Is It OK to mix'n'match NAS Drives?

EightImmortals on 21/08/2022 - 15:13
Last edited 21/08/2022 - 15:17

Thinking of bumping up my storage and currently have 2 WD Red 4tb NAS drives in my NAS. For some reason these are out of stock everywhere (well everywhere I looked anyway..).

Could I pop in another 2 4TB drives from another manufacturer without any dramas if I match up the specs as best I can?

If I got 2 bigger drives, say 6-8TB and put them in would that cause any issues with the 2 existing 4tb drives or would the NAS seem the new drives at the same 4tb capacity as the existing drives?

Cheers

(Edit: Looks like Amazon have the WD red in stock for $134, is that a good price?)

Computing Computer Component Hard Drive NAS

Comments

  • Kib33 on 21/08/2022 - 15:27
    +1

    Not all NAS are created equal. Maybe help us by telling us the make and model of your NAS.

    • EightImmortals on 21/08/2022 - 15:35

      Currently has a 2 bay Asustor but was looking at the DS920+ and adding 2 more drives. I was wondering if I could use the 2 current 4tb drives and add two bigger drives for now (raid 5 or SHR?) and then replace the 2 4tb drives when more storage is needed in the future?

      • somewhat on 21/08/2022 - 17:17

        Generally, With SHR, you can mix drives. For RAID 5, you can’t.

  • 7ekn00 on 21/08/2022 - 15:46
    +2

    Not only the model of NAS, but mode of operation (RAID / JBOD / separate / etc) also matters :/

    • EightImmortals on 21/08/2022 - 15:48

      Cheers, might just get 2 more 4tb drives then, that will give me tons of storage when added to the current 2 drives.

  • oscargamer on 21/08/2022 - 22:41

    What is your current NAS?

    • EightImmortals on 22/08/2022 - 06:30

      Asustor AS-302 (2 bay), was thinking of upgrading. :)

      • oscargamer on 22/08/2022 - 09:20

        So are you looking to buy another 2 bay Nas and have 2 nas's, or a 4 bay Nas?

        Highly highly unlikely you can put your 2 current drives in a 4 bay Nas, with two new drives and it'll work….

        • EightImmortals on 22/08/2022 - 14:21

          Was thinking about getting a 4bay, yes I realise I'll have to rejig the current 2 drives if I want to use them.
          Cheers

          • oscargamer on 22/08/2022 - 18:55
            +1

            @EightImmortals: Cool.
            I believe you would set up the 4 bay (with the 2 new drives installed) as a second NAS
            Then
            Move data from old Nas to new NAS
            Then
            Format the old drives
            Then
            Install old drives in new NAS and
            Bob's your uncle
            Maybe….

  • the Unforgiven on 22/08/2022 - 22:07

    I use any NAS drives in my set-up, but I use this software to look after my DAS
    Have a look at it - https://stablebit.com/DrivePool

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