Can a RAID 1 be switched on and off?

Hello *,

After deciding, that my old QNAP TS-110 is not sufficient anymore, I decided to get me a self-built NAS.

The OS of my choice was OMV, due to its simple installation process and the web-GUI that's similar to the one from QNAP.
So far I must say, that I am quite happy with the result for both, the hardware and the software. Kudos to Volker Theile!
Anyway, I talk too much, so I try to cut to the chase. Here's the scenario and the question:

I plan to use my NAS with 5 HDDs (besides the system drive, which is an old Samsung HM160HI):
2x 4.0 TB (WD green), 1x 3.0 TB (WD red) and 2x 1.5 TB (Samsung HD154UI: old drives, but they were rarely used).
The two 4.0 TB and the two 1.5 TB drives shall be set up as two (independent) RAID 1 units.

The big 4.0 TB RAID 1 will be used for the important and frequently used data within the home network, for Owncloud, for media files (streaming) and so on.
The small 1.5 TB RAID 1 will be used only for backing up my STEAM games.
Those take up almost 800 GB now, and as my DSL is not very fast, I would like to avoid losing them (and having to download them again), hence the RAID 1 with the 1.5 TB drives.

As the old Samsung drives are not as silent and energy efficient as the WD drives, I’d like to have them powered on only when necessary, i.e. backing up.
Plus, I make a backup of all newly downloaded STEAM games approximately once (maybe twice) a month.
So, there's no need from this side as well to keep them powered on all the time.

My solution for this scenario includes two old SATA docking bays (RaidSonic Icy Box IB-128SK) that I have lying around. With them, the built-in SATA drives can be powered on and off from the outside by using a key.
The power on/off is actually only the secondary function of the key (the primary is locking the bay :D), but in my case cutting the power is exactly what I need.

So bottom line: will OMV recognize the small RAID 1 when I set it up, power it down (i.e. disconnecting the drives by turning the key in the docking bay lock) the next time the NAS is shut down and then connect (i.e. powering on) them again after a few weeks?

I have never used disconnected/re-connected RAIDs in either Windows or Linux, so I am not sure of the behavior in OMV, when the 1.5 TB RAID 1 is only connected/powered-on from time to time.

Thanks a lot in advance for your answers!

Best regards,
Shiny

Hi there and thanks for the fast response.

Is there a specific problem with the WD green drives? I remember there was a load / unload cycle count problem a couple of years ago? That's fixed, isn't it?

For the Owncloud data I would have liked to have a RAID 1 though. The rest can of course be don't via rsync.

So for getting a stable RAID, I need to get the reds?

Anyhow, what about my original question about the powered off RAID?

I don't want to drift this thread into a big discussion about the WD green.

But a further explanation on the issue with the greens is appreciated, of course.

Thanks and regards.
Shiny

Zitat

Are your greens parking every 7 seconds or not?

Don't know, they are not built in yet.

Zitat

I already answered that above.

My bad...

Zitat

They just tend to drop out of its raid configuration. We've seen this multiple times, so we advise against them in any raid configuration.

Is there a specific reason for that? So this is only the case with the greens? If I want to have a stable RAID 1, I should go for the reds? I guess I could buy another 3 TB WD Red. Although, I thought I was done spending money on the NAS.

Regards,
Shiny