Buy used RR4312?

Question

Hi,&nbsp;someone offered me to buy a used RR4312v1 which looks unused (No dust anywhere, front panel still in original package). Does it still make sense to invest into such a NAS or is it a bad investment because Netgear dropped support? It would only run behind a firewall, so security issues should be not that important.&nbsp;Thanks for your input.

StephenB · Answer

Campus&nbsp;wrote:
someone offered me to buy a used RR4312v1 which looks unused (No dust anywhere, front panel still in original package). Does it still make sense to invest into such a NAS or is it a bad investment because Netgear dropped support? It would only run behind a firewall, so security issues should be not that important.
&nbsp;

It's an OS-6 NAS, that Netgear introduced in 2016.&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Netgear doesn't support any used equipment, so that is one factor you should consider.&nbsp; Firmware is still be updated from time to time (6.10.6 was released in Nov 2011; 6.10.7 was released in Feb 2022) - but these are including mostly bug fixes/security updates, and not new features.
&nbsp;
I only have personal experience with desktop ReadyNAS -&nbsp;Sandshark&nbsp;has several rackmounts, so I am tagging him.&nbsp; You do want to make sure that you have all the drive trays (and ideally the screws).

Campus · Answer

Thanks a lot for your input. I am aware that the software is EOL but I am running several 716x here already and I am pleased with the build quality and the feature set of the desktop variants.

Currently my main 716x is hosting several VMs but because of the limited RAM it's very tempting to upgrade to the 4312 which has a faster CPU and allows to have 64GB of memory but of course it would be great to hear from someone with hands-on experience with a rack version whether this is a good idea or has any disadvantages.

Sandshark · Answer

Whether or not it's a good investment depends on the asking price. The 4312 is quite a powerful machine and would be an upgrade from your 716X. But for home use, that extra power might go unutilized. The down side of any rack-mount unit is the loud fans. They aren't too bad when the unit is at idle or just doing a little bit of file transfers, but the fans can really spin up for a balance or scrub.

The 4312 (and companion 3312) appear to be made for Netgear by Chenbro. But, unlike the older Supermicro-based 3200, 4200, 4200V2, and 5200, the main hardware is Netgear-specific. Only the power supplies, chassis, and caddies seem to be standard Chenbro. So most repairs are out of the question. It has no video port, which means you would have some issues (but none more than on most ReadyNAS) converting it to a generic Linux system if Netgear does drop out of the market. Your 716X is an exception, since it has an HDMI port.

Even though I have a 4312, it remains in storage as a backup or sale if the price is right. My main NAS is an RD5200 converted to OS6 with a NetApp expansion chassis and my local backups are 4200V2's. Those have VGA ports and can be converted to generic Linux based OS or even Expenology.

Campus · Answer

The older devices are not available at all in my area unfortunately.The fans would be less of a problem as the rack is in the basement&nbsp;😀 The main issue to think about is the missing graphics port. Are there any pin connectors on the board that I could later on solder some VGA/HDMI port to? It would be great if that would allow me to run Proxmox on these devices when NETGEAR has completely abandoned them.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Sandshark · Answer

I mis-spoke, mine is a 4220, and also in storage, so I can't look.&nbsp; But in the photo I've seen of the board (here:https://www.servethehome.com/netgear-readynas-4312x-review-slick-2u-storage/&nbsp;), it doesn't appear to have a header or missing connector for any sort of video.&nbsp; Besides, Netgear probably left other components out as well even if they did put in a place for a connector.&nbsp; AFAIK, it does still have the TTY port, but I don't know if it's 5V or 3.3V.&nbsp;There are two PCIE slots.&nbsp; It looks like one X4 and one X8, but they could have a connector inconsistent with actual bus width, so a video card might be an option if you can find a half-height one that doesn't need an X16 slot.&nbsp; I suspect the X8 looing one really ios X8, as an option for the unit is a SAS expansion for an EDA2000 or EDA4000, and that appears to be 8X.&nbsp; &nbsp;USB video would also be an option, but you'd have to get the OS with a USB video driver installed before it would work.&nbsp;BTW, that ServeTheHome review will tell you a lot more about the 4312, too.

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Buy used RR4312?

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