Western Digital Launches 2.5-inch WD Red Hard Drives for NAS

[btarunr]

WD, a Western Digital company and storage industry leader, today announced the expansion of its category-leading WD Red line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office NAS (network attached storage) systems with one- to five-drive bays. WD Red hard drives are now available in a 2.5-inch form factor offering 1 TB and 750 GB capacities and a new 3.5-inch 4 TB capacity. Powered by NASware 2.0 technology, WD Red is compatibility-tested with top NAS system manufacturers and optimized for performance and reduced power consumption.

"WD defined the NAS drive category by leading the development of hard drives specifically built for small NAS environments," said Matt Rutledge, vice president of client storage for WD. "The WD Red product line serves the unique environment of NAS and meets the growing demand for affordable, reliable, and compatible storage.



Through dialogue with our NAS partners and customer advocacy for WD Red, we saw the need for additional capacity in the 3.5-inch form factor and delivered our new 4 TB offering. We also wanted to deliver a highly reliable and compatible 2.5-inch hard drive built specifically for small NAS. This small form factor enables our customers to use high capacity NAS hard drives with high performance, quiet operation and low power consumption in compact NAS enclosures. We also see an opportunity in smaller-footprint NAS systems, media players and other industrial applications. Our pride in our product and our vision is shared with our customers."

Top industry analysts see NAS continuing to represent one of the fastest-growing segments of the worldwide SOHO storage systems market. From both revenue and terabyte perspectives, NAS will continue to experience strong growth through the forecast period (to 2015), driven by a major shift of storage deployments toward IP-connected systems (Worldwide Personal and Entry Level Storage Tracker IDC 2013).

The next generation of WD Red hard drives deliver the best NAS experience for customers with a new version of NASware 2.0, which further improves drive reliability and protects customer data in the event of a power loss or disruption. WD Red hard drives also feature 3D Active Balance Plus, an enhanced balance control technology, which significantly improves overall drive performance and reliability. Exclusive for WD Red customers, WD offers free premium 24x7 dedicated phone support and a three-year limited warranty.

The addition of a new form factor and higher capacity WD Red hard drives further underscores WD's "Power of Choice" mission for client hard drive solutions. WD recognizes the diverse challenges of customers and their applications and strives to empower them with storage solutions tailored to best suit their specific needs.
Integrating with WD NAS solutions, WD Red hard drives are qualified to work with a wide array of WD OEM partners. A regularly updated list of WD Red-qualified products and manufacturers is available here.

Price and Availability
Shipping now through select distributors and resellers, WD Red hard drives are covered by a three-year limited warranty. MSRP for the new 2.5-inch WD Red 1 TB, model #: (WD10JFCX) is $99; the 750 GB, model #: (WD750BFCX) is $79 and the 3.5-inch 4 TB, model #: (WD40EFRX) is $229 USD.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Hmmmm, Not sure if im happy with the price of the 4TB when converted into GBP. I can get a 3TB WD Red for £110-115 this 4TB will cost £147 ex. VAT - WITH VAT its looking like £176.40. who knows what the final RRP will be.

 

[Fourstaff]

Hmmmm, Not sure if im happy with the price of the 4TB when converted into GBP. I can get a 3TB WD Red for £110-115 this 4TB will cost £147 ex. VAT - WITH VAT its looking like £176.40. who knows what the final RRP will be.

3TB ones are the sweet spot for now imo, but I haven't factored the cost of another NAS.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

3TB ones are the sweet spot for now imo, but I haven't factored the cost of another NAS.

Until the 3TB drops to something more affordable I could well stick with my £78 3TB Toshiba drives for the time being - not out of choice i might add, for lack of a better option, Rather a 7200rpm drive then a WD Green

 

[Lipton]

Any news on the 5T Red model, the one which last year was "said" to be released in tandem with this 4T Red model?

 

[Jorge]

2.5" drives are so horribly slow... as to be painful.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

2.5" drives are so horribly slow... as to be painful.

aaaaaaaand 98% of SSDs are 2.5" - I guess technology owes you an apology and arrange compensation for your hospital bills and any butthurt emotional distress that might have been caused by the many years/decades of 2.5" drive production. You have suffered in silence for too long - the world owes you a debit of gratitude for your suffering, One man shouldering such a burden of monumental proportions.

