSI.
6. Create a User Account on page 129. Create a user account for each person who should
have access to the ReadyDATA 5200, or connect to an external Active Directory.
7. Set Up Access Rights to Shares on page 80 and Assign LUNs to LUN Groups and Manage
Access Rights on page 103. Set the access right for the shares and LUNs.
8. Manage Snapshots for Shares and LUNs on page 158. Back up the data that is stored in the
shares and LUNs by creating snapshots.
Additional Documentation
NETGEAR maintains a website that supports ReadyDATA products. Visit
www.netgear.com/readydata for reviews, tutorials, comparison charts, software updates,
documentation, an active user forum, and much more.
The following documentation is available at www.netgear.com/readydata:
•Hardware manual
•Installation guide
•Data sheet

Getting Started
9
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
•White papers
Supported Operating Systems
The ReadyDATA 5200 is supported on the following operating systems:
•Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, all editions, x86/x64
•Microsoft Windows Server 2008/2008R2, all editions, X84/x64
•VMware ESX / ESXi 3.5
•VMware vSphere ESX / ESXi Server 4/4.1
•VMware ESX 5.0
•Citrix XenServer 5/5.5
•RedHat Enterprise Linux AS 4.7/5.2
•SUSE Linux Server 10.1/10.2, x86/x64
•Fedora 8/9/10
•HP-UX 11
•Apple OS X Leopard 10.5.x
Supported Browsers
The ReadyDATA 5200 Dashboard supports the following browsers:
•Google Chrome 18 and later versions
•Mozilla Firefox 14 and later versions
•Internet Explorer 9
•Opera 9.5 and later versions
•Safari 2 and later versions
Note: If you have difficulty accessing the ReadyDATA 5200 Dashboard, or
if you notice unexpected behavior, try using another browser.
Install the ReadyDATA 5200 in Your Network
Install the ReadyDATA 5200 as explained in the ReadyDATA 5200 Installation Guide. LED
status information and the boot menu are explained in the ReadyDATA 5200 Hardware
Manual.

Getting Started
10
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Connect the ReadyDATA 5200 to your network, and make sure that a DHCP server can
reach the ReadyDATA 5200. By default, the ReadyDATA 5200 is configured to receive an
IPv4 IP address from a DHCP server.
Note: If the ReadyDATA 5200 cannot locate a DHCP server, it is assigned
an Auto-IP address through Automatic Private IP Addressing
(APIPA). For more information, see Automatic Private IPAddressing
without a DHCP Server on page 59.
If you want to use the ReadyDATA 5200 with an IPv6 address, first access the ReadyDATA
5200 through the IPv4 address assigned by the DHCP server, and then configure the IPv6
setting as explained in Configure the Network Settings on page 49.
Note: For information about the default system settings, see Appendix A,
Factory Default Settings.
Note: If an unexpected condition or failure prevents the ReadyDATA 5200
from booting after you complete an initial setup procedure, see the
LED status information in the ReadyDATA 5200 Hardware Manual.
Use RAIDar to Discover the ReadyDATA 5200
RAIDar is a software application that you use to discover ReadyDATA 5200 systems on the
network. RAIDar version 4.3.0 is included on the Resource CD that came with the product. It
includes versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. RAIDar is also available
at www.netgear.com/readydata.
RAIDar displays the discovered ReadyDATA 5200 units with their status LED icons. The
volume, disk, UPS, and fan LED icons are not operational for the ReadyDATA 5200.

ReadyDATA status LED icon Not operational
Getting Started
11
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Figure 1.
You can use the following buttons to learn more about the ReadyDATA 5200 units on the
network:
•Setup. Launches Dashboard for the highlighted ReadyDATA 5200.
•Browse. Displays the shares available on the highlighted system (LUNs are not
displayed). This feature works on a Windows platform only.
•Rescan. Updates the list of ReadyDATA 5200 systems on the network, and updates the
status of each system that is discovered.
•Locate. Nonfunctional button.
•About. Displays RAIDar information.
•Help. Displays the help screen.
•Exit. Closes RAIDar.
To discover the ReadyDATA 5200 system and launch Dashboard:
1. Install the appropriate version of RAIDar on a computer that is connected to the same
LAN as the ReadyDATA 5200.
Note: If you are using Windows XP before SP2, disable the Internet
connection firewall.
2. Launch the RAIDar utility.
RAIDar displays a screen that lists the systems on the network and provides details about
the status of each system it discovers.

Getting Started
12
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
BY default, the virtual NICs (VNICs) of the ReadyDATA 5200 are DHCP enabled for IPv4,
and the RAIDar utility should be able to discover the ReadyDATA 5200.
Note: The ReadyDATA 5200 requires a DHCP server for initial discovery.
If the ReadyDATA 5200 is not detected, check the following and click Rescan to try
again:
•Make sure the ReadyDATA 5200 is turned on and is connected to your network.
•Make sure the client computer that is running RAIDar is on the same subnet as the
ReadyDATA 5200.
•If you are running RAIDar on Windows XP before SP2, disable the Internet
connection firewall.
3. Highlight the ReadyDATA 5200 and click the Setup button.
RAIDar opens your default browser and prompts you to log in to the ReadyDATA 5200.
4. Log in to the ReadyDATA 5200 using the default login credentials:
•As the default user name, enter admin (case-sensitive).
•As the default password, enter password (case-sensitive).

