WD in Raid

mariuscmorar · Sep 10, 2009, 08:39 PM

I'm looking at this
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

I want to connect couple of them in Raid 5 or 6. I don't need performance. I just want reliable storage. I don't want to loose my data.

The review I've read about the WD Caviar Green are that they can't be conected in Raid and that you need to get the ones made special for raid, the RE3 or RE4. What do you think, isn't there a way to use the Caviar Green in Raid? The RE4 is 50% more expensive.

Also, any beter sugestion than WD?

Thanks!

Judas · Sep 10, 2009, 09:43 PM

Stay away from the GREEN..... period....

mariuscmorar · Sep 11, 2009, 07:20 AM

Is black any better? Why? Can I connect black in RAID?

What if I don't connect them in RAID, is green okay?

Thanks!

CDsDontBurn · Sep 11, 2009, 09:12 AM

the thing about these "green" drives is that the HDD's firmware tell s the HDD to shut off if the drive is not being in use. so, even though the computer may be on, if that particular drive is not in use, the drive will go into a standby mode. i could definitely see this being a potential problem with like RAID 1 for example. where all data is already stored on the active drive, the back up drive is shut off, therefore the system may find an "error" with the RAID system.

mariuscmorar · Sep 11, 2009, 09:27 AM

So, you're saying that the black does not shut off and therefore it will work on RAID?

Judas · Sep 11, 2009, 05:46 PM

The greens perform poorly and were never intended for performance setups let alone typical gamer/users other then office workers or casual users.

The black drives while MARGINALLY more... are performance drives.. they at a better drive overall... i would not be surprised if 2 green drive in raid 0 were to be beat by a single black...

that's just my imo..

Stick with WD's black drives or Seagate 7200.12's... they are great performers for standalone and all raid configurations...

Tipstaff · Sep 12, 2009, 06:55 AM

Agreed. Stay away from the Green drives for all the same reasons + 1: they have a tendency to be annoyingly loud, or make some annoying sounds (read head clicks, which is due to the way the drive saves power by parking the read head.. or some such stupid annoying thing).

mariuscmorar · Sep 12, 2009, 07:53 AM

Thanks a lot for the technical info.

I want to use RAID not for performance but for safe storage. I just want to store my data safely. For performance I use SSD. From the research I've made the the best way a good and affordable way to safely store is RAID 5. An even better one is RAID 6. If green would work on RAID I'll go for it because I'm not interested in performance, but if it doesn't they I'll have to go for black. RE4 are ridiculously expensive!

Do you guys have any better (safe and affordable) suggestion for safe storage besides Raid 5?

Thanks a lot!

Neshi · Sep 12, 2009, 08:21 AM

an external drive, for the most important files?

Tipstaff · Sep 12, 2009, 11:53 AM

I still don't recommend the Green drives. I've never had any good dealings with those drives. If you are OK with topping out at 640GB you could look at the SE16s, but Blacks are preferred. You could also look at Hitachis drives, like the Deskstar 7K1000 (I use these one of my DNS-323 NAS storage boxes in RAID1, and as singles on the other). They may not be speed demons, but they've been pretty solid overall. I've only sent in 1 for repair out of the 5 dozen I've sold over the last year (and that was a customers stupidity that caused the dead drive, btw).

Also, if the data is important I would take Neshi's advice, and have an external storage as well. You could even get yourself an external storage box that has an eSATA port, and setup mirroring between it, and an internal drive.

mariuscmorar · Sep 12, 2009, 12:51 PM

Well, I need about 10TB and mirroring is very expensive. I was thinking about getting 6 hdds of 2TB and conecting them in RAID5 so I would get 10TB. The 2tb black just cam out and I we don't know the pricing yet.

Is the data safer if I put them in an external case than if I put them in the main case and connect them to the motherboard?

Judas · Sep 12, 2009, 06:15 PM

IMO i find external hardrives have a higher tendency for failure... but that's just me..

However Having an External hardrive is very useful in a mirroring solution as it can be set aside and updated when necessary

Tipstaff · Sep 12, 2009, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judas

IMO i find external hardrives have a higher tendency for failure... but that's just me..

Don't worry, it's not just you. I find the PSUs or controllers tend to fail on the cheap ones way too often (sometimes the controllers get damaged, and won't work in USB2.0 mode any more), and the pre-made externals are usually garbage (although WDs MyBook and WorldBooks aren't too bad). I prefer NAS boxes personally, or a dedicated PC (or one designed using PC components, such as the Intel SS4200-E) setup as a NAS. Through that on a UPS, and things tend to run more smoothly.

Lowfat · Sep 13, 2009, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariuscmorar

Well, I need about 10TB and mirroring is very expensive. I was thinking about getting 6 hdds of 2TB and conecting them in RAID5 so I would get 10TB. The 2tb black just cam out and I we don't know the pricing yet.

Is the data safer if I put them in an external case than if I put them in the main case and connect them to the motherboard?

