Western Digital admits 2TB-6TB WD Red NAS drives use shingled magnetic recording

[fredbert]

From my untutored position is sounds like:

• Don't mix non-SMR and SMR disks in the same storage pool
• Data archive usage:
  • OK to use SMR disks in their own storage pool
  • OK to use non-SMR disks in a mixed usage storage pool
• Application data (e.g. databases, rapid changing files, fast access to multiple files) usage:
  • Not really OK to use SMR disks in their own storage pool
  • Not really OK to use SMR disks in a mixed usage storage pool
  • OK to use non-SMR disks in their own storage pool
  • OK to use non-SMR disks in a mixed usage storage pool
• Mixed usage (data and applications):
  • OK to use non-SMR disks in a mixed usage storage pool

The message I'm hearing is that unless you can support more that one storage pool to separate out SMR/non-SMR and data/app use cases then you should maintain non-SMR disk usage until unable to and the migrate to non-ideal SMR disks.

For me, while I wanted to get a bigger NAS, both Synology's lack of a new model may have held me back but now it is more that WD's less than transparent approach to risking my data and time.

For many NAS users their devices are general purpose servers for data storage, private cloud services, and bespoke server. For WD to envisage a 'normal' user that meets their marketing and sales ambition is disingenuous, at best.

Not impressed at all, and I've favoured WD for many years, so could be time to consider my view.

 

[jeyare]

@fredbert
and final wording (many times repeated here) don’t mix different disk (vendor or disk family) into single disk group

 

[fredbert]

@fredbert
and final wording (many times repeated here) don’t mix different disk (vendor or disk family) into single disk group

Sure, of course! I was thinking mostly about WD Red EFRX and EFAX.

Wondering whether to order spare EFRX 4TB, which I still see listed separately to 4TB EFAX at span.com.

 

[Coop777]

...and three people will contact customer care, get a replacement disk, and WD will continue their march forward.

Hey... Remember Intel's chip debacle with nefarious names like "Meltdown"... and yet, Intel has made no fundamental change to its chip architecture other than to add some overhead processes that "mitigate" their faulty design... that's "mitigate", mind you... not "fully resolve"... all at the expense of CPU power.

Will WD change their ways... It's far more likely they will let this SMR buzz fester until SSDs dominate the storage world, and HDDs join floppys in the AOL dustbins. You heard here first, folks!

Hmmm....can you find me a 14 TB SSD for around $400?