Questions about new "hippy" Green Drives...

[_Adrian_]

Can these be flashed to work as normal drives ??
Reason being is that these drives are 15-28% cheaper than comparable drives, but if can be flashed why not just buy them and re-flash.

 

[Stephens]

I look forward to reading what a hippy green drive is since no manufacturer or model # is specified.

 

[_Adrian_]

The 2 Mainstream manufacturers are WD and Seagate...
Both now have a full "hippy" drive lineup with almost exact specs as their standard drives:
- Same Spindle speeds
- Same Cache Size
- Same drive Size

I mean from the point of view of buying several drives ( in my case 24 ) and can save money on each and get the same performance I will gladly put in the time and effort to flash each drive if need to be!

 

[Stephens]

Oh, so you're creating the "hippy" designation as a throwback to the Woodstock/Free Love era vibe apparently associated with Green/Low Power/Environmentally Friendly drives? If so, got it.

No, you can't crossflash. Otherwise folks would buy green drives and flash them into 10k rpm Raptors. And it'd still be helpful if you would specify manufacturer/model #'s so folks can get specific in their comments.

As far as I know, Green drives most certainly do not have the same spindle speeds as the "standard" drives. Green drives typically spin at 5400-5900 rpm, and standard drives typically spin at 7200 rpm. High Performance drives spin at 10k rpm. I use LP drives in my NAS because I don't care about blazing random access since my data is typically accessed sequentially by 1 user at a time. I value the NAS being quieter and using less power (since it's always on). If one needs simultaneous random access (such as databases), the "standard" or even "performance" drives might be more desirable.

 

[cyberjock]

I've used and currently use Green drives in some of my FreeNAS servers. They work very well. As Stephens says, if you aren't trying to do high random database access Green drives are fine. I max out my NICs with 16 green drives. Don't let the "green" prevent you from buying them, just know that individually they don't perform as fast as the performance drives, but combined they make a formidable performance array.

 

[_Adrian_]

My main concerns is the "shutdown" feature when idle.
And by flashing I mean i want to flash it from a 7200 green to a 7200 standard drive.

Also WD just release their RED series aimed at smaller NAS market, and they are very competitively priced.
And I'm not worried about "maxing out" my connection as from my NAS to my Servers I will be running an Infiniband Connection to a TopSpin120 Switch and then off to the 4 servers.

Oh, so you're creating the "hippy" designation as a throwback to the Woodstock/Free Love era vibe apparently associated with Green/Low Power/Environmentally Friendly drives? If so, got it.

yup... tree hugger

As far as I know, Green drives most certainly do not have the same spindle speeds as the "standard" drives. Green drives typically spin at 5400-5900 rpm, and standard drives typically spin at 7200 rpm. High Performance drives spin at 10k rpm. If one needs simultaneous random access (such as databases), the "standard" or even "performance" drives might be more desirable.

For me it will have to be as it will be MySQL Database

 

[cyberjock]

There is no flashing[there is only zuul]. Unfortunately you can't flash them into non-green drives.

A simple DOS based utility called WDIDLE.EXE will let you change the setting from 1 second to 5 minutes or disable it completly.

 

[_Adrian_]

Here's one...
WD Blue - 7200RPM w/64MB cache
VS
WD Caviar Black - 7200RPM w/64MB Cache
VS
WD Red - 7200RPM w/64MB Cache

All 3 have SATAIII interfaces capable of 6Gb/s

 

[Stephens]

And by flashing I mean i want to flash it from a 7200 green to a 7200 standard drive.

I think you know now, but just to clarify, I don't believe there is such a thing as a 7200 rpm green drive.

Also WD just release their RED series aimed at smaller NAS market, and they are very competitively priced.WD Red - 7200RPM w/64MB Cache

FYI, you list the WD Red as 7200 rpm but Tom's Hardware lists it as a 5400 rpm drive.

 

[_Adrian_]

I spoke with someone at WD yesterday and they said its actually variable between 5400 and 7200 depending where the heads are on the disk.

 

[Stephens]

Sounds like it's using (and is made to work with) ZCLV (zoned constant linear velocity) as opposed to the more normal CAV (constant angular velocity). "Up to 7200 rpm" definitely isn't the same as "7200 rpm." But getting back to the original question, you can't just flash a drive and change it from one type to the other.

 

[paleoN]

My main concerns is the "shutdown" feature when idle.

Some non-green drives have these "features" now. Just don't let them spin-down.

For me it will have to be as it will be MySQL Database

You may want to consider having a L2ARC if you're looking to max your performance.

 

[_Adrian_]

It's going to be a bit hard as each shelf is SCSI U320 based and the drive configuration is done through the Smart Array 6404's RBSU (ROM Based Setup Utility) otherwise drive(s) wont even show up in the OS.

However, there is an Upgrade Controller Module ( HP# AG779A ) that upgrades the chassis to 3G SAS connectivity.
For now I will use my old DL560 as a FreeNAS server since it already has a Smart Array 6404 with a 512MB BBWC along with each shelf carrying a 512MB BBWC as well.
Drives will be configure in a 5+1 ( 5 Hot + 1 Spare ) in RAID5 which will give me 2 volumes per enclosure.

I will be looking at drives with 64Mb cache that's for sure though.