DSM 7.1 720+ with SHR - Upgrade to SSD procedure.

[Jan Janowski]

720+ has 2 drive SHR. 720+ supports 2 drives.
7.1 does not allow mixed drive SHR
So, both drives need to swapped at same time (per support), in order to go to SSD SHR. This removes DSM.

MY PLAN:
Hyper backup of all data & pgms on 720+ stored on other NAS.
Power down, swap both drives to SSD
Power up. Manually configure (as before) for SHR, Admin User, IP. Install Hyper Backup.
Restore backup off other NAS
Reboot

Does this sound correct to you, with the limitations indicated?

Fortunately no data stored on this 720+ is unique. It’s a redundant copy.

But a complete manual reconfigure would take far longer, and I’m lazy.

SSD’s have been pre-tested elsewhere, for a few days-known good.

 

[Rusty]

Does this sound correct to you, with the limitations indicated?

Sounds good. You could also use the Active Backup for Business DSM backup method to backup the entire NAS, and then after inserting the new SSD setup and installing the DSM, use the DSM wizard to not setup the NAS as a new NAS with new drives, but rather restore from your ABB backup.

You will have a complete setup up and running as is especially because it is the same NAS. The only thing to watch for here is the total SHR volume size (old vs new).

If you want to stick with your plan that will work as well via HB, but wanted to give another option considering you said you are lazy :P. With ABB you will literally get the same setup back regarding data, OS, config, everything, but you have to make sure that the volume is the same size or larger!

 

[ilbarone87]

Which SSDs you’re going to use? I’m interested because defo you will need some enterprise level stuff

 

[Rusty]

Which SSDs you’re going to use? I’m interested because defo you will need some enterprise level stuff

Not for 720 he won't

 

[Jan Janowski]

The drives I’m replacing are 1TB Barracuda’s. (Old as the hills, not supported.. Used these off shelf dinosaurs to keep costs down when setting up the new 720+). Replaced Not because they are failing, or noisy, but because they are 1TB.
SSD’s are larger. Temporarily using whatever SSD I can get, just getting SHR to SSD. next year or so betting on prices falling, and then can do the ‘one at a time’ expansion with bigger/better SSD’s.
This is ‘experimental 720+’, nothing critical on this, and most important data already backed up to 3x SSD’s on 3x satashare’s on 3x NAS’s. As well as this NAS’s SHR.
So, this is a low cost SSD experiment
Thank you for your info!!

PS: SSD same MFG as the 8GB Ram module in this NAS: Timtec (both tested on computers for past week).
(NVME SSD cache: Are Seagate 125 - 128GB), only device that’s supported in this NAS)!

Upgrade Monday 5-8-23

 

[Coop777]

Given the age of those drives, I agree with Rusty's plan to backup/restore instead of replacing the drives 1 at a time. It will stress the array during the rebuild and you may fail one or more drives if you go that route.

 

[Jan Janowski]

Doesn’t matter… V7 doesn’t allow mixed drives in SHR. (Like V6 did!) Found that out the hard way a month ago!

 

[ilbarone87]

Not for 720 he won't

Per my experience consumer SSDs don’t like heavy use in particular many read/writes.
I tried a couple of consumers SSDs in my proxmox host and they didn’t last more than 6 months and started to fail the SMART test.
Clearly it depends from the use he’s going to have. If you run VMs/docker/plex or other apps that requires continuous use you better have a really good backup strategy.

 

[Telos]

V7 doesn’t allow mixed drives in SHR

Stupid constraint, give the corner they have backed you into when migrating from HDD>SSD or SSD>HDD. Hard to believe this isn't doable.

 

[Coop777]

Stupid constraint, give the corner they have backed you into when migrating from HDD>SSD or SSD>HDD. Hard to believe this isn't doable.

Agree, but why mix SSDs with spindle drives in an array? there is no performance gain in doing so.

 

[Jan Janowski]

Not doing any heavy lifting. (With my present 1TB drive Limit, especially).
This is an experiment.

 

[Telos]

why mix SSDs with spindle drives in an array

If I understood Jan's post, he is changing from HDD to SSD. That would require initially replacing an HDD with and SSD. How else would that occur?

