Will my "old" drives from ReadyNAS work in N7700?

I currently have a ReadyNAS NV+ with 4 Seagate 1.5TB drives in RAID 5 configuration. A newly ordered Thecus N7700 is on its way to my house.

However, before I load up the N7700 with my current drives, I have a few questions:

1. Will the Thecus accept the four 1.5TB drives “as is”, or will the N7700 want to re-format them? (yikes!)

2. If they need to be re-formatted, I will have to back-up all the data (about 4TB!!). Where do most people backup their data? A tape drive capable of storing 4TB? (is there such a thing?)

3. I am planning on buying 2 more 1.5TB drives – do they need to be the same mfg and model (Seagate ST31500341AS)?

4. I want to configure the six drives to use RAID 6 for better reliability. Assuming the four current drives do not need to be reformatted, and are in RAID 5, can the N7700 migrate 6 drives to RAID 6 mode?

5. Changing the subject a bit – the N7700 needs to be connected to a UPS obviously. I have an APC UPS with Powerchute to automatically shut down my old ReadyNAS when the battery gets low, but I don’t know how to shutdown the PC as well. Is there a way that the N7700 can signal the PC to shut down when Powerchute tells the N7700 to shut down?

Thanks in advance for the community’s help!

1. Will the Thecus accept the four 1.5TB drives “as is”, or will the N7700 want to re-format them? (yikes!)
No. The drives from the RadyNAS will have to formatted by the Thecus. If they had come from another NAS that also used the same linux software to create and handle the RAID then you might be OK. But the ReadyNAS use their own system, X-RAID I think it is called.

2. If they need to be re-formatted, I will have to back-up all the data (about 4TB!!). Where do most people backup their data? A tape drive capable of storing 4TB? (is there such a thing?)
Yes you will need to back it all up, or loose the data. Tape drives are tiny compared to large RAID arrays and very expensive. The most economical solution is to use a bunch of hard drives and just copy the data onto them. Once copied, unplug the drives and keep them somewhere else, preferably in another building.

3. I am planning on buying 2 more 1.5TB drives – do they need to be the same mfg and model (Seagate ST31500341AS)?
They don't have to be, but it is always best if they are.

4. I want to configure the six drives to use RAID 6 for better reliability. Assuming the four current drives do not need to be reformatted, and are in RAID 5, can the N7700 migrate 6 drives to RAID 6 mode?
Not sure, I would assume that yes the N7700 can migrate from RAID-5 to RAID-6 with the adition of another drive. Does the manual on the Thecus site not specify what migrations can and cannot be done?

Thanks for the quick reply!

I still have a question on using a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). I have an APC Smart-UPS, and I plan to connect the N7700 to the UPS via the serial connector. I further plan on using APC's PowerChute software to gracefully shutdown the N7700 when the battery gets to a certain level.

I also have the APC UPS connected to my PC, but I don’t know how to have PowerChute shutdown the PC as well a the N7700 since there is only one serial connector and it's connected to the N7700. Is there a way that the N7700 can signal the PC to shut down when Powerchute tells the N7700 to shut down?

Thanks!