New NAS - SSD or HDD?

August 20, 2023 3:57 PM

My old WD My Cloud is starting to make noises that make me fear its end is coming. I'm looking at a new 2-Bay NAS and am wondering what type of disk to use. Any advice?

I am considering this enclosure: Synology 2-Bay NAS DS223. My storage needs are reasonably minimal - about 250 gb of pics and music & then I'd like to use it for TimeMachine on my Mac.

We won't be using this for a media server or anything - I like the idea of two disks so I can hopefully store data on one and use the other as a mirror (working on the assumption that it is unlikely for both disks to fail at the same time?)

Obviously HDD is less expensive than SSD. But it looks like, based on my limited reading, I would get greater longevity with SSD? And because our storage needs are minimal I have the option of buying less storage (i.e., making SSD more affordable by buying smaller drives).

I don't know a ton about this stuff, which is why our prior NAS was a MyCloud. But I'd like to buy something a bit more sophisticated and hopefully a bit more future proof this time.... any thoughts? What about the many things I don't know enough to be considering?

As always - thank you in advance.

posted by hilaryjade to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Best answer: What you're suggesting sounds entirely reasonable to me, given you're talking about at most 2TB of storage. You'd set up the DS223 with two identical devices in a RAID1 mirror, so data is automatically duplicated across both devices and when one device fails you can just replace it.

In that size range, from reputable manufacturers with a 5-year warranty, you'll pay about 50% more for SSDs than NAS-qualified hard disks, but you'll benefit from less noise and heat, less power usage, less chance of damage during shipping and generally better reliability as a result.

Because you're limited by the speed of the network, you won't really benefit from the difference between modern hard disks and SSDs in terms of throughput, but you'll get better seek times with the SSDs. Setting up and checking the RAID mirror should also be faster.

I would be looking at Samsung EVOs, since I've got quite a few of them and have had no failures (some in service for 9 years now), and Samsung often have good cashback/discount deals. It's worth finding a supplier that will do rapid replacement of failed disks so you don't have to go through the manufacturer's warranty process.
posted by offog at 4:41 PM on August 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

I did this about a year ago, I replaced my myCloud mirror with a two bay Synology and two six TB hard drives in RAID 1. Setup was more involved than the myCloud, but nothing a reddit post from the Synology subreddit couldn't walk me through.

I did spinning disks for cost savings, and maybe I'm behind the times, but I expected quality HDD to last longer than an SDD. I will note the disks I have are audible during heavy operation (WD Red). It isn't problematic for me, but could be a drawback depending on location and how quiet you expect.
posted by token-ring at 6:24 PM on August 20, 2023

Probably avoid Western Digital/SanDisk products, regardless.
posted by SPrintF at 6:42 PM on August 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

The old adage of RAID not being a backup still holds true and I’ve lost RAID to rebuilds. I would skip RAID, buy a single hd and use S3 glacial storage for backup which at 2TB is $8/mo. I’m sure there are even less expensive options out there.
posted by geoff. at 6:43 PM on August 20, 2023 [2 favorites]

A nice thing you can do: enable snapshots for the Time Machine share, so if the backup gets corrupted, you can just roll it back a day or two before the screwup.

Whether you get hard drives or SSDs, try to order different models or at least from different batches; there have been failure modes in firmware that kill items from the same batch around the same time.
posted by Pronoiac at 12:59 AM on August 21, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks for the reminder on RAID, geoff. I do have a backup strategy and was hoping only to protect from disk failure - which from a bit of additional reading, it sounds like RAID will do?

offog - I appreciate the suggestion on disk brands and overall confirmation on approach.

All - as always, I appreciate your input and assistance!
posted by hilaryjade at 6:48 AM on August 21, 2023

This Backblaze explainer claims SSDs are more reliable, if you pick the right one for the purpose.

There are many variables in comparing the reliability of HDDs and SSDs, the primary one being how they are used. In the SSD Drive Stats report noted above, we compared SSD and HDD boot drives as they performed the same function in the same types of systems, storage servers. While it seems in the first three years or so the different drives are similar in their failure curves, the curves separate after four years, with the HDDs failing at a higher rate. So far the SSDs have maintained a 1% or less Annualized Failure Rate (AFR) through the first four years.

SSD users are far more likely to replace their storage drive because they’re ready to upgrade to a newer technology, higher capacity, or faster drive, than having to replace the drive due to a short lifespan. Under normal use we can expect an SSD to last years. If you replace your computer every three years, as most users do, then you probably needn’t worry about whether your SSD will last as long as your computer. What’s important is whether the SSD will be sufficiently reliable that you won’t lose your data during its lifetime.

An SSD mirror plus a verified offline backup (on media you refresh on a reasonable interval) should protect you pretty well. At 2TB, a cloud-based backup is also an option.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:01 AM on August 21, 2023

Best answer: Whatever you go with - go with a Synology... My DS1513+ from 2013 is chugging along nicely, I have replaced the HD's a total of 2-times - since the original set, so... I guess 3 sets - if one starts to fail, then I replace all 5, over the course of 6-8 weeks.

If I could, I would happily get an SSD-based setup. My next NAS, will also be a Synology - I love their configuration, setup and overall ecosystem.

(Like... in Printer AskMe's, everyone says... just go with a Brother... when it comes to prosumer NAS, go with Synology)
posted by rozcakj at 10:13 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

Replacing all the drives seems extreme if only one fails, you're burning some money there. In my experience (70ish drives in 24/7 active operation over 10+ years) they don't fall like dominos. I have had some identical batch drives, some failed at 20k hours, and others are still happy at 50k+ hours.
posted by Static Vagabond at 6:43 AM on August 24, 2023