Recently, something out of the ordinary arrived for review. It is not every day that we get to review WD (Western Digital) Red Pro drives alongside a QNAP NAS setup. In fact, there are two WD Red Pro NAS HDDs in the mix, which might have you wondering whether this reviewer’s house is about to be raided, given all the buzz around storage device prices.
You have just maxed out your Google Drive or iCloud storage, and now Google and Apple want more money for you to move up to a higher tier of cloud storage. These cloud storage options often turn out to be more expensive than buying external hard drives. Here is the catch: you cannot access data stored on these drives until you return home.
What if we told you that both are possible — local access as well as access over a network? That is precisely what a NAS offers. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage, and as long as you are connected to your network, you can upload and download files from anywhere.
Cloud storage is always easy to set up and access, but it can be limiting. It depends on how fast your Internet connection is and how much storage you actually need, and the cost keeps rising as you move up the tiers. Then there are people who buy a number of hard drives and soon lose track of what files are stored where.
NAS offers a sweet spot. You own the storage, the setup is fairly quick, and you can access it from anywhere. Of course, there are disadvantages too. A NAS can get very expensive depending on the storage involved, and you have to pay upfront for the setup. Someone like me has well over 15TB of data spread across various hard drives, so the appeal of pulling everything into one NAS setup is obvious.
The hardware in hand
The QNAP system comes with its own external power supply, an Ethernet cable and screws. The QNAP TS-216G is powered by an ARM Cortex-A55 quad-core 2.0GHz processor, paired with 4GB of RAM and a built-in NPU for AI tasks. It can accept 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch hard drives and supports up to 39TB of capacity.
Of course, the main ingredient here is the pair of WD Red Pro NAS HDD 8TB drives occupying the two bays of the QNAP NAS system. Once a NAS setup is up and running, the hard drives are in use around the clock, so you need drives that ensure data does not get corrupted under that kind of strain.
This is a drive that offers a top-tier blend of performance and reliability. Designed for NAS systems accommodating extensive data loads, it is a suitable choice for medium to large businesses requiring efficient data handling and quick access.
Its ability to meet the demands of constant, high-intensity workloads makes it a solid option for frequently accessed data networks, and it can also be of great use to filmmakers and professional photographers.
Most important is its compatibility with various NAS systems, ensuring seamless integration is always close at hand. The drive is designed to handle a high annual workload rate, which is vital for round-the-clock environments where data throughput is critical, and it supports a wide range of applications necessary for business efficiency. NASware 3.0 firmware adds further to its performance and reliability, and it remains important to select a drive purpose-built for RAID-optimised NAS systems to ensure optimum performance and to preserve valuable data.
Unlike desktop drives, WD Red Pro hard drives are designed and tested specifically for NAS use and include NASware technology, which fine-tunes drive parameters to match NAS system workloads for optimum performance. These drives are built to perform under the demanding conditions of high-intensity, 24x7 multi-user NAS environments, and are engineered with RAID error recovery control to help reduce failures within multi-bay NAS systems, unlike most desktop drives, which are configured for generic use.
If you are worried about noise, there is no need. WD Red hard drives include Rotation Vibration (RV) sensors that anticipate and proactively counteract disturbances caused by the increased vibration often found in multi-bay NAS systems. On a one-gigabit connection, achieving 110Mbps is a respectable result.
Among network-attached storage options, the WD Red Pro’s ability to handle heavy workloads stands out. Designed specifically for the demands of a NAS environment, it consistently delivers reliable performance for data-driven operations, backed by a 7200RPM speed.
At a glance
Device: WD (Western Digital) Red Pro NAS HDD 8TB
Price: Given the recent fluctuations in price, check official website
High notes
NASware 3.0 firmware
RAID error recovery control
RV sensors to counter vibration
7200 RPM speed
Built for 24x7 multi-bay environments
High annual workload rating
Muffled notes
- Expensive compared to desktop drives
- Overkill for casual/light users