Upgrade path for 8+ drives


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Hi - My array is nearing it's full capacity and I need to evaluate how I should proceed.

 

Currently I have 8 drives;

  • 4x 3TB WD Red (WD30EFRX)
  • 4x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf (ST4000VN008) - one of which is Parity.

None of them are PRO drives.

From what I can see, both WD Red and Ironwolf are rated for up to 8 bays.

How are my expanding options? I am considering moving towards larger drives, like 8/10/12TB as they are currently similarly priced per TB. Though, still requires at least two drives to be switched, due to the parity as well.

 

  1. If exceeding the 8 bays, must the drives be PRO labeled?
    • I could also exchange two of the drives with bigger drives and keep it below 8 bays. Then again; not gaining a lot of new space with this method in the beginning.
  2. Is there any other drives I should look at, instead of choosing either WD and Seagate again?
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3 minutes ago, Ctofte said:

If exceeding the 8 bays, must the drives be PRO labeled?

Here is a good recent post about this:

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/87467-my-new-unraid-nas-discussion/?do=findComment&comment=847404

 

 

11 minutes ago, Ctofte said:

I could also exchange two of the drives with bigger drives and keep it below 8 bays. Then again; not gaining a lot of new space with this method in the beginning.

I always recommend fewer larger disks instead of more smaller disks. Fewer disks require less hardware to support them. Larger disks perform better due to increased data density. Larger disks are also less expensive per TB, but of course when replacing smaller disk with larger disks you already have some sunken cost in the smaller disk. Most importantly, fewer disks are fewer opportunities for problems.

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On 5/11/2020 at 6:23 PM, trurl said:

Here is a good recent post about this:

https://forums.unraid.net/topic/87467-my-new-unraid-nas-discussion/?do=findComment&comment=847404

 

 

I always recommend fewer larger disks instead of more smaller disks. Fewer disks require less hardware to support them. Larger disks perform better due to increased data density. Larger disks are also less expensive per TB, but of course when replacing smaller disk with larger disks you already have some sunken cost in the smaller disk. Most importantly, fewer disks are fewer opportunities for problems.

 

That's some really good points - especially that the wear and tear might not be critical for Unraid systems due to the spinning down. In that case I don't think I can justify the premium of approximately 20% here in Denmark.

 

Although I already have the hardware to support more disks, fewer disks are easier to maintain - and less spin up/down across the array, since the disks contain a lot more of the similar data in the folders. I will have to see if there's any good bargins for the bigger disks coming around then 🙂
Then I guess the the plan must be to add a couple of drives and then exchange dying drives with a bigger one as well, and (hopefully) slowly replace the array with larger drives one by one.

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2 minutes ago, Ctofte said:

exchange dying drives with a bigger one

Waiting to replace disks until they die isn't the best idea. Unraid monitors drive health through the SMART attributes. You should setup Notifications to alert you immediately by email or other agent as soon as a problem is detected.

 

Parity by itself cannot rebuild a disk. Parity is just an extra bit that allows a missing bit to be calculated from all the other bits. Parity PLUS ALL remaining disks are required to rebuild a disk. So if you have other questionable disks in the array when a disk needs replacing, the rebuild may not succeed.

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On 5/13/2020 at 9:10 PM, trurl said:

Waiting to replace disks until they die isn't the best idea. Unraid monitors drive health through the SMART attributes. You should setup Notifications to alert you immediately by email or other agent as soon as a problem is detected.

 

Parity by itself cannot rebuild a disk. Parity is just an extra bit that allows a missing bit to be calculated from all the other bits. Parity PLUS ALL remaining disks are required to rebuild a disk. So if you have other questionable disks in the array when a disk needs replacing, the rebuild may not succeed.

I already have notifications setup for monitoring Unraid in general and SMART attributes as well as temperature of the drives - none of the drives show signs of wear yet, so for now, everything is good on this point. My though was basically to swap drives once the SMART registers any issues with a drive and then go from there. 

But good to point it out 🙂

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