How to Expand a Synology NAS Storage Pool or Volume (Beginner's Guide)

Introduction

Is your Synology NAS running low on storage space, or do you want to increase the size of your available storage by replacing the drives?

Synology has a lot of help articles related to the topic of replacing drives and expanding storage capacity. But it can get really overwhelming and confusing. So, I’ll take you step-by-step through this process.

Main Points

Before we dive in, a few things to note:

• I recommend checking the help articles to ensure your model works with these steps.
• Remember to back up your data before doing anything, just in the event you encounter an issue in the process. I cannot guarantee the protection of your data.
• I’m doing this on a Synology DS220+, which is a 2-bay system, running DSM 7.0.
• I’m replacing both of my existing 4 TB drives with 12 TB ones.
• Both the old and the new drives are Seagate IronWolf NAS internal hard disk drives.
• My NAS is using the Synology Hybrid RAID, or SHR, with data protection for 1-drive fault tolerance
• Your steps and needs may vary if you have a different hardware, software, or RAID type

Here is the 10-step process that I’m going to follow:

1. Backup your data
2. Power off the NAS
3. Replace Drive 1 (with a larger drive)
4. Power on the NAS
5. Repair the drive
6. Power off the NAS
7. Replace Drive 2 (with a larger drive)
8. Power on the NAS
9. Repair the drive
10. Re-allocate space

The best way to follow along is to watch the video below.

Watch on YouTube

Featured Tech

Synology 2-bay NAS DS220+: https://amzn.to/3VnWmmS

Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS Internal HDD: https://amzn.to/4aeuTsa

Seagate IronWolf 8TB NAS Internal HDD: https://amzn.to/3TBetoa

Seagate IronWolf 12TB NAS Internal HDD: https://amzn.to/3W22zUl