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What is the maximum size for an external USB hard drive for backing up the RNDP6310?
What is the maximum size for an external USB hard drive...for backing up the ReadyNAS RNDP6310 by connecting to the front backup USB port? Thank you
nowthennet wrote:
What is this SMR business? What does that mean?
SMR: shingled magnetic recording.
http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/seagate-8tb-archive-hdd-review,2-822.html wrote:
SMR, in its simplest terms, is a method of overlaying data tracks, much like shingles on a roof, to increase data storage density. One of the greatest aspects of SMR technology is its low cost per gigabyte; the Seagate model we have under the microscope retails for 3 cents-per-GB. However, SMR comes with inherent performance constraints, and some implementations have limited compatibility with existing systemsNormal drives shipping today are "PMR" - perpendicular magnetic recording.
With SMR technology, the storage is increased by overlapping the data tracks on the disk. This is cost-effective (which is why these drives are cheaper than PMR 8 TB drives). The downside is that when you write to a track, the next track is trashed because of the overlap. In order to maintain data integrity, the drive has to "ripple" the write until it reaches an unused track (or the end of the drive).
For instance, if you write to track 100, the disk firmware actually needs to do this:
read 101, write 100
read 102, write 101,
read 103, write 102
...
The drive firmware does this in the background automatically with a large cache, but this will greatly slow down write speed if you are doing a lot of sustained writes. And there still been compatibility issues. The linux community has patched drivers, and Netgear made some of their own modifications to the OS 6 firmware.
None of these are available on your older Pro-6.
nowthennet wrote:
Where can I find instructions for updating the BIOS and upgrading to 0S6?
Both are in this forum. OS6 isn't supported on the older NAS by Netgear, although they have fixed some bugs that are specific to older NAS anyway. The upgrade is destructive, so you will need to back up your data somewhere.
The bios upgrade is here: http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin You install it like an add-on.
Where can I find instructions for updating the BIOS and upgrading to 0S6?
What is this SMR business? What does that mean?
Thanks
nowthennet wrote:
What is this SMR business? What does that mean?
SMR: shingled magnetic recording.
http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/seagate-8tb-archive-hdd-review,2-822.html wrote:
SMR, in its simplest terms, is a method of overlaying data tracks, much like shingles on a roof, to increase data storage density. One of the greatest aspects of SMR technology is its low cost per gigabyte; the Seagate model we have under the microscope retails for 3 cents-per-GB. However, SMR comes with inherent performance constraints, and some implementations have limited compatibility with existing systems
Normal drives shipping today are "PMR" - perpendicular magnetic recording.
With SMR technology, the storage is increased by overlapping the data tracks on the disk. This is cost-effective (which is why these drives are cheaper than PMR 8 TB drives). The downside is that when you write to a track, the next track is trashed because of the overlap. In order to maintain data integrity, the drive has to "ripple" the write until it reaches an unused track (or the end of the drive).
For instance, if you write to track 100, the disk firmware actually needs to do this:
read 101, write 100
read 102, write 101,
read 103, write 102
...
The drive firmware does this in the background automatically with a large cache, but this will greatly slow down write speed if you are doing a lot of sustained writes. And there still been compatibility issues. The linux community has patched drivers, and Netgear made some of their own modifications to the OS 6 firmware.
None of these are available on your older Pro-6.
nowthennet wrote:
Where can I find instructions for updating the BIOS and upgrading to 0S6?
Both are in this forum. OS6 isn't supported on the older NAS by Netgear, although they have fixed some bugs that are specific to older NAS anyway. The upgrade is destructive, so you will need to back up your data somewhere.
The bios upgrade is here: http://www.readynas.com/download/addons/x86/4.2/BIOS_Update_Package_0.5-x86.bin You install it like an add-on.
Thank you for taking the time for that lengthy reply.
How were you able to tell that it is an SMR drive?
So, this is all sounding like a bit of an awkward route. How about if I just purchase a different drive - a PMR one?
Could you perhaps suggest one that ought to work for me?
I would like to buy from either www.amazon.co.uk (not the Marketplace) or www.pcworld.co.uk
If it is going to make it more likely to work then I am prepared to go down to a 2TB drive, although 4TB would make it a lot more comfortable in terms of storage.
Thank you
nowthennet wrote:
How were you able to tell that it is an SMR drive?
PMR internal drives retail about $300 US and up at the moment (WD80EZRX and ST8000DM003); your backup-plus was quite a bit less (and quite close to Seagate internal SMR drives). Another possibility was that it had 2x4TB internally (which is what the WD my book duo does). Either way, it made me wonder so I googled it, and found this review: http://www.techradar.com/us/reviews/pc-mac/pc-components/storage/disk-drives-hdd-ssd/seagate-backup-plus-8tb-desktop-drive-1290901/review
nowthennet wrote:
So, this is all sounding like a bit of an awkward route. How about if I just purchase a different drive - a PMR one?
Could you perhaps suggest one that ought to work for me?
I would like to buy from either www.amazon.co.uk (not the Marketplace) or www.pcworld.co.uk
It's a bit tricky to avoid SMR with seagate backup drives, because their datasheets are pretty sketchy. If you drop down to a 4 TB 3.5" drive you should be safe, since their smallest 3.5" internal SMR model is 5 TB. They do have a 4 TB 2.5" SMR though, so avoid the 4 TB backup plus portable. So maybe two of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Backup-Desktop-External-Drive/dp/B00HSYI58U/ Total price is about the same as the 8 TB backup plus.
If you want the convenience of a single drive, then the western digital WDBFJK0080HBK is PMR, and is about £285 at amazon uk - more. https://www.amazon.co.uk/DRIVE-EXTERNAL-USB3-0-BPSCA-WDBFJK0080HBK-EESN/dp/B01E9QPEKG/
I'd avoid the cheaper Mybook 8 TB duos - they use 2 drives inside, and I don't think they will be as reliable.
Another option would be to get a USB 3.0 enclosure, and use that with an internal drive. Then you know what you are getting (since the internal drives always have pretty complete datasheets). That is usually more expensive though.
Thank you
It does not need to be Seagate and I don't need 8TB. 4TB would be plenty. 2TB would be sufficient but 4TB would give me plenty of room.
Sounds like you have a good path forward then.
BTW, SMR isn't a bad choice for backup drives, especially incremental backups. It is quite cost-effective. But your NAS pre-dates SMR, and doesn't have the driver patches needed to use them reliably.
Thank you to everybody for your help. I will give a PMR disk a try. If that doesn't work....I'll be back.
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