Old NAS. New DSM install. Can I remain at v6?

[Telos]

I'm about to redo my 213j from an 8 TB RAID0 to a 14 TB RAID1. I want to remain at v6. Is that possible now?

My fear is that when DSM downloads, I will get DSM7.

I plan to manually download my present release (6.2.4) and attempt a manual installation.

I've considered disabling internet access to the NAS, though I recall someone posting that DSM won't install unless the NAS can call home.

Has anyone here tried a bare metal install lately, that was able to retain the previous DSM6 install?

 

[WST16]

It’s like you’ve read my mind. I’ve been thinking about this. I might need to redo my 216 soon.
Please update us when you go through it.
Best of luck

 

[fredbert]

Have you tried just removing the current storage pool from Stirage Nanager? After that replace disks one at a time until you’ve got whatever new ones inside. Then create the new storage pool.

Not done this myself. But if it works you’ll keep the current DSM partition.

 

[itsjasper]

RAID 0 on the source set might make that problematic.

A local copy of Synology Assistant would help with the offline install. You can still download 6.2 via the website (and the global downloads page, of course!).

 

[fredbert]

RAID 0 would be the storage pool but not the DSM partition across all drives. Well that was my thinking. Though this becomes a moot point if it’s possible to manually upload the DSM installer.

 

[Telos]

Have you tried just removing the current storage pool from Stirage Nanager?

This is probably the best way, and would preserve many settings.

I hoped not to do this so that the RAID0 drives, could be archived (in a box) for possible (future) reactivaton.

My tentative "plan" is

1. HB back up to external USB for config, two packages, and for a shared folder holding Duplicacy backups.
2. Stop NAS, install new drives, restart (no internet, LAN only) and attempt manual DSM install.

Before your suggestion, my version was...

1. Stop NAS. Swap one drive with new 14TB. Restart NAS >>> Degraded.
2. Create SHR pool on 14TB. When complete, stop NAS, swap in second 14TB for degraded RAID0 drive, restart.
3. Add to pool/volume. Done.

The downside here is

1. No working RAID0 set to archive
2. SHR vs RAID1 (not a major concession).

If I had a 2-drive dock, I'd clone one of the RAID0 drives, then boot up on it alongside a new 14TB... and create a new SHR pool/volume. Maybe this is a good excuse to add a new dock to my collection of seldom used doodads.

A local copy of Synology Assistant would help with the offline install.

I had not thought of that. Thanks!

 

[Telos]

I followed a modified version of @fredbert 's suggestion.

• Shut down NAS. Swapped one of the RAID0 drives with a new 14T HDD. Restarted.
• Turned off degraded alarm. Deleted degraded pool. Created new SHR pool from new drive.

Now waiting for parity check to complete. When it does, I will

• Shut down NAS. Swap out the remaining "RAID0" drive with another new 14T drive.
• Add 2nd drive to SHR pool. Create volume. Restore a small handful of apps (4) from an HB USB drive backup.

From what I can tell, there is no need to restore the "dss" configuration... Is that correct?

 

[fredbert]

That's certainly what I'd expect as DSM has an instance on every drive. I'd be very interested to see if this approach keeps the DSM configuration for bits left out of HB (at least in DSM 6's HB) as this would then be a viable way to avoid manually reconfiguring those bits. I expect it should.

 

[WST16]

I contacted Synology and they replied with the following:
(the reply is referencing DS216+II)
—————

1. Why do you want to re-install DSM?

2. If you do not want to reserve all system configurations such as User/Group/File service settings, you could refer to the reset mode 2 as the below link:

How do I reset my Synology NAS? (For DSM 6.2.4 or above) - Synology Knowledge Center

Synology Knowledge Center offers comprehensive support, providing answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, software tutorials, and all the technical documentation you may need.

kb.synology.com

Please download the DSM .pat file on your client PC at first as the below link:

Download Center - download | Synology Inc.

Discover technical information with whitepapers, user guides, and datasheets to learn more about Synology products. Download the latest software patches to enjoy the best technologies.

www.synology.com

For the reset procedure, please do not select "install automatically", you should select "install manually", and you should upload .pat file to install.

3. If the system configuration should be the same after reset, you should backup system configuration as the below link before reset, and restore it after mode 2 reset.

Configuration Backup | DSM - Synology Knowledge Center

Synology Knowledge Center provides you with answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, software tutorials, and all the technical documentation you may need.

kb.synology.com

 

[Telos]

After 50+ hours of parity checking, I have a volume! The only setting I've had to re-enter is to permit rsync. This was much better than my mode 2 reset experience... even my LE cert was retained (I had to redo this after my mode2 reset).

I'm sure other nuances may appear, but so far, all is fine without restoring the dss configuration.

 

[fredbert]

Great to hear. Definitely I’ll keep this way in mind next time I look to rebuild.