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Forum Discussion
ReadyNAS and NetGear Suck!!
What seemed to be a cool product has turned out to be crap. The drive HCL is old and outdated. None of the drives listed are current models and are only available online. My Ultra 4+ just reboots all ...
The STBD3000100 is apparently a retail kit. However, since none of the listings that showed up in an internet search had photos of the drive much less the package, it's difficult to know what the actual drive is. Another example of the issue is with Hitachi. Their drive model HDS5C3030ALA630 which is "green" drive on the HCL list which I am very familiar with (I have 4 in service across 2 NAS units and 1 spare). The OEM drive model which is generally what you find on the HCL, but the drive is marketed under three different part numbers (PN). One of which is a retail kit and the other two are OEM models. Hitachi (unlike Seagate) uses an opaque silver anti-static bag with an outside label listing only the PN on the outside label and only the model number on the drive label itself.
The OEM models are listed on the HCL because the vast majority of users buy the OEM product. The difference between the retail kit and the OEM is that the retail kit generally includes screws (not usable in the ReadyNAS) and they used to have an SATA signal cable (not needed) and a molex to SATA power adapter (also not needed). So why pay more for a pretty box and parts you don't/can't use. When I got my first NAS some 5 years ago, Seagate had the same model numbers on the retail box kits and the OEM drives as they used the drive model. WD did not do that and Seagate has stopped. It makes it all but impossible for the retail customer to truly know what drive is included in the box, and I suspect that the reason the drive companies stopped using the model number on the outside is that as they change the models (not critical for solo drive installs in a PC) as long as the basic specs still match the retail box label (speed, size, etc) they can use the old box with a new drive.
Of course those of us who have been on the forums for a few years recall when WD made major changes in a drive without changing the model number and cause some havoc in RAID installations.
Technical support doesn't know when the HCL is updated, because I don't believe they do the updating. That I believe is done by the development staff which is a totally different area. The list has a long list of drives no longer produced, but the drives may still be in service in a ReadyNAS somewhere (I have four in service in that category) so they are still compatible so stay on the list.
The OEM models are listed on the HCL because the vast majority of users buy the OEM product. The difference between the retail kit and the OEM is that the retail kit generally includes screws (not usable in the ReadyNAS) and they used to have an SATA signal cable (not needed) and a molex to SATA power adapter (also not needed). So why pay more for a pretty box and parts you don't/can't use. When I got my first NAS some 5 years ago, Seagate had the same model numbers on the retail box kits and the OEM drives as they used the drive model. WD did not do that and Seagate has stopped. It makes it all but impossible for the retail customer to truly know what drive is included in the box, and I suspect that the reason the drive companies stopped using the model number on the outside is that as they change the models (not critical for solo drive installs in a PC) as long as the basic specs still match the retail box label (speed, size, etc) they can use the old box with a new drive.
Of course those of us who have been on the forums for a few years recall when WD made major changes in a drive without changing the model number and cause some havoc in RAID installations.
Technical support doesn't know when the HCL is updated, because I don't believe they do the updating. That I believe is done by the development staff which is a totally different area. The list has a long list of drives no longer produced, but the drives may still be in service in a ReadyNAS somewhere (I have four in service in that category) so they are still compatible so stay on the list.
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