Questions · Site data updated
Storage Questions, Sorted by Problem
Start from what is going wrong. Each problem below leads to a tool or a page that works it out from your own hardware and today's prices. Some of them end in nothing to buy, and say so.
Three tools to start with
NAS Upgrade AdvisorSee how much space each way of upgrading gives you, and how many rebuilds it takes.Open the tool →Is My Drive SMR?Type a model number and see what the maker's own document says: CMR, SMR or not stated.Open the tool →Drive Interface CheckerSAS or SATA drive, NAS, PC or HBA: works, needs a card and cable, or will not work.Open the tool →
Running out of space
A NAS or server that is full, and the ways to add capacity.
- NAS Upgrade Advisor: See how much space each way of upgrading gives you, and how many rebuilds it takes.
- How many hard drives do I need?
- NAS RAID calculator
- ZFS capacity calculator
- Unraid capacity calculator
A drive may be failing
Warnings, degraded pools and what to do before anything is lost.
Will this fit
Whether a drive, an interface or a size works in the hardware you have.
- Drive Interface Checker: SAS or SATA drive, NAS, PC or HBA: works, needs a card and cable, or will not work.
- Drives, RAM and SSDs by NAS model
- Synology DSM 7.3 third-party drive policy
- Best HBA card for TrueNAS
Too slow
Slow transfers and slow rebuilds, and what is behind them.
- Is My Drive SMR?: Type a model number and see what the maker's own document says: CMR, SMR or not stated.
- CMR vs SMR for a NAS
- NAS SSD cache explained
- Best 10GbE NAS
Backup and recovery
Keeping a second copy, and getting data back.
SSD upgrades
Adding or replacing an SSD in a console, a handheld, a PC or a NAS.