Recreating a disk array – change from RAID 0 to RAID 1 on Buffalo Terastation

The factory configuration for a Buffalo Terastation is RAID 0 i.e. if the unit contains two disks they will be set up to act as one large disk. This is OK but it does mean that if one of the drive fails all data will be lost.

A better configuration is RAID 1 which will make the disks mirror each other i.e. if one drive fails the data is safe because an exact copy still exists on the other drive.

I recently upgraded my Buffalo Terastation from 1TB to 3TB which involved reformatting the drives and restoring back to factory settings i.e. RAID 0. As I wanted to change it to RAID 1 I searched around and stumbled upon this great video that explains how to do it in detail.

I have summarised the video at the end of the post for those that want the text version.

Video notes

1. Log into your Terastation device using the web admin user interface.
2. Go to system option and select the storage tab. This will bring up all your disk and raid information.
3. The first step is to delete the existing RAID array (RAID 0) by going to the Raid  array area of the interface.
4. Click on the option to delete the RAID array. Deleting the RAID array will delete all of the data on the disks.
5. Type in the confirmation number to confirm you want to delete the array and data.
6. It will then delete the RAID array which should take a couple of minutes.
7. By going back to the default folder area you will see there are no shares present anymore.
8. The next step is to create the new RAID array (RAID 1) by going into the system tab > storage. In the RAID array box click ‘Array 1’ and it will scan for all of your disk.
9. Use the drop down menu to toggle which RAID mode you need > Select RAID 1.
10. Select all disks to be included in the array and select ‘Create RAID array’.
11. Click OK and enter the confirmation number.
12. Once the Raid has been created go to the Folder setup and create a folder share.
13. Under storage the RAID array status will show as ‘Checking’ as the Terastation is checking the integrity of the array but you can continue to use the Terastation as normal while this happens. When it is complete the yellow light which may be blinking on the front the Terastation will stop.