Hello everybody!
Watch this video to find out how to recover data from a RAID system based on a Promise
NAS device, model SmartStor NS4300N, how to create a RAID, add a shared folder, enable
FTP server and configure network access.
Promise Technology offers a wide range of products from consumer-class items to high-end
data storage solutions designed for video surveillance systems, data processing centers,
cloud computing services, and multimedia applications.
As to its network-attached solutions (or NAS for short), they are very similar to models
offered by other manufacturers.
Storing data in a NAS system is a good solution because all your information will be secured
quite well against damage and accidental loss, as such devices are based on the RAID technology.
Most of the time, RAID provides a reliable way to store and access your files, but any
NAS is a mechanical device, after all, and it may break down one day, causing you to
lose your data the moment you no longer have access to the disk array inside it.
The most frequent causes of NAS breakdown include RAID controller issues, multiple disk
failures, failed attempts to recover a volume, server errors, administrator’s mistakes
etc.
When a NAS device breaks down, the data remains intact... but inaccessible, unless you have
a proper third-party software tool to use.
In today’s video, I’ll show you how to choose a good data recovery utility to use
with a NAS system.
How to create a RAID
For starters, let’s explore how to build a RAID system on this specific NAS device.
Enter the NAS management interface and look to the left to find the section “RAID & File
System” and open RAID Management.
If you need to edit the settings of an existing RAID, click on “Modify.”
This is where you can change the array level and add more hard disks.
When the settings are changed, click OK to start the migration process that will take
some time.
To delete an existing RAID volume, click on the “Delete” tab, click the option button
beside the RAID volume you want to delete, click OK, and type “Yes” into the field
provided in the confirmation box, then click OK to continue.
Now the RAID volume is removed.
To create a new RAID volume, click on the “Create” tab, select the RAID level you
prefer for your disk array, add the disks to make up the future array, and click OK
to start the disk format operation.
When it’s over, you can continue with further configuration steps.
How to add a shared folder
Now let’s find out how to add a new network folder with shared access.
In the File & Print section, open “File Sharing.”
Click on the “Create” tab, select the RAID volume in which you want to create a
new folder, assign a name, check the boxes beside the file systems where you want to
use this folder, and click OK to confirm the settings you have chosen.
The new folder has been added successfully.
How to configure network access and enable FTP
Now let’s enable FTP server and configure network access.
To do it, open Sharing Setup, select the RAID Volume containing the folder you want to set
permissions for, and select the options - click OK.
The next step should be to enable network access services.
Open “Protocol Control” and enable the services you need by clicking on the “Enable”
option.
For advanced FTP sharing settings, click on the corresponding tab.
When you’re finished with the settings, you can connect to the network storage and
write data to the disk.
This model lacks the network recycle bin feature, so if files are deleted by mistake, there
is no easy way to have them back.
How to recover data from a non-operable NAS
If files are removed accidentally from a hard disk inside a NAS system, a hard disk is formatted,
the disk array is misconfigured, or in other scenarios involving loss of data, loss of
access to the network drive, or damage to the RAID volume, a specialized data recovery
tool is what you need to restore your information.
As most NAS devices are running on Linux-based operating systems, and their hard disks are
formatted for Ext file system, while RAID arrays are typically built with the use of
mdadm or LVM technology, It’s becoming a bit of a problem to read their contents when
such disk arrays are connected to a Windows computer directly.
To read the disks and retrieve any information from there, use the tried and tested data
recovery tool for NAS solutions - Hetman RAID Recovery.
This program supports most popular file systems, technologies and RAID types, and in most cases
it will be able to rebuild the damaged RAID automatically.
To extract the data from the disks, take them out of the non-operable NAS device and connect
them to a Windows computer.
When the operating system has booted, open Disk Management and check if the added disks
are recognized.
Windows may suggest to initialize or format the drives to be able to access them.
Remember to never agree to either operation, because they can erase the remaining information
completely.
On the other hand, Hetman RAID Recovery will identify the disks automatically, read their
service information and rebuild the damaged RAID system.
Now the program has identified the RAID volume and shows it at the top of the Drive Manager
window; one big volume here, and all of its partitions below.
Due to certain peculiarities of building a RAID system on this NAS type, the program
shows the volume in a dedicated line “RAID Volumes.”
This volume is based on Ext3 file system.
If the program succeeds in identifying the file system of this partition, you will be
able to analyze it with “Fast scan” that is going to take considerably less time than
running a “Full analysis.”
To start searching for files, right-click on the partition - “Open.”
Now choose the scan type: when the array is built properly, “Fast scan” will be available.
Click “Next” to start searching for lost files.
Wait for the process to be over, and then switch to search results by clicking “Finish.”
Having checked them, we can see that program has found all the files that have been written
to this array.
All deleted files are marked accordingly, with a red cross.
Other files without such cross are the ones still remaining on the array disks.
Select the files you want to recover and click “Recovery,” select the disk where to save
them and specify the directory, then click “Recovery” and “Finish.”
After that, go to the folder you have chosen and check if the files are there.
That is all for now!
Hopefully, this video was useful.
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Thank you for watching.
Good luck.