HGST DeskStar NAS 4TB latest model compatible with RN526X/EDA500? Hard Drive recommendations?

Question

Hello NETGEAR and ReadyNAS Community,&nbsp;I just purchased my first NAS, the six-bay RN526X, along with the five-bay EDA500 expansion chassis with sixth-bay hot spare.&nbsp;My plan is to use six 4TB drives in a Flex-RAID6 volume on the RN526X, and five 4TB drives on the EDA500 in a Flex-RAID5 volume with a hot spare. I want to set up the ReadyNAS to back up the data from the main unit to the EDA500 every night.&nbsp;I've been trying to narrow down my hard drive selection, and have been considering the following combinations:&nbsp;12 HGST (Hitachi) DeskStar NAS 4TB drives for both units; orSix WD Gold 4TB drives for the RN526X, with six WD Red 4TB drives for the EDA500; or12 WD Red 4TB drives for both unitsI've found where to buy the latest model of HGST's DeskStar NAS 4TB drives, HDN726040ALE614. Unfortunately, when checking NETGEAR's ReadyNAS Hard Drive Compatibility List, this current drive model is not listed as compatible for either the RN526X or EDA500 (perhaps it is too new?). None of the Hitachi DeskStar NAS 4TB drive models currently listed as compatible are current, but legacy (meaning discontinued and difficult or impossible to buy new with warranty), according to page 2 of HGST's product sheet.&nbsp;Given this, and Netgear's statement on their Hard Drive Compatibility List that "NETGEAR Support can and will deny support on devices using drives not found on the official compatibility list," I have several questions for NETGEAR:&nbsp;Is the HDN726040ALE614 compatible with the RN526X and EDA500, and if so, will NETGEAR add it to the official compatibility list?Would I still be able to get support via these forums from NETGEAR and/or is my NETGEAR warranty affected in any way if I were to use this specific HGST drive model before it is added to the official compatiblity list (assuming it is compatible)?For the ReadyNAS Community:&nbsp;I am reconsidering getting any WD Reds after having to dig out my old PC to run the DOS-based WDIDLE3 utility on a pair of c. 2014 WD Greens to fix their "Intellipark" head-parking issue. I have read that some of the WD Reds have the same issue, and do not relish the thought of connecting six or 12 of them to my old PC to prevent some or all from parking the disk heads every eight seconds. Can anyone who recently purchased WD Red 4TB drives, model WD40EFRX, confirm that theirs did NOT suffer from this issue?&nbsp;In the WD Reds' favor, they do spin at a lower RPM (which should still be enough to saturate my gigabit Ethernet connection). I am slightly concerned about intermittent reports of heat and/or noise generated by the HGSTs in comparison, but encouraged by their reportedly superior reliability.&nbsp;I would like to order the hard drives ASAP as my new NAS units will be here soon, but I don't want to make a choice I will regret in regards to drive compatibility or reliability. Any suggestions or recommendations would be appreciated. Looking forward to having my data protected with Btrfs &amp; ECC RAM. :)&nbsp;Thanks!

cpu8088 · Answer

deskstar is basically for desktop computers. should opt for ultrastar for nases or servers

also wd red is a tad better than green and spinning at 5x00rpm. should go for at least red pro, se or re models. now the wd gold replaces re as top server grade hard drive.

ReadyNASser · Answer

Thanks for the input. My understanding is the DeskStar is for home NAS's on a desktop (as opposed to a rackmounted server). Despite its enterprise-grade hardware, the RN526X is a desktop NAS. My usage is going to be fairly light, and with 12 drive bays, I would prefer something cooler and quieter than the DeskStars or most enterprise-grade drives, and something designed specifically for NAS. So I've decided to take a chance on Seagate's new 4TB IronWolf NAS drives, and have ordered 6 to start. In comparing their specs to Seagate's cheapest enterprise-grade drive, the IronWolf matched or exceeded some of them, and did so at a lower RPM and dB level with newer technology. I looked at the IronWolf Pro, but it seems to be unavailable in the places the regular IronWolf is sold.

cpu8088 · Answer

a 6 bay nas will generate lots of vibration. deskstar is designed for desktop computers usually no more than 2 hard drives in them. or suitable for some domestic 2 bay nases. but to use deskstar for 6 bay nas? i really doubt its suitability.

regarding using eda for backup. do u have it on with the nas all the time? shouldnt your backup be off line and switch on when necessarily for update?

ReadyNASser · Answer

Where are you getting the information that DeskStar NAS drives are designed for desktop computers or small NAS's with no more than 2 hard drives? HGST doesn't state anything about drive bay ranges or limitations on their site or in their data sheet. I'm sure one could use them in a 6-bay NAS as they are sold as NAS drives. The Backblaze hard drive reliability blogs that found the HGST drives had the lowest failure rates would suggest that they are also more than capable of surviving in massive datacenters, with dozens and dozens in their rack-mounted servers. Even though I didn't choose HGST DeskStar NAS drives for my NAS, I'm curious as to why you doubt their suitability.&nbsp;Regarding backing up from the RN526X to the EDA500, I don't have either unit set up yet as I'm awaiting the hard drives. My idea was to use disk spin-down just for the EDA500, but it doesn't look like you can enable it on a per-volume basis, which would be useful for this purpose (I could keep the main unit up 24/7, and the disks in the EDA500 could be "sleeping" until they get a backup command from the RN526X). Powering the EDA500 on when needed and then back down would be best, I think. The EDA500 has a separate power button, and I know it's possible to send a command from the ReadyNAS web interface to gracefully shutdown just the EDA500. Shouldn't it also be possible to power it back on with a backup command from the main unit? If not, when I'd like to back up, I could always power the EDA500 on manually with the button on the unit itself. I suppose it would be better (easier?) to have a second NAS to use as a backup, but that is not something in the cards for me now as someone who just purchased and has yet to set up his first NAS.

cpu8088 · Answer

i referred to deskstar, not deskstar nas.&nbsp;&nbsp;deskstar nas is like wd red a rebadged green with added features for using in a nas environment. again wd red pro is higher grade&nbsp; from red for nas use.&nbsp;regarding backblaze test reports u will see that there are many who treat them with a grain of salt. mainly concerning the control room temp, conditions of servers, stability of power supplies, and buying bulk batches at lowest price,.&nbsp;if u really concern about maintenance very frequently doing defrag, scrub and balancing u are going to stress your hard drives. flimsy hard drives may give u 2-3 years while better ones may last a lot longer. initial savings on acquisition costs may not be a saving at the end.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

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HGST DeskStar NAS 4TB latest model compatible with RN526X/EDA500? Hard Drive recommendations?

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