The error message that comes up when a problem occurs on your NAS is basically the same regardless of if your network connection was lost; someone has altered the permissions on a shared folder; a volume (a group of shares) was unmounted; or the entire disk array crashed. These all have dramatically different solutions.
Check first the network connection, then the shares, then the volumes, then the array. This order is logical because each level can be checked less expensively and with much less risk of damaging your NAS than checking the next lower level. Jumping to the array as soon as there is a problem is how users often end up losing data due to something as simple as a changed permissions setting.
The first step to troubleshooting will be to check all of your easiest (and most likely) options, which include checking if you can access the NAS’s web-based administrator via an internet browser using its IP address. If you can’t then there is probably either a reboot on the router which has changed the NAS’s IP address or one of your network cables or ports is bad. If the administrator pages load up fine but your shares do not show up then your problem is at the share level and could be due to permission issues, a SMB version that was disabled, or even a user account that no longer maps to the NAS. Windows disabling SMBv1 left behind a great many older NAS devices in a “can’t access” state.
Neither of the above are data issues, and neither will require something to be taken apart.
The moment an administrator’s interface appears but states there is a volume reported as being either “unmounted”, “degraded”, “crashed” or “read-only,” you’ve transitioned into a storage issue. Read exactly what the message is telling you about this before taking action. A “Degraded” status indicates that at least one member in the group has fallen out, but the volume is still accessible; immediately back up your files while possible prior to repairing any issues. A “Crashed” or “Inactive” status denotes that the members cannot form together again to assemble an array. This is the time to quit.
A thinly provisioned volume that fills up an available pool of space may cause the volume to stop writing data as well as become unavailable even though there is no damage or corruption in the volume itself.
The physical drives are then removed from the unit, labelled according to their bay number and imaged read-only, and the array is reconstructed from those images rather than by the NAS. Most devices (Synology, QNAP, Buffalo, Netgear, Iomega) use a form of standard Linux software RAID and have a layer of pooling on top of this. Therefore, given we can read all the member drives, most reconstructions are easily completed. Drobo is one exception since they use a custom drive mapping scheme that we need to determine instead of assuming the default structure.
The success or failure will depend on what occurred prior to its arrival. A well managed NAS which was shut down in a timely manner and sent as per the bay sequence is a good example. However, an unmanaged NAS left to resync for several days (three) with a failing member would be considered far worse.
Please remove the internal disks if possible. Prior to removing the disk(s), assign each disk its corresponding bay designation; this is important for the reconstructive process. Please provide us with information about your model NAS, RAID level (if known), and any previous actions taken including any attempts at rebuilding. Our price list for NAS, RAID and server recovery starts at £500 +VAT after a free 48 hour diagnostics and a written quotation, and we require a 50% payment prior to undertaking any physical work on individual drives and the final 50% upon successful completion.
In most cases, at the top. To determine whether the administrative interface of your NAS is reachable via an IP, test to see if you can access the administrative interface. If you cannot connect, either the interface’s address has been changed or the NAS unit itself has lost connection to the network. If the admin interface loads, but shares from the NAS do not load, this indicates that there are permissions issues or problems with how SMB is configured. Only when the admin interface returns errors stating that the volume is “degraded” or “crashed”, will you know you have encountered a hardware issue related to your storage system.
Before attempting any repairs on your NAS, immediately copy all your data to another location so you are able to recover in case something goes wrong. A “degraded” state means that one member of your array failed, however the remaining members were still able to read/write to the volume. This window is typically the least expensive form of recovery. Do not initiate a rebuild until you are confident that all critical data has been copied to a secondary location.
Often due to Windows disabling SMBv1 (which many older NAS systems depend upon). Both parties agree on what they would like to use, and then suddenly that agreed upon protocol disappears. This appears as a loss of connectivity, similar to a failure of the NAS itself. However, this is purely a configuration issue, not a data loss issue.
Yes, if possible; we need the internal disks removed. Please label each piece of hardware by bay # as this will affect the assembly process. Do not put back into service an ejected hard drive nor allow a rebuild to begin before the disks reach us.
All NAS, RAID and server recoveries start at £500 + VAT, fixed in a written quotation provided after completion of our free 48 hour diagnosis. When a member requires hands-on physical work at the drive level there will be a 50% deposit required prior to commencing work, with the balance due only when successful.