More on CPU specs of the ReadyNAS Pro

CompuTutor wrote:
mdgm wrote: Different users have different needs. Choose the capacity that's right for you. It isn't a capacity issue, SATA-300 device are reverse-compatible with SATA150 busses, but sadly (Confirmed on many tech sites) SATA-600 drives flubble on SATA-150 busses,

Where did you read this? Can you give a link? I've heard of issues with some SSDs (not supported in the ReadyNAS) but haven't heard of this issue with hard drives.

CompuTutor wrote:
they reverse-comply often to unrealistic buss speeeds sadly (NetGear COULD firmware this problem a bit though / retain SATA-300 speed).

Your NAS would have SATA II (3Gbit/s) anyway so this is a non-issue for you but unless a hard drive is pushing 150MB/s it's not going to saturate SATA 1 (1.5Gbit/s) let alone SATA II.

CompuTutor wrote:
So knowing the interface is much more important then selecting capacity overall. Lets face it, older drives speaking (what was) current speak-ology work best on a buss.

I don't think the SATA connection speed is the limiting factor here. Remember a gigabit connection will push up to about 100MB/s or 200MB/s if you team the NICs, but the CPU would limit it to below that speed. The RAID array is going to be faster than what you can push down your network. I think you're worrying a lot about something that really isn't very important.

CompuTutor wrote:
I (only) know some 2-TB drives listed (Pro 6 )are received well without issues, and 3-TB platters seem fine when introduced, but fail upon filling them above 1.85-TB.

NetGear performs a number of rigorous tests on hard drives to qualify them. The 4.2.16 update added support for 3TB disks. 3TB disks on the list work fine.

CompuTutor wrote:
mdgm wrote: Currently I have 6x1.5TB disks and I'm using X-RAID2 dual-redundancy which gives me about 5.4TB of space. Is your device a native -100 or -200 device please ?

I have a RNDU6000-100 (ReadyNAS Ultra 6 Diskless). This has SATA II ports.

CompuTutor wrote:
Again, I wanted someone to reply with confirmed 2-TB drives, as most 3-TB are to far ahead the spec-wavr for a -100 unit.

The -100 indicates it's a first gen Pro. The second gen Pro, the Pro 6 has a faster CPU. It says nothing about the SATA speed. All ReadyNAS Pro units have SATA II (3Gbit/s) ports.

CompuTutor wrote:
But that they (NetGear) transitioned poorly with mixed hardware content (like my -100 board with newer 16-pin VGA ports, and additional jacks) makes my newest/bestist HDD not such a clear path for me...

NetGear would test a representative selection of units of each model to make sure that drives that are qualified work with all units of a model.

CompuTutor wrote:
Is that (Pro Business) list for a board with (ancient) 12-pin VGA ports, or my transitional 16 -1 pinout later board that was re-firmware'd -200 ?

It should be clear from the label on the unit and from what you see in RAIDar and Frontview which you have.

CompuTutor wrote:
This has been one of the weakest points in the release of all these models, and I am now sure the "Scripted" info (from the board manufacture) is in error for the staff that answer the support phone daily sadly.

The differences apart from the CPU in the two models aren't really that important to probably 99.9% of end users.

CompuTutor wrote:
Most other manufacturers of computer product in the consumer division are at least database'd into "build's" byexact serial number to prevent the downloading of incorrect drivers and introduction of incompatible hardware.

The firmware for all x86 ReadyNAS units is the same. The drivers for different hardware in different models is included in the firmware.

CompuTutor wrote:
This leaves me back at the point I was trying to make. No one can tell me what I have, even the re-distibuter (NetGear) of a device that is clearly made outside of our country (USA) then sold in the USA causing these support staff being uninformed.

They should be able to tell from your serial number whether you have a first-gen or second-gen Pro but you should be able to check that yourself too.

CompuTutor wrote:
This seems like a rant, and possibly anti-NetGear in basis, but I feel bad for the support staff that has no idead what what we were shipped to all of us by the retail re-sellers.

Most people don't want to know the level of info you are after. Knowing which model you have is generally enough.

CompuTutor wrote:
As emaple (All I want is): 1 - What exact board (maker/model) do I own,

The board may vary depending on when the unit was built and what boards NetGear had at the time.

CompuTutor wrote:
what is the maximum bios level for the model tier ?

That depends whether you have a first-gen Pro or a second-gen Pro. Different boards and different BIOS.

CompuTutor wrote:
3 - What exact HCL (as they put different MB in the -100 line...) do I use ?

If you have the Pro BE (e.g. RNDP6000-100) then use that list. If you have the Pioneer (has E in the model number i.e. RNDP600E-100) then use the compatibility list for that.

CompuTutor wrote:
3 - how can they (during warranty calls) determine if parts are available ?

NetGear can replace the unit via RMA if there is hardware failure covered by the warranty.

CompuTutor wrote:
There are many more questions, but those are core questions asked, and are never NetGear answered due to being (propritoty) info (they say.... I'll rip it apart, I'll know with certainty, but this IS NOT the consumers job, only a serial should be needed.

As the internals in the unit are really of no concern to end-users apart from the specs provided there's no need to know in depth what the internal specs are of the unit though you can easily find out by opening up the unit and investigating for yourself if you're really interested.