HDD Help

[ncc1701d]

Thanks again nf! I've written a few emails to my contact in WD Singapore. i'll wait to see what he says before taking the plunge. It looks like not many people have taken the chance on these RE4's in a whole lot of different uses and equipment - either by choice or unable to get the drives. Looks like i'll be the guinea pig

 

[nanofrog]

Thanks again nf! I've written a few emails to my contact in WD Singapore. i'll wait to see what he says before taking the plunge. It looks like not many people have taken the chance on these RE4's in a whole lot of different uses and equipment - either by choice or unable to get the drives. Looks like i'll be the guinea pig

 

[ncc1701d]

Well, according the the WD guy in Singapore, the WD2003FYYS has never had nor is it expected to in the near future have any firmware upgrades. Anything being manufactured now is the same drive as it was when it first came out. Considering the price, I am very tempted. I can always revert to my existing 4 x 1 TB's if these ever break down while I get them sorted out in Singapore...

 

[nanofrog]

Well, according the the WD guy in Singapore, the WD2003FYYS has never had nor is it expected to in the near future have any firmware upgrades. Anything being manufactured now is the same drive as it was when it first came out. Considering the price, I am very tempted. I can always revert to my existing 4 x 1 TB's if these ever break down while I get them sorted out in Singapore...

You could request either a video conference or photos (with an object, hand gesture,...) suggestion I made before to verify the drives are the correct model, and determine if they've been opened (anti-static bags).

Assuming everything is good, jump on them.

 

[ncc1701d]

Using AJA Sytem test (thanks again to nf!), I got a write speed of around 17.8mb/s and a read speed of about 30.3 mb/s

When the time comes to revert to the back up from time machine from my drobo to my new HDD's, is it as simple as saying 4TB is 4,194,304 Megabytes, therefore write speed is 17.8 mb/s:

4,194,304 / 17.8 = 235,635 seconds = 3,927 minutes = 65 hours = 2.7 days?

 

[nanofrog]

Using AJA Sytem test (thanks again to nf!), I got a write speed of around 17.8mb/s and a read speed of about 30.3 mb/s

When the time comes to revert to the back up from time machine from my drobo to my new HDD's, is it as simple as saying 4TB is 4,194,304 Megabytes, therefore write speed is 17.8 mb/s:

4,194,304 / 17.8 = 235,635 seconds = 3,927 minutes = 65 hours = 2.7 days?

Mb/s (megabit) or MB/s (megabyte)?

NAS is slow, but if it's Mb/s, that's awful (3.7875MB/s read, 2.225MBs/ write).

 

[ncc1701d]

Mb/s (megabit) or MB/s (megabyte)?

NAS is slow, but if it's Mb/s, that's awful (3.7875MB/s read, 2.225MBs/ write).

Apologies, that's MB/s, using a 2GB file and a 720 x 486 8 bit video frame size. Is my math correct?

It gets as high as 27.2 MB/s for a smaller file size, if that makes any difference? It's using ethernet.

 

[nanofrog]

Apologies, that's MB/s, using a 2GB file and a 720 x 486 8 bit video frame size. Is my math correct?

It gets as high as 27.2 MB/s for a smaller file size, if that makes any difference? It's using ethernet.

A little over a day and a half @ 30.3MB/s, as the drobo's read rate will dictate the rate of the system restore, as the NIC ports are faster (1G Ethernet), and the drives are certainly capable of faster as well.

(((4194304MB/30.3MB/s)*1hr/3600s)*1day/24hr) = 1.602 days

Simply put, NAS is slow. Port teaming can help, but you need equipment that's capable. That's why if you need faster, eSATA is much more attractive for a low cost solution (non DIY). As well as ATA over Ethernet (actually eliminates the TCP/IP stack) or iSCSI (DIY is possible with either of these).

 

[Transporteur]

Simply put, NAS is slow.

Well, that depends on the NAS, doesn't it?

Thecus and Netgear both have NAS systems that operate close to 80MB/s substantial throughput via Gigabit ethernet.

Not that bad for a NAS and in case of the Thecus N7700Pro you can upgrade that speed to (advertised) 300MB/s by adding a 10GB NIC.

 

[nanofrog]

Well, that depends on the NAS, doesn't it?

Thecus and Netgear both have NAS systems that operate close to 80MB/s substantial throughput via Gigabit ethernet.

Not that bad for a NAS and in case of the Thecus N7700Pro you can upgrade that speed to (advertised) 300MB/s by adding a 10GB NIC.

True, but the solution used in this case, is Drobo (aka Slo-bo ).

Other solutions are using faster ports (1G or 10G) as you mention, and port teaming is also employed as well (i.e. 2*1G for example = 250MB/s max).

Assuming network access isn't necessary, eSATA and a Port Mulitplier enclosure offers both speed (250MB/s max on PM chips), and less $$$ than the Thecus or Netgear products (cost of disks being the same).

 

[ncc1701d]

My WD guy in Singapore reckons, from memory, that these things have a RRP of around USD $200...

The ebay ones are for around USD $290 (plus $82 for shipping). Keeping in mind that the USA WD site has them for USD $400... is the guy in Singapore having a lend of himself?

 

[nanofrog]

My WD guy in Singapore reckons, from memory, that these things have a RRP of around USD $200...

The ebay ones are for around USD $290 (plus $82 for shipping). Keeping in mind that the USA WD site has them for USD $400... is the guy in Singapore having a lend of himself?

I believe so. There's no way the RE4 will be $200USD. Even the $290USD figure is low, and what made me nervous of the UK source you found.

Any clarification/proof offered from the seller, such as photos with signs of proof (i.e. objects, hand gestures,...) or better yet, a video conference?

 

[ncc1701d]

mmmm. 2 have already been bough a few days ago, so I'm going to wait and see what feedback he gives first. I don't think they can do a video conference as it's all shipped directly from a warehouse... I'll see. Cheers.

 

[nanofrog]

mmmm. 2 have already been bough a few days ago, so I'm going to wait and see what feedback he gives first. I don't think they can do a video conference as it's all shipped directly from a warehouse... I'll see. Cheers.

The feedback will help, but I'd hope the seller is willing to provide proof if you need it.