Change drives in 559 Pro II

[GHQ]

Hey all.

I have search Google and yes there is a lot of different opinions out there so not to do anything wrong here i will try ask here also.

I have a good working TS-559 Pro II running RAID5 fine with 5 x 3TB disc's but 2 of the drives is standard consumer drives and i now have 2 more Red disc i would like to change in the system.
How do i do this the most easy but also safe way

Can i just pull out one of the disc and put in a new one wile NAS is still running or do i need to shut down and change one disc at a time ?

TS-559 Pro II RAID 5 latest firmware 4.2.6 (Sad no newer FW) but thats life i'm only using my NAS for file sharing and its doing alright but as i said i'm afraid the standard 2 disc will die on me
so now when i have to better WD Red disc i think i should swop them.

Forgot to say. All disc in the NAS now is all 3TB drives but the two new ones are both 5TB disc. They will still work together with the other 3TB disc right ?

Thx everyone.

[ed]

Thanks for reaching out! Upgrading your drives in a NAS can definitely feel a bit daunting, but I’m here to help.

Since you're running a TS-559 Pro II with RAID 5, you can safely replace your drives without shutting down the NAS, thanks to its hot-swappable drive bays. Here’s how to proceed:

Backup Your Data: Before making any changes, it’s always a good idea to back up your important data, just in case.

Hot Swap the Drives:

Pull out one of the existing consumer drives.
Insert one of your new WD Red drives in its place.
The NAS should automatically recognize the new drive and start rebuilding the RAID array.
Wait for the rebuild process to complete before proceeding to the next drive.
Repeat the Process: After the first drive is fully integrated and the RAID is healthy, you can repeat the process for the second consumer drive.

Regarding your question about mixing drive sizes: Yes, you can use the 5TB drives alongside the 3TB drives in RAID 5. However, keep in mind that the total usable capacity will be based on the smallest drive in the array. In your case, the RAID will effectively use the 3TB from the larger drives until all drives in the RAID array are 5TB.

Remember to monitor the RAID status through your NAS management interface during and after the process. If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask!

Best of luck with the upgrade!