General

Storage Manager allows users to manage all the storage spaces on their Synology products. In order to simplify storage management and create flexible storage spaces with data protection, Synology DSM supports multiple types of storage pools.

Storage Pool

With DiskStation, you may combine multiple hard disks into a single storage unit called a storage pool. DiskStation provides the following types of storage pools:

• Storage Pool for better performance:
  • Allocates all available capacity to a single volume.
  • Provides better performance but less storage management flexibility.
  • Allows creation of multiple iSCSI LUNs (Regular File) on volumes.
  • Supports maximum of one RAID Array.
• Storage pool for higher flexibility:
  • Supports creating multiple volumes on a storage pool.
  • Provides better storage management flexibility.
  • Allows creation of multiple iSCSI LUNs (Regular File) on volumes.
  • Supports combining multiple RAID Arrays under a storage pool (when configured as RAID 5, RAID 6, or RAID F1).

RAID Type

When creating a storage pool, first choose a RAID type. Different RAID types provide different levels of data protection, storage features, and performance. DiskStation currently supports the following RAID types:

• Basic: Uses one hard disk to create a storage pool. Basic storage pools do not offer data redundancy.
• JBOD*: Combines at least two hard disks to create a storage pool. JBOD storage pools do not offer data redundancy. The available capacity of a JBOD storage pool equals the total capacity of all disks included in the storage pool. JBOD supports combining hard disks of varying sizes.
• RAID 0*: Combines at least two hard disks to create a storage pool. RAID 0 does not offer data redundancy. If a single member disk fails, the data in the storage pool will be lost. The available capacity of a RAID 0 storage pool equals the total capacity of all the member disks. RAID 0 supports combining hard disks of differing sizes.
• RAID 1*: Combines 2-4 hard disks to create a storage pool. The system will write identical data to each hard disk. RAID 1 provides data protection as long as one disk is operating normally. The available capacity of a RAID 1 storage pool equals the size of the smallest member disk.
• RAID 5*: Combines at least three hard disks to create a storage pool, striping both data and parity information across all member disks. RAID 5 provides data redundancy. If one member disk fails, the system may be rebuilt using parity information on the other member disks. Supports combining multiple RAID Arrays when created on a storage pool for Multiple Volumes. The available capacity of a RAID 5 storage pool = Total capacity of combined RAID Arrays. RAID Array capacity = (number of hard disks - 1) x (Capacity of smallest hard disk)
• RAID 6*: Combines at least four hard disks to create a storage pool, striping both data and parity information across all member disks. RAID 6 provides data redundancy. Even if two member disks fail, the system may be rebuilt using parity information on other member disks. Supports combining multiple RAID Arrays when created on a storage pool for Multiple Volumes. The available capacity of a RAID 6 storage pool = Total capacity of combined RAID Arrays. RAID Array capacity = (number of hard disks - 2) x (Capacity of smallest hard disk)
• RAID 10*: Combines at least four hard disks to create a storage pool. The number of disks must be even. RAID 10 provides the performance of RAID 0 in addition to the same data protection level as RAID 1. The available capacity of a RAID 10 storage pool = (capacity of the smallest hard disk) X (number of hard disks / 2)
• RAID F1*: This RAID type is designed for solid-state drives (SSD). It combines at least three SSDs to create a storage pool, striping both data and parity information across all member SSDs while writing more parity bits into a specific SSD to prevent multiple SSDs from failing at the same time. RAID F1 provides data redundancy. If one member SSD fails, the system may be rebuilt using parity information on the other member SSD. Supports combining multiple RAID Arrays when created on a storage pool for Multiple Volumes. The available capacity of a RAID F1 storage pool = Total capacity of combined RAID Arrays. RAID Array capacity = (number of drives - 1) x (Capacity of smallest drive)