 

[RejZoR]

I had Seagate Momentus 7200.4 in 2.5" form and it was faster than most 3.5" desktop drives. A bit loud but insanely fast. I remember WD Scorpio Black were also very fast at that time.

 

[newtekie1]

2.5" drives are so horribly slow... as to be painful.

The size of the drive has nothing to do with speed.

 

[RejZoR]

Oh, the WD Velociraptors are all 2.5"...

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Found the 4TB Drives on Ebuyer - they aint doing too bad on price tbh. Its not far off my estimate

$251.97 = £162

costs £47 for that extra TB which doesnt seem worth it

 

[Deleted member 24505]

I had Seagate Momentus 7200.4 in 2.5" form and it was faster than most 3.5" desktop drives. A bit loud but insanely fast. I remember WD Scorpio Black were also very fast at that time.

I'm using a momentus 750gb alongside my tosh 256gb ssd

 

[rtwjunkie]

I hope these turn out to be just as reliable for me as the 3.5" Reds I've been using in my server. My money says yes, so I think this is great!

 

[SaltyFish]

Any news on the 5T Red model, the one which last year was "said" to be released in tandem with this 4T Red model?

THIS.

Another 3.5" form factor 4TB drive? There isn't anything that makes it stand out (e.g. something like 10K RPM) to all the other 4TB drives already on the market. But something that finally breaks the 4TB ceiling...

 

[FreedomEclipse]

THIS.

Another 3.5" form factor 4TB drive? There isn't anything that makes it stand out (e.g. something like 10K RPM) to all the other 4TB drives already on the market

How many other 4TB Drives are optimised for NAS and come with a 3 year warranty?

 

[Lipton]

How many other 4TB Drives are optimised for NAS and come with a 3 year warranty?

I guess this is how it looks today:

Consumer:
Seagate ST4000VN000 (3 years)
WD Red WD40EFRX (3 years)

Enterprise:
WD Se WD4000F9YZ (5 years)
[WD] HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 (5 years)
Toshiba MG03ACA/MG03SCA (5 years)

5 TB is much needed.

Edit: Here's a test just posted between the two consumer drives: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7258/battle-of-the-4-tb-nas-drives-wd-red-and-seagate-nas-hdd-faceoff

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I guess this is how it looks today:

Consumer:
Seagate ST4000VN000 (3 years)
WD Red WD40EFRX (3 years)

Enterprise:
WD Se WD4000F9YZ (5 years)
[WD] HGST Ultrastar 7K4000 (5 years)
Toshiba MG03ACA/MG03SCA (5 years)

5 TB is much needed.

Edit: Here's a test just posted between the two consumer drives: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7258/battle-of-the-4-tb-nas-drives-wd-red-and-seagate-nas-hdd-faceoff

Those enterprise drives are way to expensive to be compared to WD Reds or even that seagate for that matter let alone be considered for a purchase from the general consumer who might not have as deep a pocket as the big corporations and bankers who have thousands to throw in to their IT setups.


though the 4TB seagate is roughly about the same price as the WD Red give or take a few pounds here in the UK, Still quite pricy though £165 for a 4TB nas optimised drive when you can have a non-optimised for 3TB for £79 that will work just as well but lack the optimised firmware and the extra warranty which you can now buy as an optional package for very little money

 

[Fourstaff]

As long as you are careful with your RAID setup I think consumer drives are fine. One or two drives failing every few years is easily manageable. the price difference is enough to pay for extra drives.

 

[Lipton]

Those enterprise drives are way to expensive to be compared to WD Reds or even that seagate for that matter let alone be considered for a purchase from the general consumer who might not have as deep a pocket as the big corporations and bankers who have thousands to throw in to their IT setups.


though the 4TB seagate is roughly about the same price as the WD Red give or take a few pounds here in the UK, Still quite pricy though £165 for a 4TB nas optimised drive when you can have a non-optimised for 3TB for £79 that will work just as well but lack the optimised firmware and the extra warranty which you can now buy as an optional package for very little money

Yeah, was merely highlighting that there are options out there. All I want is higher density per drive.

And I did not know you could separately buy the NAS firmware and extended warranty to other drives.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

And I did not know you could separately buy the NAS firmware and extended warranty to other drives.

I was referring to the purchase of extra warranty cover, not the firmware. Though with firmware Ive heard thats the secret to WD Reds - They are re-labeled from their range with 'optimised' firmware for NAS environments/applications