User Manual

Table Of Contents
Basic Volume and RAID Concepts
To get the most out of your ReadyNAS storage system, it is helpful to understand the
basics of volumes, RAID, and tiers. Understanding these concepts is the first step to
making good decisions about how to configure, manage, and use your ReadyNAS
storage system. This chapter contains the following sections:
Volumes
RAID
Volumes
In the most general sense, volumes are data storage devices. Your computer treats an
internal hard drive as a volume. It also treats a portable USB thumb drive as a volume.
Volumes can be either physical or logical. Usually, the term physical volume refers to a
hard disk drive. When this term is used in this way, a two-bay storage system can be
made up of up to two physical volumes (hard disk drives). A four-bay storage system
can be made up of up to four physical volumes. A six-bay storage system can be made
up of up to six physical volumes.
The term logical volume refers to the way that you divide, or partition, your storage
space. For example:
Each logical volume can correspond to a hard disk drive.
A logical volume can be made up of more than one hard disk drive.
In this manual, the term volume refers to a logical volume. The terms hard disk drive
and disk refer to a physical volume.
RAID
Your ReadyNAS storage system allows you to configure your hard disks using one of
the many RAID technologies.
RAID is short for redundant array of independent disks. RAID is a storage technology
that balances data protection, system performance, and storage space by determining
how the storage system distributes data. Many different ways of distributing data are
standardized into various RAID levels. Each RAID level offers a tradeoff of data protection,
system performance, and storage space. For example, one RAID level might improve
data protection but reduce storage space, another RAID level might increase storage
space but also reduce system performance. RAID is not a backup.
Software Manual24Volume Configuration
ReadyNAS OS 6.10