Migrate DS413j to DS920+

[Blue Dude]

I have a functioning DS413j loaded with (4) 4TB Seagate HDDs in a Synology Hybrid RAID configuration. About 7TB out of 10.9TB total capacity is being used. Is there any way to migrate the HDDs to a new DS920+ without data loss? What will happen if I just move the HDDs to the new unit? Is there an alternative to just uploading all that data with Hyper Backup before moving the HDDs and starting over?

Will my DSM 6.2 configuration by usable on the new DSM 7.0 box? Do I have to start the new configuration from scratch?

And so on. Thanks for helping me rejoin the 21st century.

 

[Telos]

Is there any way to migrate the HDDs to a new DS920+ without data loss? What will happen if I just move the HDDs to the new unit?

You can move the disks if you accept the limitations doing so imposes on your new unit. For example:

• No ability to use btrfs formatting and the benefits it offers
  • Access to advanced packages such as Snapshot Replication, etc.
  • Bitrot protection/healing for your files
  • Reduced storage consumption when running versioned sync packages like Synology Drive
• Only new storage pools will have the ability to create volumes up to 108 TB

Will my DSM 6.2 configuration by usable on the new DSM 7.0 box? Do I have to start the new configuration from scratch?

Upgrading to DSM7 is unaffected.

 

[Blue Dude]

I think the best bet is to backup the entire volume to the cloud, provided that I can find enough space in a supported cloud service. I'd like to preserve the file/folder structure, including dates. Would Hyper Backup be my best option? No doubt it would take significant time, but I'd like to migrate to the new machine and from a user standpoint appear as though no change had taken place. How would I go about this?

 

[Blue Dude]

Okay, that isn't going to work. So I'm giving up the idea of reusing the old drives entirely and stocking the new unit with new drives and building a new volume from scratch.

How would I go about configuring the new unit? Can I import the settings from the old one, name it something different and call it good? Is there a better alternative now to SHR for the new volume? And how do I duplicate (as exactly as possible) the old file and folder structure on the new volume? I'd like to duplicate it right down to the file and folder date attributes if possible.

 

[Telos]

If cloud backup isn't good for you, there is another way that preserves your files/settings... Outlined briefly...

• Add one of the 413j drives to the powered-off 920+. Start the 920+ and log in (silence the degraded alarm).
• If all looks good (your files/folders are present), reformat the remaining 413j drive using a PC
• After any “migration” steps involving the 920+ are complete, add the newly formatted drive to the 920+ and create a new SHR pool (btrfs format recommended).
• Change the location of all shared folders (via Control Panel) to the new SHR volume (likely, “volume2”).
• After all shared folders have transferred to the new volume, power off the 920+ and remove the original 413j drive (thus, only the new volume2 remains).
• Restart the 920+. When logged in, check that all seems normal. If satisfied, reformat the removed 413j drive using a PC.
• Add the newly formatted to the 920+ and expand the SHR pool/volume (pool2/volume2).
• Done.

You may need to reinstall any missing apps at this point. Generally the configuration of those packages are present, so they should need little, if any, tweaking.

 

[Blue Dude]

I like the idea of incrementally moving drives but currently I have four 4TB drives in the 413j and moving just one won't be sufficient. I'd have to move three, and if I were to do that, I may as well just move four and I'm back where I started. Unless I'm missing something.

Since I'm upgrading the HDDs anyway, I don't have to worry about data loss anymore. Is there a way to copy the files and folders over while still preserving their attributes?

 

[Telos]

currently I have four 4TB drives in the 413j

OK... That write-up won't work with 4 drives that are near capacity, unless you are planning to use 12TB drives in the 920+.

You can preserve much by copying the config from the 413j, and then connecting the NAS via Shared Folder Sync (413j>920+). That won't help with your package settings, but it will nicely copy over your shared folder content.

 

[Blue Dude]

The package settings are really minimal. It was the content I was concerned about. Thanks for the tip!

I'm pretty sure I can just make a really minimal Hyper Backup to the cloud (the home folders have no real content) and that will carry over my other settings too. Then restore the backup to the new unit during setup and create a new volume. (With 4 new 6TB drives, is SHR still my best bet?) Then once created, use Shared Folder Sync to copy over the volume contents. That should cover everything.

 

[Telos]

That seems like a decent plan.