Question about Pool Migration and Drive Replacement on DS925+

[pfiorentino]

Hello there :)

I’ve had a fairly simple question for a few weeks now, but I’m still struggling to find a clear answer :/
I carefully read this .md file, but unfortunately, my specific use case isn’t covered.

Here’s my situation:
I’m planning to migrate the storage pool from my current DS415Play to a new DS925+, and gradually replace the existing WD Red drives with Synology-certified ones, one by one.

My question is:
Will this kind of gradual replacement be handled natively by DSM?
Or will the system permanently flag the pool as “migrated” (with related warnings), even after the last non-certified disk has been replaced?

I’m totally open to using the awesome script from the repo to bypass the soft lock.
However, I do have some concerns about the long-term reliability—especially in case Synology introduces changes that could break compatibility with the script in the future.

Thanks so much in advance for any insights!

[007revad]

Yes, DSM will natively handle gradually replacing the old drives with Synology drives.

The storage pool and volume will show warnings until all your WD Red drives have been replaced with Synology drives. Once you have all Synology drives all the warnings will be gone.

Note that for some Synology NAS don't models not all Synology drives are listed as compatible. Normally this would be Synology NAS with 12 or more drive bays not having the Synology Plus drives on their compatible drive list. But before you buy any Synology drives check the DS925+ compatible drive list to see if the drive you want to buy is on the list.

I have heard that Synology are seriously considering removing their new drive policy due to all the backlash they've received online. So maybe hold off on buying Synology drives... unless your WD Red drives are old and due for replacement.

Synology HDD db has been around for almost 3 years and I've had to update it many times for new DSM versions. I'm confident that I can keep the script working after future DSM 7.x.x updates. Though I have no idea what challenges DSM 8 will bring (but that's about a year away yet).

[pfiorentino]

Wow! I didn't expect such a quick reply!
Thanks a million ❤️

And honestly, your answer sounds spot on, exactly what I was hoping to hear 😊

[...] unless your WD Red drives are old and due for replacement.

Yep, I’ve actually got at least one drive with over 65,000 hours of power-on time, which is really what triggered my question in the first place.

If I end up going with the new DS925+, and considering the price difference between WD Red and Synology-certified drives is less than €20 for a 6TB model, it makes sense for me to just start replacing them with Synology-compliant ones.
I don’t need a ton of storage, so that small price gap is totally acceptable.

That said, I just wanted to make sure I don’t have to recreate a brand new storage pool after introducing the first certified disk.
That would be a hassle in my current setup.

Synology HDD db has been around for almost 3 years and I've had to update it many times for new DSM versions. I'm confident that I can keep the script working after future DSM 7.x.x updates.

That’s super reassuring to hear 🙂
And don’t worry, I’m definitely not expecting any guarantees, especially when it comes to DSM 8 or other major changes down the line. Still, it’s clear you’ve put in a ton of work and care into this.
You're the real hero here 🦸

Thanks again for your help really appreciate it!
Cheers!

[markvangeffen]

Hi everyone!

I'm upgrading from a DS215j to a DS925+, and I’ve bought 4x 4TB Synology Plus drives that I’d like to set up in RAID 5.
I’d really like to migrate everything, including my file system, apps, and settings from the DS215j. But I’m a bit concerned:

Can I move one of my old HDDs to the DS925+ to start the migration?
Or will that risk corrupting the file system or damage the drive because of differences in architecture or DSM versions?
Would it be safer to just do a fresh install on the DS925+ and copy the files over manually (via network or external drive)?

I don’t mind doing some extra work if it means less risk and more future stability. I just want to make sure I don’t lose any data or get stuck with a half-working config.

Any advice or step-by-step experiences would be amazing 🙏, seeing you got it working.

Thanks in advance!

[007revad]

You can move the DS215j's HDDs to the DS925+ but be aware that the storage pool on the DS215j's HDDs has volume size limit of 16TB. That isn't a problem now with 4x 4TB drives in RAID 5 but it will be a problem when in future you want or need to replace the 4TB drives with larger drives.

I would use SHR instead of RAID 5.

The cleaner and better way would be to use migration assistant.

1. Install your 4x 4TB Synology Plus drives into the DS925+.
2. Do the initial setup and install the Migration Assistant package.
3. Run Migration Assistant and select the DS215j as the source Synology NAS to be migrated to the DS925+ (select SHR and btrfs when asked).