 

[Jan Janowski]

No. Last month I tried swapping one of two SHR Drives for a SSD, (Part 1 of 2 drive SHR). It gave a benign error message that had nothing to do with anything, so I asked support what went wrong. Support confirmed I had found, and was correctly following, Synology documentation for upgrading a SHR. This WAS POSSIBLE, support said, but only in V6.. It’s been removed in V7, and they had yet to go back and remove the incorrect information in that or other doc’s yet! (Support never explained why the error message was obtuse).

I’ll know more Monday!

 

[Jan Janowski]

It’s Monday! 720+ SHR upgrade to SSD!
went very smoothly……. Until I loaded Hyper backup on new SSD.
SELECTED RESTORE from external NAS, but for reasons I don’t understand, it will not see the prior backups from the folder they were placed!
Tried all possibilities.
So now I’m copying the folder from NAS it was stored on, to NAS with SSD’s and once that finishes…. Will try restore from the local just stored location.

Worst case, I’ll manually configure the whole darn thing!

Not quite what I expected!

 

[Rusty]

It’s Monday! 720+ SHR upgrade to SSD!
went very smoothly……. Until I loaded Hyper backup on new SSD.
SELECTED RESTORE from external NAS, but for reasons I don’t understand, it will not see the prior backups from the folder they were placed!
Tried all possibilities.
So now I’m copying the folder from NAS it was stored on, to NAS with SSD’s and once that finishes…. Will try restore from the local just stored location.

Worst case, I’ll manually configure the whole darn thing!

Not quite what I expected!

You could try ABB (if you did a backup over that as well)

 

[Jan Janowski]

Drives already swapped to SSD’s! THAT PART WENT SMOOTH. Hyper Backup Restore-can’t find any files to restore!
In 100% CYA Mode last night: I did verify the HB Backup it made (Set to backup all programs and all data), and it passed, and sent message that it passed, so I thought it was good! It saw the folder on remote NAS, but not either of the backup directories of the 720+ OR 718+the backup directory saw no files whatsoever.
What a feature-new install can’t find it’s own files from previous install!
Dunno. Hopefully HB will work after it’s directory is copied to local NAS… If not, screw it—manual config of programs.
Not at all what I had expected. Maybe I was hoping for too much.
But ‘eventually’ it will be made right.

 

[Jan Janowski]

Copying HB backup directory to local NAS did not help. HB Still can’t see it.

Continuing on with manual setup in addition to restore configure.

-- post merged: 8. May 2023 --

Mostly done... Don't understand why HB didn't see their own files..... Seriously considering abandoning HB Altogether.
720+ now SHR on SSD's... with identical to before settings...
Benchmark on new SSD's are very nice.... Satashare in all this remained operational...
Getting old Shared folder sync's going was the hardest part.... All pointing to Upgraded 720+ report FAIL.. had to toss the Shared folders and the rules and re-make them again, from scratch, then they work.. They are now repopulating......
Working fine with all phone apps with settings from before upgrade, but I’ve Stopped using Drive on this NAS.

Granted.... These TimTec SSD's are made for Raid 0 operation, but not claiming to be NAS compatible.... At Least now I have some file space, and, If I get 2 years out of them, NAS Compatable Drives will be less $$ and Larger.... and I will be able to upgrade them (SSD) one at a time, as I wanted to do a month ago, and found out V7 has removed this operation(mixed drive SHR Upgrade).

So, with 720+ with SSD SHR working with settings as before,(HD), I should be good to go -- for now....

EDIT: Last of permission issues fixed.... I think I'm done.

 

[Jan Janowski]

Now that it is up and running for a couple days..... Starting to beat on it.... Set it up for a DAILY Extended Disk Test on all available disks....

Like the 15 yr old 1TB Barracuda's before them..... These SSD's (2 TB TimTec Premium SSD's) are not Supported, but Not in Un-Supported List...

 

[ilbarone87]

@Jan Janowski How this experiment is going? Saw a couple of 4tb intel s4610 today on eBay with less than 10 working hrs at an incredible price… I’m very tempted.

 

[Jan Janowski]

No different than a hard drive!
Bit quieter, but seeing drives replaced were 2007-8 vintage…… Even though they hadn’t caused a lock of trouble. I was 80+% full.
Now 24% full and nary a peep from the SSD’s!

Actually I’m having more problems with the pond on side yard than router Or NAS’s!