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Computers | Servers | NAS
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Hard Drives and SSDs | internal or external
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A Note on Hard Drives
The following is based on my experience, the reported experiences of other colleagues and the records I keep. Over the past couple of years I’ve noted a significant increase in the number of hard drives, in the 2.5 - 4 year old bracket, failing. I’ve always maintained that the warranty offered with a hard drive should be taken as the reliable service life of a drive and the after that you’re living on borrowed time.
SSDs have pretty much replaced mechanical hard drives as the preferred primary storage/boot device. Typically an SSD is around 15 times more responsive (ie. quicker) than a mechanical hard drive - the advantages to the user in terms of responsiveness is literally dramatic. An SSD upgrade, particularly for computers older than 4-5 years would likely put a smile on their face, and provide a great sense of relief, for the user. Certainly my experience in swapping out the lacklustre standard 5400 rpm hard drives fitted to 21.5” iMac puts a big smile on the face of the previously despondent owner. Further, versions of macOS from Mojave (macOS 10.14) and newer appear to be designed/optimised for SSDs and not mechanical hard drives. Experience reveals a mechanical hard drive loaded with Mojave, or later, runs like a three legged dog with two broken legs - thanks a lot Apple, not. Indeed field experience reveals that a mechanical hard drives life span is dramatically reduced as a result of installing Mojave or later. However fitting an SSD sorts the problem and delivers a machine with a whole new level of usability.
When it comes to RAID systems and servers then Enterprise Drive are the obvious choice, their mechanisms are designed with a 24/7 365 workload in mind and come with a 5 year warranty. In the scheme of things the additional cost of these drives is insignificant when compared to the longer term benefits and service life.
With the huge jump in popularity of NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices, for use as basic file servers and as media servers, choosing the correct hard drives is once again important. In the second half of 2012 Western Digital released their “Red” drives, specifically designed for use in NAS devices. I’m pleased to say I’ve found them to be excellent so far and now use them for most basic RAID systems, whether they be in NAS or direct attached devices. What surprised me the most is how ‘fast’ these drives are in real world operation, there is a noticeable read/write improvement over other enterprise drives that I would normally use. However it must be noted that they come with a 3 year warranty not the 5 year warranty Enterprise drives do.
Regardless of which type of drive you use the golden rule remains, backup, backup, backup - before it breaks!
In Hand Business Solutions
PO Box 207, Lowood QLD 4311
p (07) 3391 1966
f (07) 3217 3112
m 0413 749 956
ABN: 98 579 218 818
Computers | Servers | NASPrinters and consumablesHard Drives and SSDs | internal or externalSophos FirewallsVoIP/Unified Communication systems in conjunction with Novum NetworksRAM | Memory ModulesCables | Connectors | Adapters | CasesNetworking equipment | CablesScannersSoftwareMonitorsKeyboards | MiceA Note on Hard Drives
The following is based on my experience, the reported experiences of other colleagues and the records I keep. Over the past couple of years I’ve noted a significant increase in the number of hard drives, in the 2.5 - 4 year old bracket, failing. I’ve always maintained that the warranty offered with a hard drive should be taken as the reliable service life of a drive and the after that you’re living on borrowed time.
SSDs have pretty much replaced mechanical hard drives as the preferred primary storage/boot device. Typically an SSD is around 15 times more responsive (ie. quicker) than a mechanical hard drive - the advantages to the user in terms of responsiveness is literally dramatic. An SSD upgrade, particularly for computers older than 4-5 years would likely put a smile on their face, and provide a great sense of relief, for the user. Certainly my experience in swapping out the lacklustre standard 5400 rpm hard drives fitted to 21.5” iMac puts a big smile on the face of the previously despondent owner. Further, versions of macOS from Mojave (macOS 10.14) and newer appear to be designed/optimised for SSDs and not mechanical hard drives. Experience reveals a mechanical hard drive loaded with Mojave, or later, runs like a three legged dog with two broken legs - thanks a lot Apple, not. Indeed field experience reveals that a mechanical hard drives life span is dramatically reduced as a result of installing Mojave or later. However fitting an SSD sorts the problem and delivers a machine with a whole new level of usability.
When it comes to RAID systems and servers then Enterprise Drive are the obvious choice, their mechanisms are designed with a 24/7 365 workload in mind and come with a 5 year warranty. In the scheme of things the additional cost of these drives is insignificant when compared to the longer term benefits and service life.
With the huge jump in popularity of NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices, for use as basic file servers and as media servers, choosing the correct hard drives is once again important. In the second half of 2012 Western Digital released their “Red” drives, specifically designed for use in NAS devices. I’m pleased to say I’ve found them to be excellent so far and now use them for most basic RAID systems, whether they be in NAS or direct attached devices. What surprised me the most is how ‘fast’ these drives are in real world operation, there is a noticeable read/write improvement over other enterprise drives that I would normally use. However it must be noted that they come with a 3 year warranty not the 5 year warranty Enterprise drives do.
Regardless of which type of drive you use the golden rule remains, backup, backup, backup - before it breaks!
In Hand Business Solutions
PO Box 207, Lowood QLD 4311
p (07) 3391 1966
f (07) 3217 3112m 0413 749 956ABN: 98 579 218 818