System configuration bar
Navigation bar
Section heading
Getting Started
13
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
The Dashboard home screen displays:
The Dashboard has two main bars:
•Navigation bar. Located across the top of the screen, the navigation bar helps you
navigate through Dashboard. You can also configure the language for the system and the
administration password, and access help. To return to the Dashboard home screen,
select System, or if you are in a system configuration screen, select Overview.
•System configuration bar. Located below the navigation bar, the system configuration
bar helps you to navigate through the four configuration screens that you access from the
System menu. To return to the Dashboard home screen, select Overview.
Some screens show section headings on the left side. When you select a section heading,
settings are displayed that let you configure the ReadyDATA 5200.
The configuration procedures in this manual indicate the selection from the navigation bar,
and, if applicable, the selection from the system configuration bar and the section heading on
a screen. For example, to configure the global file-sharing protocols, select
System > Settings > Services. System is the selection from the navigation bar, Settings is
the selection from the system configuration bar, and Services is the section heading on the
Settings screen.

Getting Started
14
ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Register the ReadyDATA 5200
Registration is required before you can use the NETGEAR telephone support service.
Register the ReadyDATA 5200 by accessing the NETGEAR Product Registration website.
To register the ReadyDATA 5200:
1. Locate the serial number on the Dashboard home screen or on the chassis label of your
product.
2. Using a browser, visit http://www.NETGEAR.com/register.
The product registration web page displays:
3. Take one of the following actions:
•If you have never registered a NETGEAR product, click the Continue button.
•If you have registered a NETGEAR product in the past, enter your email address and
password and click the Log in button.
4. Follow the prompts.
The ReadyDATA 5200 is registered.

15
2
2. Manage Disks and Volumes
This chapter describes how to configure the disks and volumes in the ReadyDATA 5200. It
contains the following sections:
•Supported Disks and Initial Startup
•About RAID Levels, Volumes, and Disk Representation
•Manage Volumes

Manage Disks and Volumes
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ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Supported Disks and Initial Startup
The ReadyDATA 5200 supports up to 12 disks. With optional expansion disk arrays that can
contain either 12 or 24 disks each, you can increase the total number of supported disks
to 60. Figure 2, ReadyDATA 5200 with optional disk expansion arrays as displayed on
Dashboard. shows a ReadyDATA 5200 with an optional expansion disk array that supports
24 disks and another array that supports 12 disks.
Note: The ReadyDATA 5200 does not recognize non-NETGEAR disks.
When you insert a non-NETGEAR disk, Dashboard displays the
error message Disk is not signed by NETGEAR. The ReadyDATA
5200 recognizes only disks that you obtain through NETGEAR or a
NETGEAR authorized reseller.
For information about inserting and removing disks in the ReadyDATA 5200, see the
ReadyDATA 5200 Hardware Manual.
Figure 2. ReadyDATA 5200 with optional disk expansion arrays as displayed on Dashboard.
The first time that you start the ReadyDATA 5200, you can do so with or without disks
installed.
If you start with disks installed, several scenarios are possible, each of which affects the way
that the disks are displayed in the graphical enclosure of Dashboard:

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•Disks do not contain data:
These disks are made available as unallocated disks.
•Disks do not contain data that is recognized by the ReadyDATA 5200:
These disks are made available as unallocated disks. If you attempt to use these disks
for another volume, you are not warned of possible data loss.
•Disks contain a portion of a ReadyDATA 5200 volume:
These disks are indicated as being part of a nonoperational volume. If you attempt to use
these disks for another volume, you are warned of possible data loss.
•Disks contain a complete volume from a foreign ReadyDATA 5200 storage system:
-If the disks have been imported successfully, the virtual disk LEDs in the graphical
enclosure in the Dashboard provide a visual indication.
-The volume is mounted on the ReadyDATA 5200.
-Any shares and LUNs on the volume are configurable through Dashboard.
-Clients can access the shares through the configured file-sharing protocols, but you
need to reconfigure the LUN settings (see Manage Access Rights for LUN Groups on
page 107).
About RAID Levels, Volumes, and Disk Representation
•RAID Levels
•Volumes
•Optional Expansion Disk Arrays and Volumes
•Graphical Enclosure and Color Coding of the Disks Onscreen
•RAID and Volume Implementation
RAID Levels
Redundant array of independent disks (RAID) is a storage technology that balances data
protection, system performance, and storage space by determining how the storage system
distributes data. Many different ways of distributing data have been standardized into various
RAID levels. Each RAID level offers a trade-off of data protection, system performance, and
storage space. For example, one RAID level might improve data protection but reduce
storage space. Another RAID level might increase storage space but also reduce system
performance.
Various RAID combinations provide different levels of protection against data loss, capacity,
and speed. The ReadyDATA 5200 supports the following RAID levels:
•RAID 0 (striped disks) distributes data across several disks in a way that gives
improved speed and no lost capacity, but all data on all disks is lost if any one disk
fails. Although such an array has no actual redundancy, it is customary to call it
RAID
0.
•RAID 1 (mirrored disks) duplicates data across two disks in the array, providing full
redundancy. Two disks each store exactly the same data, at the same time, and at all

