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How do I replace a faulty disk in a RAID group?

Last modified date: 2023-12-07

Applicable Products

  • QTS 4.5 and later
  • QuTS hero h4.5 and later
  • Storage & Snapshots

Overview

If there is a faulty disk in a RAID group on your NAS, we recommend replacing it with a new disk or a spare disk to preserve your data and keep services running.

To manually replace a faulty disk, follow the relevant steps below according to the RAID type of the RAID group.

You can configure a spare disk in an enclosure, which automatically replaces a disk in any RAID group within the enclosure when the disk fails.

Important
  • Before you replace a faulty disk, back up all data on the NAS.
  • If your NAS does not support hot-swapping disks, power off the NAS before removing a faulty disk.
    To check whether your NAS model supports hot-swapping disks, search your model in Product Support Status, click the product detail link, and go to Specification > Hardware Specs.

Replacing a Faulty Disk in a RAID Group of RAID 0, JBOD, or Single

  1. Back up all data on the NAS.
  2. Replace the faulty disk manually. 
    1. Remove the disk from the drive bay.
      The NAS beeps twice.
    2. Insert a new disk into the same drive bay.
      The NAS beeps twice.
  3. Reinitialize the NAS.
    1. Go to Control Panel > System > Backup/Restore > Restore to Factory Default.
    2. Click Reinitialize NAS.
      Warning
      This action deletes all data from all disks.
    3. Choose to restart or shut down the NAS after the NAS is reinitialized.
    4. Click OK.
  4. Restore the backup data to the NAS.

Replacing a Faulty Disk in a RAID Group of RAID 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60, Triple Mirror, or RAID-TP

The steps for replacing a faulty disk in a RAID Group of RAID 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, 60, Triple Mirror, or RAID-TP depends on whether you already have a spare disk in the enclosure.  

Replacing a faulty disk with a spare disk in the enclosure

If the system does not automatically replace the faulty disk with a spare disk, you can initiate the process manually.

  1. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Disks/VJBOD.
  2. Click the faulty disk.
  3. Click Action and select Replace & Detach.
    The system automatically starts rebuilding the RAID group with a spare disk.
Replacing a faulty disk when there is no spare disk in the enclosure
  1. Replace the faulty disk.
    1. Remove the disk from the drive bay.
      The NAS beeps twice.
    2. Insert a new disk into the same drive bay.
      The NAS beeps twice.
  2. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Disks/VJBOD.
  3. Verify the system has detected the newly installed disk and check the disk status.
  4. Follow the relevant steps according to one of the following scenarios:
    Scenario
    User Action
    The new disk is detected, and its status is "Rebuilding"Wait for the system to finish rebuilding the RAID group.
    The new disk is detected, but its status does not change to "Rebuilding"Set the new disk as a spare disk to trigger the system to rebuild the RAID group.
    1. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Disks/VJBOD.
    2. Click the new disk.
    3. Click Action and select Set as Enclosure Spare.
      A confirmation message appears. 
    4. Click OK.
      The system automatically starts rebuilding the RAID group.

    The new disk is not detected
    1. Remove the new disk from the disk slot.
    2. Restart the NAS.
    3. Insert the new disk into the disk slot.
    4. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Disks/VJBOD.
    5. Verify the system has detected the newly installed disk.
      Storage & Snapshots should display information on the new disk.
    6. Verify the system has started rebuilding the RAID group.
      The disk status should change to "Rebuilding".
    7. If the system does not start rebuilding the RAID group, set the disk as a spare disk.
      1. Click Action and select Set as Enclosure Spare.
        A confirmation message appears.
      2. Click OK.
        The system automatically starts rebuilding the RAID group.

Configuring an Enclosure Spare Disk

You can configure a free disk as a hot spare for all RAID groups within a single enclosure (NAS or expansion unit). Under normal circumstances, the enclosure spare disk is unused and does not store any data. When a disk in any RAID group fails, the spare disk automatically replaces the faulty disk.

Configuring an enclosure spare disk in QTS 4.3.5 or later and QuTS hero
  1. Optional: Insert a new disk into an empty drive bay on the NAS.
    The NAS beeps twice.
  2. Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Disks/VJBOD.
  3. Click the newly installed disk or an existing free disk.
  4. Click Action and select Set as Enclosure Spare.
    A confirmation message appears. 
  5. Click OK.
Configuring an enclosure spare disk in QTS 4.3.4 or earlier

If your NAS is running QTS 4.3.4 or earlier, please see one of the following user guides.

  • QTS 4.3.4 User Guide
    Go to Storage & Snapshots > Storage > Storage Management > RAID Management > RAID Spare Disks > Configuring a Global Hot Spare.
  • QTS 4.2.x User Guide
    Go to System Settings > Storage Manager > RAID Management > Configuring Spare Drives.

Further Reading

Hot-swapping the hard drives when the RAID crashes

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