Hello everybody!
Watch this video to find out how to recover data from a RAID system based on a D-Link
NAS device, model DNS-343.
How to create a RAID, how to configure a network connection, and how to add a new shared folder.
These days, D-Link routers and modems are well-known all over the world, but this company
also produces home and office storage systems such as network-attached storage (or NAS for
short).
Most of the time, these devices are fully compliant with industry standards and do not
differ much from similar products by other manufacturers - and to the same extent, they
are also affected by risks of data loss due to hardware failures or errors.
Regardless of the actual manufacturer name, all NAS devices are vulnerable to damage or
failure, just as ordinary hard disks used in desktop computers and laptops.
Unfortunately, this is what happens, sooner or later, to any hard disk actively used on
a daily basis.
Just like any other NAS, D-Link devices let you use a number of volumes, unite several
disks into one, and manage network access to the storage while providing sufficient
reliability and security for your data.
Although a network-attached storage unites individual hard disks into RAID arrays which
are more reliable in terms of keeping your data for a long time, it doesn’t completely
exclude the risk of data loss.
Attempts to restore data from NAS devices with the help of various data recovery tools
are not always successful.
Some tools can only recover a part of the data, while others may even damage the information
still remaining on the hard disk.
To avoid this misfortune, you should be very careful in selecting the proper software for
the job.
In today’s video, I’ll show you how to choose a good data recovery utility to use
with a NAS device, and how to recover the lost information.
How to create a RAID array on a D-Link NAS device
For starters, let’s see how you can build a RAID system on a D-Link NAS device.
When the device is started for the first time, you’ll be suggested to configure it.
One of the stages involves building an array with the connected hard disks.
To create a RAID system, select the RAID type; in my case, this is RAID 5 made up of three
disks, and click Next.
In the next window, you are suggested to enable Auto-Rebuild - click Next to continue.
Now it’s time to choose a file system: you can only choose between EXT2 and EXT3.
Go for the most stable option, EXT3, and click Next again.
After that, the process of disk initialization and formatting begins.
If there is any important information on those disks, don’t forget to back it up, as it
will be very difficult to recover it after formatting.
When the volume is formatted, you’ll be suggested to restart the device.
The disk array is ready.
To change the RAID level, set a different volume or modify it in any other way, click
on the reconfiguration button.
To change the RAID level, select it from this list and change the settings just as you did
before.
If you want to change its volume, go for Custom Configuration, choose a RAID type, enable
or disable Auto-Rebuild, select a file system, and set the array capacity, then click Next.
Wait until initialization is complete.
When this process is over, the device will be ready to use.
How to create a shared folder Now you can add a new shared folder and configure
network access.
To create a shared resource, open the tab Advanced - Network Access.
Select network access type - SMMB or NFS, and choose users for this directory - you
can even choose all accounts.
Then click Browse, go to the directory where you want to create a new folder, click on
this icon, give a name - and click OK.
The last step is to add read and write permissions and save the settings to make this folder
available on the network.
Now connect to it by FTP and write the data you want to store in this folder.
How to recover data from a RAID system based on D-link DNS-343 NAS
There are so many things that may cause loss of data: human errors, formatting or overwriting
information, overheating, power failures, hardware and software errors, mechanical issues,
and even if one hard disk fails, it puts extra pressure on other disks, so if you overlook
to replace a faulty disk in time, it may cause some data to disappear.
If you can’t access the data stored inside your NAS, you can try and extract the files
with the help of specialized data recovery software designed with disk arrays in mind
- Hetman RAID Recovery.
Most NAS devices format their hard disks for a Linux-family file system, so when such disk
arrays are connected to a Windows computer directly, you can’t read their contents
without using third-party software.
All proprietary RAID management systems used for network-attached storage are based on
two Linux RAID technologies, mdadm and LVM.
However, Hetman RAID Recovery supports both of them, and in most cases it can rebuild
such RAID arrays automatically.
This is a comprehensive solution for NAS data recovery to help you restore your files in
a number of different scenarios.
This program supports most popular file systems and RAID types.
Take the disks out of the NAS device and connect them to a Windows computer.
When the computer to which you have connected the disks has booted, and its operating system
asks you to initialize or format them, don’t do that, because it will make recovery a lot
more complicated.
Our utility features an advanced mechanism of automatic scanning designed to identify
and recover NAS data in various scenarios of data loss.
The program will automatically read the necessary information from the disks which used to make
up the damaged array, and then rebuild it.
The RAID will be displayed in the Drive Manager, and its brief information will be shown at
the bottom of the window.
Check if the program has identified it correctly.
To recover files, right-click on the disk array and choose Open.
Select the scan type and start it.
As you can see, in my case the program has easily rebuilt the damaged RAID and found
all the files it used to store.
It displays all the files, even those that have been deleted (they are marked with a
red cross).
Select all the items you want to recover, click Recovery, select where you want to save
them, and click Recovery again.
When the entire process is over, you will find the recovered files in the folder you
have chosen.
In the case with RAID 5 (the array type I’m using for illustration), data can be recovered
from a failed NAS device even if one disk is missing.
Another similar scenario is when the computer where you connect the hard disks for recovery
operations doesn’t have as many SATA ports or power supply connectors as you need for
every disk, so you may connect three disks instead of four.
How to recover data manually, with RAID Constructor When a disk is damaged or service information
is erased, the program may have difficulty in rebuilding the RAID automatically; however,
you can do it manually with the RAID Constructor if you know the properties of this damaged
array.
Open the Constructor, select Manual mode, and fill in all the information you know about
this disk array: the RAID type, block order and size.
Add the disks it used to include, use the arrows to specify their order, and replace
the missing disks with empty drives by clicking the “plus” button.
Also, you can specify the offset that helps to locate the beginning of the disk.
Sometimes, the program may have difficulty in identifying it automatically, so you’ll
have to enter the offset value manually.
Usually, if you give correct properties, the newly built RAID system has at least one partition.
Expand it to check for the folders that you need.
If the folders you are looking for are displayed, then you have built this RAID properly.
When you specify all the properties you know, click “Add,” and the array will appear
in the Drive Manager.
To have the array recovered, the last step is to scan it, find the files you want to
restore, select them, and recover to the folder you choose.
That is all for now!
Hopefully, this video was useful.
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Thank you for watching.
Good luck.