Why HDD for NAS Only?

Western Digital Corp. launched a few days ago a new HDD for home and SOHO NAS systems of 1 to 5 bays.

The energy efficient WD Red NAS HDD is designed to work in symbiosis with NAS systems that runs 24/7. But what makes this drive different than others? WD had their own approach, and here is how they did it.

Why create a NAS drive?
Before answering the how’s we must first look at the whys. Desktop hard drives, although very efficient and reliable when used with desktop computer, are not always the best option when used with a NAS. Often the users will face a few obstacles. For example, the desktop hard drives are not always compatible to work in a NAS environment, making them unreliable when put under high temperatures and heavy usage condition often encountered in a NAS. Another reality is that desktop drives are not designed for RAID environments and minimize the possibility to recover data in the event of an error. Losing data or even failure of the disk is more likely on a desktop drive when used in a more demanding NAS system with RAID configuration instead of used in desktop computer. If the user is forced to rebuild the RAID, this can cost him several hours, meaning major loss of productivity. Additionally, a desktop drive is not meant to be used in a multiple disk environment. When added to a NAS, the extra heat and vibration coming from other drives can have an impact on the service life of a drive.

WD worked on making a drive that is designed to improve reliability and system performance, reduce costumer downtime and make of the integration process simple.

NASware technology
WD’s solution to the above mention problems is called NASware technology. The NAS exclusive drives are all built with this unique firmware that makes the drive deliver more performance in small NAS systems. The NASware technology emphasis certain areas that are more solicited when used in a multiple drive NAS environment. Amongst them all, it optimizes power use resulting in significant power savings and lower hard drive operating temperatures. This improves the overall reliability and performance of the drive and reduces the NAS cost of ownership. Also with built in intelligent error recovery controls, NASware prevents hard drives from being dropped off the RAID due to extended error recovery. This provides more availability and less down time rebuilding the RAID. Finally, to further improve reliability, it minimizes the data corruption or loss in the event of an unexpected power loss by completing the command in process before shutting down.

Reliability
With a 35% MTBF improvement over standard desktop drives, the WD Red drive is designed and manufactured to be a reliable solution. Plus, HDDs that are not properly balanced may cause excessive vibration and noise in a multi-drive system, reducing the drive life span and degrading the performance overtime. For this problem, WD equipped their drive with 3d active balance plus, which means enhanced dual-plane balance control technology that improves the overall drive stability.

Conclusion
The Red drives from WD have been tested by the engineers at Thecus Tech. Corp. and have been proven compatible with a range of NAS systems. Offered with a 3 year warranty and 24×7 free costumer support line, the Red drives are candidate for Thecus NAS.

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WD Designs Specific 3.5-Inch HDDs for NAS Only
With NASware technology, 1TB, 2TB and 3TB