ReadyNAS EDA500 Expansion Chassis FAQ
EDA500 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How many disks can I insert into the EDA500?
A: While the EDA500 has 6 slots, only the first 5 can be used. The 6th slot (at the very bottom) is designated as a cold spare drive bay.
Q: How are volumes are managed with the EDA500?
A: In XRAID mode, unique volumes are created for the main chassis and the EDA. Two volumes appear in the management UI. In Flex-RAID mode, you can create a volume across the main chassis and an EDA. NETGEAR recommends that you create volumes within a chassis and EDA.
Q: What are the risks of creating a volume across the main chassis and EDA?
A: Depending on the number of drives and the RAID configuration, you can corrupt and lose all your data if the EDA becomes disconnected from the main chassis. The ReadyNAS thinks that multiple drives are removed. Creating a volume across the main chassis and EDA is not recommended for important data. Acceptable use cases include temporary data that could be lost without fiscal impact.
Q: Is hot-swap of the EDA supported?
A: No. The software architecture does not support hot-swap of the EDA unit. You can hot-swap individual drives for replacement, but not the entire EDA chassis. You can hot-insert the EDA chassis.
Q: What ReadyNAS devices support the EDA?
A: Only the 300/500/700 desktop models support the EDA500. The concern supporting the 100 series, 2120, and 3220/4220 is from a performance point of view. NETGEAR does not recommend EDA use in these cases, but there is no mechanism within the software to stop it.
Q: Do we have internal performance benchmarks for the EDA with different ReadyNAS chassis?
A: The performance numbers below assume data transfer to the EDA volume only. With no concurrent data transfer to the ReadyNAS chassis, the EDA volume does not cross to the ReadyNAS chassis. RAID calculations are performed by the CPU/RAID controller on the ReadyNAS chassis.
Q: What software version is required?
A: Use ReadyNAS OS 6.1.2 or later to support the EDA500. NETGEAR recommneds upgrading to the latest firmware version.
Q: Can I move an EDA500 from ReadyNAS #1 to ReadyNAS #2?
A: No. You cannot move EDA500 units from one ReadyNAS to another. The system configuration information is stored in the ReadyNAS chassis.
Q: What happens in the following situation?
A:
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