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times. Data is not lost as long as one disk survives. Total capacity of the array equals
the capacity of the smallest disk in the array.At any given instant, the contents of both
disks in the array are identical.
•RAID 5 (striped disks with single parity; in a ZFS system also referred to as RAIDz1)
combines three or more disks in a way that protects data against loss of any one disk;
the storage capacity of the array is reduced by one disk.
•RAID 6 (striped disks with dual parity; in a ZFS system also referred to as RAIDz2)
can recover from the loss of two disks.
•RAID 10 (or 1+0) uses both striping and mirroring. “01” or “0+1” is sometimes
distinguished from “10” or “1+0”: a striped set of mirrored subsets and a mirrored set
of striped subsets are both valid, but distinct, configurations.
A RAID set with redundancy continues to function without interruption when one (or possibly
more, depending on the selected RAID level) disks of the array fail, although the array is then
vulnerable to further failures. When you replace a bad disk by a new one, the array is rebuilt
while the ReadyDATA 5200 continues to operate normally. The ReadyDATA 5200 supports
high availability, allowing you to hot-swap disks without powering down.
Select the RAID level based on the number of disks and protection level that you want to use
for the volume:
Table 1. RAID level and required number of disks
RAID Level Number of Required Disks Redundancy
RAID 0 1 or more None
RAID 1 2 only (more disks are not supported in RAID 1) Supported
RAID 5 3 or more Supported for 1 disk
RAID 6 4 or more Supported for 2 disks
RAID 10 4 or more, but an even number Supported for all disks
Note: Although a RAID system can be used to back up data from other
disks or another array, RAID is not meant to be an alternative or
substitute for backing up data. Data might become damaged or
destroyed without harm to the disk or disks on which it is stored. For
example, part of the data might be overwritten by a system
malfunction; a file might be damaged or deleted by a user error or
malice, and not noticed for days or weeks; and, of course, the entire
array is at risk of physical damage.

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ReadyDATA OS 1.2
Volumes
In the most general sense, volumes are data storage devices. Volumes can be either
physical or logical. In this manual, the term volume refers to a logical volume with a RAID set,
and the terms hard disk drive, disk, and physical volume refer to a physical storage device.
The ReadyDATA 5200 treats disks and volumes in the following ways:
•Each logical volume can correspond to one disk.
•A logical volume can be made up of more than one disk.
•You cannot divide a single disk among two or more volumes.
•Although you can install different types of disks within the ReadyDATA 5200, you can
select only disks of the same physical performance characteristics to be members of one
volume. For example, you cannot mix nearline SATA 7,200 rpm disks with the following
disks within one volume:
-SAS 7,200 rpm disks
-SAS 10,000 rpm disks
-SAS 15,000 rpm disks
-SSDs
After you create a volume (see Create a Volume and Select the RAID Level on page 23), you
can make the following changes to the volume:
•Expand the volume by adding more disks (see Expand a Volume on page 29)
•Attach write cache and read cache SSD disks to boost the performance of volumes that
contain slower disks such as SATA 7,200 rpm or nearline SAS 7,200 rpm disks (see
Configure Write and Read Boost Disks to Improve Performance on page 32)
•Export the volume (see Export and Import a Volume on page 34)
•Delete the volume (see Delete a Volume on page 36)
You can configure any disk that is not allocated to a volume as a hot spare for any volume in
case of failure (see Configure Global Spare Disks on page 38). Because the hot spare
provides only a temporary solution, it can be of any physical performance characteristics, that
is, it does not need to match the physical performance characteristics of the disks in the
volumes.
Optional Expansion Disk Arrays and Volumes
You can create a volume that spans more than one enclosure by using one or more optional
expansion disk arrays (EDA2000 and EDA4000).
The number of volumes that you can create within a ReadyDATA 5200 is limited only by the
total number of disks in the ReadyDATA 5200 and expansion disk arrays. With several
expansion disk arrays, the ReadyDATA 5200 supports up to 60 disks and volumes.

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Note: When you span a volume across several enclosures, the volume is
dependent on the availability of all enclosures. If one enclosure fails,
the entire volume goes offline.
Graphical Enclosure and Color Coding of the Disks
Onscreen
The physical disks that are installed in the ReadyDATA 5200 and optional expansion disk
arrays are represented in a graphical enclosure onscreen:
Figure 3. ReadyDATA 5200 with optional disk expansion arrays as displayed on Dashboard.
The disks in the graphical enclosure are color coded. The meaning of the colors is explained
in the following table:
Table 2. Disk color codes
Sample Color Description
Black Not assigned to a volume. Available for selection.
Gray Assigned to a volume. Not available for selection.
Blue Member of the displayed volume.
Yellow Write boost disk for the displayed volume.