Dual RR4312X replacement for Multiple desktop NAS models - best RAID Level /Hard drives to use?

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kevinfor2014 wrote:

For the new 4312X We are debating if we should just continue using RAID6 with the nightly replication or if Raid50/60 would be a better choice for performance given the nightly replication between NAS boxes (Raid10 takes away too much capacity) 

RAID50 should give better performance than RAID-6.  RAID60 offers more data safety (since it guarantees protection from two disk failures, but can protect more than that).

The downside is that these modes need lots of disks.  RAID50 needs at least 6, but with 6 disks you might as well run RAID-6.  RAID-60 needs at least 8 disks, and in that configuration has the same storage overhead as RAID-10.

The number of disks relates to your second question:

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kevinfor2014 wrote:

 

We are also trying to figure out the best way to expand the capicity of both of the new NAS servers to the same storage space (taking into account the HD's we already own) for example would it be better buying more lower cost 6/8TB given our current configuration - instead of fewer 12TB etc.  thanks

 

The cheapest way to expand over the long haul is to leave some empty slots and expand horizontally.  With RAID50/RAID60, you'd need one slot per RAID5/6 group.  That's likely 3 slots in a 12 bay NAS.  Also, you should be using enterprise class drives with 12 bays.

From a cost perspective, look at the cost /TB for the various sizes.  Right now WDC Gold drives at newegg are priced as

4 TB $179 ($44.75/TB)

6 TB $244 ($40.67/TB)

8 TB $340 ($42.50/TB)

10 TB $390 ($39/TB)

12 TB $490 ($40.83/TB).

These are nearly flat between 6 TB-12TB. At 4 TB and below, the cost per TB starts to rise. So buy the biggest disks you can afford, and make sure you leave at least the minimum number of empty slots needed to horizontally expand your array later..