# Raspberry Pi RAID NAS Server Setup ## Prerequisite * Raspberry Pi 4 (4+GB RAM) * Micro SD card 64GB * 2x Integral USB 3.1 flash drives 128GB Or 2x USB 3.1 HDDs 1024GB * **OS:** - Raspbian Bullseye ## RAID Setup #### **FORMAT DRIVES** 1. Insert drive and list existing partition tables : ```bash sudo fdisk -l ``` 2. Unmount drive (if needed) : ```bash sudo unmount /media/pi/ ``` 3. Partitioning : ```bash sudo fdisk /dev/sda ``` 4. Press the following Keys when prompted : \[m\] for help \[o\] \[n\] \[p\] \[1\] \[Enter\] \[Enter\] \[w\] 5. Formatting : ```bash sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda1 ``` Press \[y\] when prompted.
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DO NOT MOUNT THE DRIVE
6. Repeat steps 1-5 above for other drives. --- #### **CREATE RAID ARRAY** * Update the system and install 'mdadm' RAID package : ```bash sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade sudo apt-get install mdadm ``` * Find out the mount points for each drive : ```bash blkid ``` OR ```bash lsblk ``` * Create RAID volume/array : ### **Linear Mode** ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=linear --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 ``` ### **RAID-0 (Stripe Mode)** ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=stripe --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 ``` **OR** ```bash sudo mdadm -Cv /dev/md0 -l0 -n2 /dev/sd[ab]1 ``` ### **RAID-1 (Mirror Mode)** ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=mirror --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 ``` **OR** ```bash sudo mdadm -Cv /dev/md0 -l1 -n2 /dev/sd[ab]1 ``` ### **RAID-4/5/6** ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=4 --raid-devices=3 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 ``` ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=5 --raid-devices=3 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 /dev/sdd1 --spare-devices=1 /dev/sde1 ``` ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=6 --raid-devices=4 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 /dev/sdd1 /dev/sde1 ``` ### **RAID-10** ```bash sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=10 --raid-devices=4 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1 /dev/sdd1 ``` * Confirm RAID array : ```bash cat /proc/mdstat ``` * Save RAID array : ```bash sudo -i mdadm --detail --scan >> /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf less /etc/mdadm/mdadm.conf exit ``` * Create file system : ```bash sudo mkfs.ext4 -v -m .1 -b 4096 -E stride=32,stripe-width=64 /dev/md0 ```
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NOTE: To change advanced parameters after creation if needed :
```bash tune2fs -E stride=n,stripe-width=m /dev/md0 ``` * Create a mount point and mount file system : ```bash sudo mkdir /mnt/raidx sudo mount /dev/md0 /mnt/raidx ```
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NOTE: To change the owner of the mount point to pi :
```bash sudo chown pi:pi /mnt/raidx ``` * Check the content of the mounted file system : ```bash ls -la /mnt/raidx ``` * Confirm its capacity : ```bash df -h -x devtmpfs -x tmpfs ``` --- * Update the initial file system (Raspberry Pi uses a RAM disk image when booting up and we want to include our array) : ```bash sudo update-initramfs -u ``` * Check the UUID of the mounted file system : ```bash blkid ``` OR ```bash ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid ``` * Add to fstab (make the drive permanent and auto mount drive at boot) : ```bash sudo nano /etc/fstab ``` Enter a new line before the bottom comments and add : ```bash UUID=(my_uuid) /mnt/raidx ext4 defaults,noatime 0 0 ``` * Save and exit : \[Ctrl+O\] \[Ctrl+X\] * Retrieve drive parameters and test speeds (optional) : ```bash sudo hdparm -I /dev/md0 sudo hdparm -tT --direct /dev/md0 ``` * Reboot ```bash sudo reboot ``` --- ### Useful commands/Manage Mode `$ cat /proc/mdstat`: show the status of all RAID devices `$ mdadm --detail /dev/md0` : detailed information about RAID md0 (`mdadm -D`) `$ mdadm --detail --brief /dev/md0` : for shortened/brief details (`mdadm -Db`) `$ mdadm --query /dev/md0` : quick human-readable summary of RAID md0 (`mdadm -Q`) `$ mdadm --examine /dev/sdx`: information about RAID component device sdx (`mdadm -E`) `$ mdadm --stop /dev/md0` : stop RAID device md0 `$ mdadm --assemble --scan`: restart/assemble RAID device --- ## **SET UP NAS** * Install SAMBA ```bash sudo apt-get install samba samba-common-bin ``` * Set up SAMBA password (for user pi) : ```bash sudo smbpasswd -a pi ``` * Edit SAMBA config file : ```bash sudo cp /etc/samba/smb.conf /etc/samba/smb.conf.bak sudo nano /etc/samba/smb.conf ``` Scroll down to the bottom of the file and add the following code to create NAS file share : ```bash # NAS Share Block [NAS] path = /mnt/raidx comment = RPI4 RAID0 NAS Server volume = NAS-Server valid users = pi read only = NO guest ok = NO public = NO writable = YES browsable = YES ### -rwxr--r-- create mask = 0744 ### -rwxr-xr-x directory mask = 0755 ### All hosts on the 192.168.142 subnet allowed: hosts allow = 192.168.142. ``` * Save and exit : \[Ctrl+O\] \[Ctrl+X\] --- * Check the configuration file for internal correctness : ```bash testparm ``` * Restart SAMBA service : ```bash sudo /etc/init.d/samba restart ``` OR ```bash sudo service smbd restart ``` * Reboot ```bash sudo reboot ``` --- ## **USAGE ON MAC** * Open Finder * Menu "Go" ⟶ "Connect to Server..." Address: \[smb://rpi4/NAS\] * \[Connect\] * Connect As: * Registered User Name: pi Password: ●●●●●●●● * \[Connect\] --- ## **APPENDIX** **COMMANDS TO CHECK** `$ rsync options source destination` : remote/local file-copying tool `$ rsync -ahv /mnt/u1/ /mnt/u2/` : example of the above **RAID LEVELS** Number of Drives / RAID Level Availability: 2 / RAID-0 Stripe (Fastest, but no redundancy) RAID-1 Mirror (Excellent redundancy, good speed) 3 / RAID-0 Stripe (Fastest, but no redundancy) RAID-4 Dedicated parity disk (Good speed & redundancy) RAID-5 Block-level striping with distributed parity (Excellent speed & redundancy) 4 / RAID-6 Block-level striping with two parity blocks distributed across all member disks (Excellent speed & redundancy) RAID 10 (nested RAID 1+0) (Excellent speed and redundancy) --- ## **REFERENCES** ⇒ [mdadm(8) - Linux man page](https://linux.die.net/man/8/mdadm) ⇒ [How To Manage RAID Arrays with mdadm](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-manage-raid-arrays-with-mdadm-on-ubuntu-16-04) ⇒ [Advantages and disadvantages of various RAID levels](https://datapacket.com/blog/advantages-disadvantages-various-raid-levels/) ⇒ [RAID setup](https://raid.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/RAID_setup) ⇒ [A guide to mdadm](https://raid.wiki.kernel.org/index.php/A_guide_to_mdadm) ⇒ [Characteristics of Linux RAID levels](https://linux.die.net/EVMSUG/characraidlvls.html) ⇒ [Build your own Raspberry Pi NAS](https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-nas-3/) ⇒ [How to set up a Raspberry Pi Samba Server](https://pimylifeup.com/raspberry-pi-samba/) ⇒ [Build a Raspberry Pi RAID NAS Server – Complete DIY Guide](https://pchelp.ricmedia.com/build-raspberry-pi3-raid-nas-server/) ⇒ [Partitioning, Formatting, and Mounting a Hard Drive in Linux](https://medium.com/@sh.tsang/partitioning-formatting-and-mounting-a-hard-drive-in-linux-ubuntu-18-04-324b7634d1e0)