Planned upgrade

[Bhoot]

So My FreeNAS system is 3+ years old. Populated with 8x4tb WD reds + 1 cold spare, it is falling short, in terms of storage. Pool is currently at 75% and I know I don’t have to cross 80%. I’m planning to bite the bullet and go for WD reds either 8tb or 10tb non pro. The prices are still exorbitant but still I know buying 6tb will surely get filled in the next (assumption) 1 year and I will have to look for an upgrade again.
On the hindsight I would like to report that I live on a coastal condo where air conditioning is not running throughout the day. Ambient Temperatures during summers is close to 50C and the drives do run toasty during scrubs. I’m happy that scrub times are lesser than they were, and I hope resilvering will be faster too.
Over 3 years I had to RMA 4 disks, including one dying all of a sudden without any warning (SMART tests run 6 times a month on each disk). I’m by no way blaming WD. I am just stating my experience and it may differ from person to person.

I’m looking for any insights from people already using these.Any comments on the WD red 8/10tb? One better than the other? I’m not going for the pro simply coz of the heating else I would jump at 2 year additional warranty. Any way to limit the RPM of the disks, I don’t see any performance gain on a 1gbps network, hence I would want to spin the disks at a lower rpm to keep the heat low with 5 years of warranty.

 

[HoneyBadger]

Hi @Bhoot

The WD Red 10TB has double the RAM of the 8TB (256MB vs 128MB) and could offer slightly better sequential read performance. There is no way to limit the RPM - they run at a fixed speed. 5400rpm already runs cooler than 7200rpm though.

The heat situation is a far more pressing concern; I'm not surprised at all that you are losing drives if the ambient air temperature truly is 50C. What are your drives running at as reported by SMART?

 

[Bhoot]

Hi @Bhoot

The WD ~snip-

Thanks for the reply.
Currently the hottest disk reports 44C from the smartctl for each disk. I do manage to keep the room cool. Switching on the AC from time to time and keeping the windows closed and the sun out, and currently disks are sitting at a nice 34C for the hottest. My case is the Fractal R5 so the disk density is max.
Would the helium in the disk make it cooler? Also the disks consume lesser energy so I’m guessing that would reduce heat as well?
I’m on the verge of buying the disks. If it was up to you would you make any changes to the plan?

 

[HoneyBadger]

Helium won't appreciably change the running temperature of the drives, it was done more out of necessity to keep increasing platter density. The lower energy consumption of the drives though will help overall.

Being on mobile right now I can't see your signature where your specs were, but in general I'm a big fan of the WD Red drives for consumer/prosumer use. 8x 10TB would be my game plan, and then just keep an eye on the temperatures.

 

[Bhoot]

CASE: Fractal Define R5
MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z10PA-U8
PROCESSOR: iNTEL Xeon E52609v3 + Intel Fan
RAM: CRUCIAL 32GB (16x2)DDR4-2133 1.2v RDIMM 288p (CT16G4RFD4213)
HDD: WD RED 4tbx8 z2
OS USB: 2x Cruzer Fit 16gb (mirror)
PSU: Coolermaster 750 gold
FreeNAS 11.2 Stable
2xNoctua NF-F12 industrialppc-3000 pwm front fans (pwm disabled)
2xCorsair sp120 top exhaust fans

Do you think I’ll need more ram?
It’s a home media server. Main job of the server plex and storage/vault.
Plex runs to 2 local streams at max and maybe 1-2 remote clients. Current setup I’ve not had any issues with the os till date, unless I’ve tried stuff.. hehehe.

 

[HoneyBadger]

No, 32GB should be more than sufficient for transcoding via Plex as well as overall performance. I also looked up those fans and they claim to be designed for high static pressure, which is what you want to push air between densely packed drives. The build looks solid, it's just a matter of trying to keep your drive temps reasonable under load.

 

[PhilipS]

The prices are still exorbitant

You can get 8TB for a pretty good price if you are willing to shuck. ~$150 when on sale in these parts (newegg has that price right now (limit 5) after a coupon code if you search). 10TB are still a lot more expensive.

 

[Bhoot]

You can get 8TB for a pretty good price if you are willing to shuck. ~$150 when on sale in these parts (newegg has that price right now (limit 5) after a coupon code if you search). 10TB are still a lot more expensive.

Thanks for the reply.
I do have a few concerns.
1 The drives inside the 8 enclosures may not be red
2 Maintaining 8 hollow cases inside a condo will be a problem. (gotta save those parts)
3 Warranty maybe an issue, reassembling and reshucking may lead to a slip of hand (personal)