Re: Tray adaptator for SSD

BilboD · ‎2019-02-25

I am planning on upgrading my ReadyNAS Duo to SSD. I have noted that all current models come with trays pre-drilled to accommodate 2.5" SSDs. However my ReadyNAS Duo has trays that only have fixing holes for standard 3.5" HDDs.

Can anyone tell me the item name/number for a replacement tray for a ReadyNAS Duo with dual mount options?

StephenB · ‎2019-02-26

@Sandshark wrote:

Can anyone even confirm that the firmware for the Duo supports SSD's?

AFAIK there is no special support for SSDs. So no use of TRIM, etc. I don't think you'd get any warning when the wear leveling count becomes critical.

@Sandshark wrote:

There are adapters designed for use in servers instead of PC's that could work. They are typically designed to use side screws to mount in the caddy, so you'd have to attach them with something else, like silicon glue (the non acid type)..

I've seen some mounting brackets too. Most of the ones out there now support two SSDs, which won't fit the way you need them to. But there are some that might work with some effort (including solving the problem of how to attach them to the tray).

Though as I've said, IMO I don't think this is worth the trouble. Power savings are small, 2 TB SSDs are still quite expensive, and I'd be worried about not getting notifications when the drives approach their write limit.

View solution in original post

Marc_V · ‎2019-02-25

Hi @BilboD

Your ReadyNAS Duo tray should have mounting points underneath it where you can mount your SSD.

Are you saying there are no holes on your disk tray like this? You may want to try and contact Support as the trays might be available for purchase. You can login to my.netgear.com to contact them.

Hope this helps!

Regards

BilboD · ‎2019-02-25

Thank you for the comment, no my current/OEM supplied trays do not have SSD compatible screw mounting holes as shown on that image. The only have the 3.5" HDD format mountiungs as stated in my original post. I did indeed log into the Netgear site but was unable to track down the replacement tray so I was hoping somone on the User Forums might have the information to hand if they had faced the same problem.

Still, thank you for the input.

StephenB · ‎2019-02-25

You could possibly find a mounting bracket that would fit the tray.

Though I wouldn't bother doing this with a duo v1. It's large-file transfer speed is limited by it's CPU, so the performance gain won't be huge. You'd be better off getting an RN212 or RN422.

BilboD · ‎2019-02-25

I also am running a ReadyNAS 102 which is suitable for PnP upgrade to SSD. The main thought for switching to SSD in the Duo is energy saving as there is no "spin up" drain and there is nowhere near as much energy used for read/write operations. Also as there would be no moving parts then there should be a significant thermal benefit from using SSD's.

The Netgear site has no obvious accessory for purchasing replacement trays for the Duo, although I have found one very dodgy web posting on how to shoehorns in an SSD onto the existing tray, but that ends up forcing a flexure on the connectors on the circuit board, not something I really would like to do.

Yes there a great many adapter mountings to fit a 2.5" SSD into a 3.5" HDD tray. However these are all designed to fit in a computer HDD 3.5" mounting bay. As the power and SATA connectors are cables not fittings mounted permanently to a circuit board they are fine. With the "hot swap" trays in the Duou then the physical location of the SATA and Power connectors on the SSD have to mate exactly with the connectors on the internal circuit board. Using an adapter would throw this alignment off completely.

Marc_V · ‎2019-02-25

One option would be to exchange trays with your RN102.

BilboD · ‎2019-02-25

The ReadyNAS 102 trays on gross visual inspection appear to be of slightly different dimensions to the ReadyNAS Duo trays. Also I need the current trays in the ReadyNAS 102 to take SSD's for that enclosure.

Thank you for your comment though.

StephenB · ‎2019-02-25

@BilboD wrote:

The main thought for switching to SSD in the Duo is energy saving as there is no "spin up" drain and there is nowhere near as much energy used for read/write operations. Also as there would be no moving parts then there should be a significant thermal benefit from using SSD's.

In general, the energy savings aren't as great as many people assume.

Personally I wouldn't do it in my own Duo. It's just used for back up now, and is only powered up for about hour a day (with spindown enabled). Even if it were on 24x7, the power savings over the lifetime of the drives wouldn't pay back the extra cost of 2 TB SSDs.

Sandshark · ‎2019-02-25

The trays for the Duo will work in the 102, but not vice-versa.

Can anyone even confirm that the firmware for the Duo supports SSD's?

For the price I've seen for trays, you can buy a nice used 102 for about what they want for 2 trays

There are adapters designed for use in servers instead of PC's that could work. They are typically designed to use side screws to mount in the caddy, so you'd have to attach them with something else, like silicon glue (the non acid type)..

StephenB · ‎2019-02-26

@Sandshark wrote:

Can anyone even confirm that the firmware for the Duo supports SSD's?

AFAIK there is no special support for SSDs. So no use of TRIM, etc. I don't think you'd get any warning when the wear leveling count becomes critical.

@Sandshark wrote:

There are adapters designed for use in servers instead of PC's that could work. They are typically designed to use side screws to mount in the caddy, so you'd have to attach them with something else, like silicon glue (the non acid type)..

I've seen some mounting brackets too. Most of the ones out there now support two SSDs, which won't fit the way you need them to. But there are some that might work with some effort (including solving the problem of how to attach them to the tray).

Though as I've said, IMO I don't think this is worth the trouble. Power savings are small, 2 TB SSDs are still quite expensive, and I'd be worried about not getting notifications when the drives approach their write limit.

BilboD · ‎2019-02-26

Thanks for all the feedback, I wil go with the consensus that it is not worth the trouble to mount SSDs in the Duo. Again thank you all for your input.