[markvangeffen]

That’s a great answer. What is the main reason to choose for Btrfs?
And how will the source Synology be accessed?

thanks, Mark

[007revad]

Using btrfs instead of ext4 allows you to schedule data scrubs which prevents against bitrot, and enable snapshots to protect against ransomware as well as a couple of other benefits.

Both Synology's need to be on the same network. On the 2nd page of the Migration Wizard you click on the Source Device drop down list and it will find and list all other Synology NAS on the same network. Select your DS215j, enter your DS215j's username and password then click Next.

[markvangeffen]

Thank you, that's the reassurance I needed to pick my plan.

[markvangeffen]

Hi Dave, I am in dubio, the DS215J is not compatible with migration wizard. I have a hypervault backup, but a clean sheet is maybe also a good idea, I don't remember if that is a lot of work. What do you think? Thanks! Mark Op ma 16 jun 2025 om 09:24 schreef Dave Russell ***@***.***>:

…

Using btrfs instead of ext4 allows you to schedule data scrubs which prevents against bitrot, and enable snapshots to protect against ransomware as well as a couple of other benefits. Both Synology's need to be on the same network. On the 2nd page of the Migration Wizard you click on the Source Device drop down list and it will find and list all Synology NAS on the same network. Select your DS215j, enter your DS215j's username and password then click Next. image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/265e068f-bf23-4312-9eeb-9b3243c4bfb7> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#468 (reply in thread)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ATKTFLA6GCG25TOOVQL7QZT3DZWLRAVCNFSM6AAAAAB4YORG3KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGNBXHE4DKOI> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.*** com>

[007revad]

Did you install migration assistant on the DS925+ and try it?

My DS1812+ is not listed as compatible with migration assistant, but after installing migration assistant on my DS1821+ I was able to migrate from the DS1812+ to the DS1821+.

Hyper backup also backs up the DSM system configuration, which includes your settings, users, permissions and shared folders. Hyper backup can only backup (some) Synology packages. If you want to backup packages that hyper backup ignores you can use https://github.com/007revad/Synology_app_mover to backup those packages to a USB drive, and then install those packages on the DS925+ and restore their backups from the USB drive.

[markvangeffen]

Ok thanks, I got this, and can't get around it, I am going to put Hyper Backup on. [image: Screenshot 2025-06-20 at 06.06.15.png] Op vr 20 jun 2025 om 04:52 schreef Dave Russell ***@***.***>:

…

Did you install migration assistant on the DS925+ and try it? My DS1812+ is not listed as compatible with migration assistant, but after installing migration assistant on my DS1821+ I was able to migrate from the DS1812+ to the DS1821+. Hyper backup also backs up the DSM system configuration, which includes your settings, users, permissions and shared folders. Hyper backup can only backup (some) Synology packages. If you want to backup packages that hyper backup ignores you can use https://github.com/007revad/Synology_app_mover to backup those packages to a USB drive, and then install those packages on the DS925+ and restore their backups from the USB drive. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#468 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ATKTFLFRMRTSAK6MLTXUDED3ENZO3AVCNFSM6AAAAAB4YORG3KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGNJSGU3TKNI> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.*** com>

[markvangeffen]

Finished today, all setup again. Happy with the new setup. It was easy after the tips using hyperbackup.

…

On Fri, 20 Jun 2025 at 06:07, Mark van Geffen ***@***.***> wrote: Ok thanks, I got this, and can't get around it, I am going to put Hyper Backup on. [image: Screenshot 2025-06-20 at 06.06.15.png] Op vr 20 jun 2025 om 04:52 schreef Dave Russell ***@***.*** >: > Did you install migration assistant on the DS925+ and try it? > > My DS1812+ is not listed as compatible with migration assistant, but > after installing migration assistant on my DS1821+ I was able to migrate > from the DS1812+ to the DS1821+. > > Hyper backup also backs up the DSM system configuration, which includes > your settings, users, permissions and shared folders. Hyper backup can only > backup (some) Synology packages. If you want to backup packages that hyper > backup ignores you can use https://github.com/007revad/Synology_app_mover > to backup those packages to a USB drive, and then install those packages on > the DS925+ and restore their backups from the USB drive. > > — > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <#468 (comment)>, > or unsubscribe > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ATKTFLFRMRTSAK6MLTXUDED3ENZO3AVCNFSM6AAAAAB4YORG3KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGNJSGU3TKNI> > . > You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: > ***@***.*** > com> >