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Forum Discussion
Prefered/supported HDD block size for RN300 series?
Which hard disk drive block sizes (bytes per logical sector) are supported by RN312? Toshiba has these types: 512e (emulated), 512n (native) and 4Kn. Does it matter? Will any performance change ...
eton wrote:
Which hard disk drive block sizes (bytes per logical sector) are supported by RN312?
Toshiba has these types: 512e (emulated), 512n (native) and 4Kn.
My own drives (mostly WD Red Plus and Ironwolf) are 512e.
I haven't seen a 512n drive in a long time - what drive models are you looking at?
Thanks. So 512n is the oldest type.
I've been looking at WD Red Plus and Ironwolf and also Toshiba MG and Toshiba N300.
But I get a bit confused if Toshiba's MAMR disks supports CMRm when reading the data sheet for the MG model:
https://www.toshiba-storage.com/products/enterprise-capacity-hard-drive-mg-series/
Under OS6 at least, ReadyNAS volume sector size is 4k, so the OS can handle 512(n or e) or 4K sectors. Presumably mixed, but I've never tried it. I don't think you'll see any significant difference performance-wise. But like StephenB, all mine are 512e.
This may help regarding the Toshiba drives: https://www.toshiba-storage.com/trends-technology/hamr-vs-mamr-microwave-technology-delivers-higher-storage-densities-in-hard-disks/
But long story short, MAMR is not SMR and does not have the same drawbacks. Nonetheless, it's a newer technology without a lot of real-world use to verify longevity.
Sandshark wrote:
But long story short, MAMR is not SMR and does not have the same drawbacks. Nonetheless, it's a newer technology without a lot of real-world use to verify longevity.
Other large capacity drives out there now are also using some form of energy-assisted magnetic recording (EAMR), so the reliability question isn't just limited to Toshiba MAMR drives. All of these energy-assisted approaches are aimed at increasing track density w/o the drawbacks of SMR.
Seagate has been providing HAMR drives to select customers (some large data centers) for some years. Both Seagate and WDC are saying they expect to be selling HAMR drives to the mass market by the end of next year.
schumaku wrote:
"Enterprise users need flexibility - the MG Series meets this need with a choice of 6 Gbit/s SATA and dual-port 12 Gbit/s SAS interface options as well as block size on demand (512e, 4Kn, 512n).
Confusion understood. The way I'm reading the Toshiba specs, the different block sizes are controlled by the host - these are not options or versions (similar to SE and SIE).
It is confusing. I don't know why anyone would care about 512n today, though I guess it could offer a bit faster write speeds compared to 512e.I think the block size can be set by the customer - at least that is what Seagate does with their fastformat tool.
"Enterprise users need flexibility - the MG Series meets this need with a choice of 6 Gbit/s SATA and dual-port 12 Gbit/s SAS interface options as well as block size on demand (512e, 4Kn, 512n). Additionally, there are options for Toshiba hard drives with Self Encrypting technology or with Sanitize Instant Erase (SIE) technology, which means that in an instant all data is erased, without the need for overwriting the drive for hours."
Confusion understood. The way I'm reading the Toshiba specs, the different block sizes are controlled by the host - these are not options or versions (similar to SE and SIE).
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