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[JavaLawyer]

I'm trying to understand the rules for adding and/or replacing HDDs in a DNS 343 configured as a JBOD.  I have two DNS-343s (v1.03) with the following JBOD configuration and have expansion questions:

DNS-343 (Source Data)

• Volume_1 (2 TB)
• Volume_2 (1.5 TB)
• Volume_3 (1.5 TB)

DNS-343 (Backup of first DNS)

• Volume_1 (2 TB)
• Volume_2 (1.5 TB)
• Volume_3 (1.5 TB)

(1) If I add a 4th HDD to each DNS:

(a) Will the DNS format the new HDD without impacting the data on the existing HDDs?

(b) After formatting of the 4th HDD is complete, will I see the data on Volume_1, Volume_2, and Volume_3 along with an empty Volume_4?

(2) If I remove the Volume_2 (1.5 TB) HDD and replace it with a new 2 TB HDD, will the DNS provide an option to format the new HDD as a new empty Volume_2?

(3) If one of the Volumes fails, will the DNS provide an option to replace the failed volume with a HDD of equal or greater size (i.e. option "2" above)?

I have approximately 5 TB of data (all HDDs are full) and I must be absolutely certain that this expansion doesn't destroy any of the volumes or compromise the data integrity.  Although the data is mirrored on two physical devices, if something goes wrong, re-copying the entire library will take approximately 9 to 10 days on my network.

For reasons I'd rather not get into, I am avoiding RAID 5 in favor of mirroring my data on two devices.

[ECF]

The answer to all of these would be yes however this would be in standard mode not JBOD. You stated that you are running the drives in JBOD mode however you showed multiple volumes when JBOD will create a single volume from all 3 drives. With JBOD you cannot expand the size without having to format the entire JBOD volume to include the new drive you may be adding and if one drive or the Volume fails the whole Volume is lost.

[JavaLawyer]

You're correct, the HDDs are in standard mode (my error).  I successfully added a 4th volume to one of the DNS-343s without an issue.

Just to be clear, if one of the existing volume's fails (or I remove a volume and swap in a larger capacity HDD), the DNS will provide an option to format the one defective/new HDD without impacting the other volumes?

Can you validate if the following is true:
(1) Shut-down DNS
(2) Replace Volume_1 with a higher capacity HDD
(3) Restart
(4) DNS will provide an option to format "only" Volume_1 in standard mode
(5) Select format in "Standard" mode
(5) Upon restart I will see an empty Volume_1 and the existing volumes will be accessible and unaffected

 
Thanks for your help.

[ECF]

Correct.

[JavaLawyer]

One final follow-up question.  Can volumes formatted in "standard" mode be swapped in different slots in the same DNS-343 or moved to any slot in another DNS-343?

I tried this some time ago with my DNS-343 and had disastrous results.  How does the DNS-343 treat HDDs in standard mode?  Is there header information tying the HDD back to the slot it was formatted in?