HDD strategy for new 1621+

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HDD strategy for new 1621+

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New 1621+ coming in a couple days and I’m trying to figure out which HDD’s to use and which RAID configuration. It’s replacing an old DS412+ with 4x4TB HGST 7200RPM drives. I was initially planning for 8TB drives but the the cost of anything above 6TB has skyrocketed in the last couple weeks. Now I’m contemplating between these 3 Seagate HDD’s:

1.) IronWolf 6TB NAS 7200RPM (ST6000VN0033)
2.) Exos 6TB 7200RPM (ST000NM115)
3.) IronWolf 6TB NAS 5600RPM (ST6000VN001)

This will have 3 main uses - Plex library, VM’s, and docker containers.

I’m not sure which disk to use or which RAID configuration to use. Any guidance would be great. Thanks!
 
Hi there

I would suggest that you go with the IronWolf 6TB NAS 7200RPM (ST6000VN0033) drives. The main difference between those drives and the Exos drives is the warranty — 5 years for Exos, 3 for IronWold. However, if the delta between the two price-wise is small, go for the Exos droves. FWIW, I have the 10TB Exos drives in my DS1621+ as Newegg had a sale and they were cheaper than the IronWolf. $299 Canadian (now $429) ... the price changes the past 6 weeks are ridiculous.
 
Hi there

I would suggest that you go with the IronWolf 6TB NAS 7200RPM (ST6000VN0033) drives. The main difference between those drives and the Exos drives is the warranty — 5 years for Exos, 3 for IronWold. However, if the delta between the two price-wise is small, go for the Exos droves. FWIW, I have the 10TB Exos drives in my DS1621+ as Newegg had a sale and they were cheaper than the IronWolf. $299 Canadian (now $429) ... the price changes the past 6 weeks are ridiculous.
Thanks for the quick response. The diff in price is about $23 between the IronWolf and the Exos. From many articles and forum threads I’ve read people seem to prefer 5600RPM for the lower heat and lower noise with the reasoning being drive longevity over time with lower heat and the additional RPM’s for 7200 don’t really give you a speed advantage in a NAS. Is there any truth to any of this at all?

What RAID would you recommend? I’m definitely using BTRF but I’ve read a few people preferring not to use Synology Hybrid RAID but I’m not sure why.
 
It depends on what kind of use the drives will get. If the NAS is running full throttle for extended periods, then heat might be an issue. I use mine primarily for Plex and as file central, so to speak. I would always prefer faster to slower drives, all things being equal. For the $23 price difference, get the Exos as you get 5 years of warranty instead of 3. That a cheap way to get two more years. Finally, I use Synology's hybrid RAID so I can expand. I started off with 4 x 6 and 2 x 8 ... now I have 6 x 10 Exos. And yes, BTFRS.
 
I agree with @BoosterT on the hdd topic, exos if noise is not a problem. Heat will be fine with only 6 drives.

regarding array and format, btrfs is your only option considering what your target apps are, and I would suggest a conventional array type not shr. The main reason is moving up from this model to something bigger and better in the future. Not all model support shr so you might find yourself in a bit of a problem in that case.

Also now you are using the same drives, to atm shr will have 0 benefits compared to the conventional raid. If you do plan on upgrading the drives at a later date and have a mix array then shr will be beneficial as it will max out the usable space.
 
I agree with @BoosterT on the hdd topic, exos if noise is not a problem. Heat will be fine with only 6 drives.

regarding array and format, btrfs is your only option considering what your target apps are, and I would suggest a conventional array type not shr. The main reason is moving up from this model to something bigger and better in the future. Not all model support shr so you might find yourself in a bit of a problem in that case.

Also now you are using the same drives, to atm shr will have 0 benefits compared to the conventional raid. If you do plan on upgrading the drives at a later date and have a mix array then shr will be beneficial as it will max out the usable space.
Thanks so much for the guidance. Back in the day it was advisable to mix brands or models for disks to avoid multi disk failures risks. Is that still a thing? Is there any issues with having different disk models as long as they are the same speed? I found a good price for some IronWolf but the max I can get is 2 per customer. I can get 2 other disks of a diff IronWolf model or the Exos from Amazon.
-- post merged: --

It depends on what kind of use the drives will get. If the NAS is running full throttle for extended periods, then heat might be an issue. I use mine primarily for Plex and as file central, so to speak. I would always prefer faster to slower drives, all things being equal. For the $23 price difference, get the Exos as you get 5 years of warranty instead of 3. That a cheap way to get two more years. Finally, I use Synology's hybrid RAID so I can expand. I started off with 4 x 6 and 2 x 8 ... now I have 6 x 10 Exos. And yes, BTFRS.
Thanks!
 
@Rusty @BoosterT So I’m concerned… I bought 4x 6TB Exos 7E8 drives but when I created the volume it have me a warning about the drives not being compatible. So I double checked the compatibility list and the Exos 7E8 line is listed but the specific serial number of the ones that I have are not listed. How big of a deal is this? Do I need to stop the migration (currently 2TB of 8TB) and return the drives and get new to start over - OR should this not be such an issue and it should work fine?
 
It's the same warning that Syno puts out for RAM as well. If your volume is working and you have configured it, it will work just fine. The warning is part of the new Syno campaign for pushing their own brand of drives for the higher-end NAS (DS and RS/FS) models.
 

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