Just an FYI, RAID is no substitute for a backup. I've had more RAID and/or controller failures than I have had drives actually die.

mariuscmorar · Sep 13, 2009, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowfat

Just an FYI, RAID is no substitute for a backup. I've had more RAID and/or controller failures than I have had drives actually die.

Now I'm confused. Is RAID 5 a better way to protect against loss of information than just simple HDDs without Raid or not? What is the point of RAID 5? Isn't it to prevent the loss of info against hdd failure?

Lowfat · Sep 13, 2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariuscmorar

Now I'm confused. Is RAID 5 a better way to protect against loss of information than just simple HDDs without Raid or not? What is the point of RAID 5? Isn't it to prevent the loss of info against hdd failure?

Yes RAID5 protects from a single drive failure. But data can be lost other ways besides from an HDD failure. The best way to keep data safe is to keep a backup of everything. Preferably on an external drive or another system.

comp_ali · Sep 18, 2009, 02:32 PM

Thank you so much Tipstaff for the info , I'll have a look at SSD prices , seagate and WD bllack ones .

Sep 10, 2009, 08:39 PM	#1
mariuscmorar HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	WD in Raid I'm looking at this Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives I want to connect couple of them in Raid 5 or 6. I don't need performance. I just want reliable storage. I don't want to loose my data. The review I've read about the WD Caviar Green are that they can't be conected in Raid and that you need to get the ones made special for raid, the RE3 or RE4. What do you think, isn't there a way to use the Caviar Green in Raid? The RE4 is 50% more expensive. Also, any beter sugestion than WD? Thanks!

Sep 11, 2009, 07:20 AM	Thread Starter #3
mariuscmorar HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Re: WD in Raid Is black any better? Why? Can I connect black in RAID? What if I don't connect them in RAID, is green okay? Thanks!

Sep 11, 2009, 09:12 AM	#4
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	Re: WD in Raid the thing about these "green" drives is that the HDD's firmware tell s the HDD to shut off if the drive is not being in use. so, even though the computer may be on, if that particular drive is not in use, the drive will go into a standby mode. i could definitely see this being a potential problem with like RAID 1 for example. where all data is already stored on the active drive, the back up drive is shut off, therefore the system may find an "error" with the RAID system. __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Sep 11, 2009, 09:27 AM	Thread Starter #5
mariuscmorar HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Re: WD in Raid So, you're saying that the black does not shut off and therefore it will work on RAID?

Sep 12, 2009, 06:55 AM	#7
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	Re: WD in Raid Agreed. Stay away from the Green drives for all the same reasons + 1: they have a tendency to be annoyingly loud, or make some annoying sounds (read head clicks, which is due to the way the drive saves power by parking the read head.. or some such stupid annoying thing). __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Sep 12, 2009, 07:53 AM	Thread Starter #8
mariuscmorar HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Re: WD in Raid Thanks a lot for the technical info. I want to use RAID not for performance but for safe storage. I just want to store my data safely. For performance I use SSD. From the research I've made the the best way a good and affordable way to safely store is RAID 5. An even better one is RAID 6. If green would work on RAID I'll go for it because I'm not interested in performance, but if it doesn't they I'll have to go for black. RE4 are ridiculously expensive! Do you guys have any better (safe and affordable) suggestion for safe storage besides Raid 5? Thanks a lot!

Sep 12, 2009, 08:21 AM	#9
Neshi S.N.A.F.U. Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Wellington, NZ Posts: 3,377 Rep Power: 177 System Specs	Re: WD in Raid an external drive, for the most important files? __________________ If one does not attach himself to people and desire, never shall his heart be broken. But then, does he ever truly live? Life is just too damn short for if's and maybe's

Sep 12, 2009, 11:53 AM	#10
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,773 Rep Power: 190 System Specs	Re: WD in Raid I still don't recommend the Green drives. I've never had any good dealings with those drives. If you are OK with topping out at 640GB you could look at the SE16s, but Blacks are preferred. You could also look at Hitachis drives, like the Deskstar 7K1000 (I use these one of my DNS-323 NAS storage boxes in RAID1, and as singles on the other). They may not be speed demons, but they've been pretty solid overall. I've only sent in 1 for repair out of the 5 dozen I've sold over the last year (and that was a customers stupidity that caused the dead drive, btw). Also, if the data is important I would take Neshi's advice, and have an external storage as well. You could even get yourself an external storage box that has an eSATA port, and setup mirroring between it, and an internal drive. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick.

Sep 12, 2009, 12:51 PM	Thread Starter #11
mariuscmorar HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Re: WD in Raid Well, I need about 10TB and mirroring is very expensive. I was thinking about getting 6 hdds of 2TB and conecting them in RAID5 so I would get 10TB. The 2tb black just cam out and I we don't know the pricing yet. Is the data safer if I put them in an external case than if I put them in the main case and connect them to the motherboard?

Sep 18, 2009, 02:32 PM	#17
comp_ali Sniper Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Egypt Posts: 10,469 Rep Power: 339 System Specs	Re: WD in Raid Thank you so much Tipstaff for the info , I'll have a look at SSD prices , seagate and WD bllack ones . __________________