Select the storage pool you wish to change and click
Change RAID Type of a Storage Pool
Storage pools can be changed from one RAID type to another without losing existing data. For example, you can create a RAID 1 storage pool on your DiskStation and later change to RAID 5 if you install more drives. This article provides instructions to change the RAID type of existing storage pools on your DiskStation.
RAID Type Limitations
Only some RAID types can be changed to certain RAID types. See the table below for details.
| RAID type |
Can be changed to… |
| Basic |
RAID 1
RAID 5 |
| RAID 1 |
RAID 5 |
| RAID 5 |
RAID 6 |
| SHR-1 |
SHR-2 |
Example:
RAID 1 can be changed to RAID 5, but RAID 5 cannot be changed to RAID 1.
Note:
- SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) is available on specific models only. For more information, please visit Synology website.
Drive Requirements
In order to change the RAID type of a storage pool, you must have a sufficient number of available drives installed in your DiskStation. Please see below for the minimum number of drives required for each RAID type.
| Desired RAID type |
Number of required drives |
| RAID 1 |
2 to 4 |
| RAID 5 |
3 |
| RAID 6 |
4 |
| SHR-2 |
4 or 5 (depending on the drive constitution of SHR-1) |
Example:
If you want to change a RAID 1 storage pool to RAID 5, you'll need at least three drives in total (i.e. the two drives belonging to the RAID 1 storage pool, plus one free drive to add to the storage pool).
Note:
SHR-1 with the following drive configurations may require two additional drives when changing to SHR-2:
- There are only two drives.
- All drives have different capacities.
- Three or more drives in the RAID Array contain a pair of higher-capacity drives compared to the other drives in the RAID Array.
Change RAID Type
In the example below, we will change a Basic storage pool to a RAID 1 storage pool.
Before You Start:
- Make sure the status of your storage pool is Normal.
- When adding new drives to a storage pool, the new drives must be larger than the smallest drive in the storage pool.
- The status of new drives must be Initialized or Not Initialized.
- The RAID type of RAID Arrays in RAID Groups cannot be changed. The RAID Group feature is available on specific models only.
Note:
- We recommend using drives in the Synology Products Compatibility List to prevent any issues. Using incompatible drives may lower the system performance or even cause data loss on your DiskStation.
To change the RAID type of a storage pool:
- Open Storage Manager.
- Go to Storage Pool.
- Select the storage pool you wish to change and click Change RAID Type from the Action drop-down menu.
- Select the RAID type to which you want to change the storage pool. Click Next.
- Select which drive to add to the existing storage pool. Then click Next.
- Follow the instructions of the wizard to finish. Please note existing data on the added drive shall be deleted.