Originally Posted By: hybrid8
So, with a hybrid setup two drives need to be replaced and with a standard RAID5 setup, all disks need to be replaced. However, with standard RAID 5, don't you also have to create a new volume within the new space? In other words, you can't expand the original volume without rebuilding everything (which would require a backup and reformat).

Again the answer probably varies with the cleverness of the NAS. If it includes tools of the Partition Magic or resize2fs variety, to expand whatever filesystem it uses in-place, then it needn't require the creation of a new volume. But yes, most NAS devices' firmware probably doesn't incorporate such tools.

Peter