Author Topic: TeraStation 1200 - Upgrading both of the drives?  (Read 2543 times)

MarkInColo

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TeraStation 1200 - Upgrading both of the drives?
« on: June 15, 2017, 12:55:55 PM »
Greetings - I am thinking about buying a TeraStation 1200.  Your 8TB unit reportedly comes with WD Green drives which are not appropriate for NAS.  Is this true?  If so instead I am thinking about buying the smallest 2TB unit, removing both drives, and replacing them with 8TB WD Red's.  Can I do this, how do I format them, and how do I get Buffalo software on them to configure/setup?

Thanks in advance - Mark

Texturtle

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Re: TeraStation 1200 - Upgrading both of the drives?
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2017, 01:11:57 PM »
First, maybe you should consider a TS3210 model instead which comes with NAS class drives and considerably better performance than the 1000 series and might not be a great deal more after you buy a TS1200 and then buy two additional drives on top of that.

To answer your question, you would need to first delete the RAID array prior to starting. Next, remove one factory drive and insert the new drive. Format the new drive. Once that's done, remove the other factory drive, insert the other new drive and format it. Once that's done, then create a new RAID 1 array with the new drives.

Keep in mind that at this point any drive failures will not be covered by the system warranty.

Just looking at Amazon prices the difference between a TS1200 with 1TB drives and buying 2 4TB WD red drives vs a 3210 with 2 4TB drives is about $100. For that hundred you get a much faster unit, more features, and full warranty support.

MarkInColo

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Re: TeraStation 1200 - Upgrading both of the drives?
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2017, 01:39:54 PM »
Texturtle - Thank you for the quick response.  Let me be clearer.  I need a LOT of storage.  I need a 8TB x 2 (RAID 1) configuration minimum.  I would actually prefer 10TB x 2 (RAID 1) if I can put 10TB drives into the Terastation 1200.  Can I do that, or is there a limit?

So the TS3210DN is only available with up to 4TB x 2 (RAID 1).  That's half of what I need.  So that's why I started looking for a more cost-effective way of getting the storage that I need.  I'm sure this unit would be faster, but I THINK the Terastation 1200 is fast enough for my needs (if it will really do 100Mb/s on a gigabit network).  I just need a lot of storage...

Mark


Texturtle

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Re: TeraStation 1200 - Upgrading both of the drives?
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2017, 02:28:02 PM »
Maybe you should look at a 4 drive unit running RAID 5. More spindles will give better performance. I know that a 3410 is capable of 100 MB/s because I've tested in the lab. Having 4 spindles rather than 2 will generally always perform better.

Eastmarch

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Re: TeraStation 1200 - Upgrading both of the drives?
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2017, 12:02:45 PM »
Not to mention that bleeding edge 10TB drives cost a fortune.
**A single copy of data, even on a RAID array, is NOT a backup! Hard drive failure is not a question of IF, but WHEN! Don't take my word for it, take Google's!**