ReadyNAS Device Compatibility List

[citat3962]

WDC WD10EALS-00Z8A0 Caviar Blue 1TB 7200RPM

I bought a pair of these disks before noticing they aren't on the HCL. I'd really like to know:

A: Are these drives more or less safe to use? It seems the only issues with the newer WD drives are the now resolved 4K disk issues fixed in 4.1.7 and the ongoing issues with the WD Green drive head park features as they update each model. As I understand the Caviar Blue and Black don't have this feature.

B: To what degree will I be refused support for using these drives instead of something from the HCL?

C: PLEASE suggest a reliable consumer grade 1TB drive on the HCL. I worry about using the Caviar Greens for ReadyNAS compatibility problems and both the Seagate and the Hitachi on the HCL have rampant DOA and early death reports on all online vendors with comments enabled.

Thanks for any guidance the community can provide. So far my Cav Blues are working fine but I worry about them not being on the HCL.. Mostly because I don't know to what degree I'll be refused support if I have to call.

[NoahsMyBro]

How frequently/infrequently is the HCL updated? It seems I've been waiting forever to see other 2Tb drives added to the list, and I'm wondering if anybody at Netgear has any intention of ever updating the list, or if I should stop bothering to check.

I use a ReadyNAS Duo in my home. I want to replace the 1Tb drives currently in the device with 2Tb, and can't a pair of any of the drives currently on the HCL. I admit I didn't read through the previous 20 pages in this thread so I might have missed this, but can any of you recommend a 2Tb drive you may have used with the ReadyNAS?

Thanks.

[mdgm]

You've been waiting a while. As I said in the other thread you've posted in, I'd recommend going with the SeaGate or the Hitachi. There are drives on the compatibility list that are readily available, so no urgent need for more disks to be added.

[sphardy]

There are drives on the compatibility list that are readily available, so no urgent need for more disks to be added.

Absolutely not true - unless a user wants to purchase 3TB disks as those have only just been added due to only just being supported

As you know I recently purchased 2 x 2TB disks as my supplier was not able to supply any that were on the HCL and so I had to risk going with newer Hitachi HDS723020BLA642 which replace the drives that are on the approved list

The lack of an up to date HCL is becoming a big problem given the clear statements Netgear makes about how using approved drives affects support and also the reslting unnecessary risk a user has to take by not being able to buy approved drives

[InTheShires]

Have to agree with sphardy. I could find no HCL compatible drives in stock when I needed to upgrade, either locally or at my usual online suppliers. It was incredibly frustrating, so in the end I had to hope for the best, and go by the user reviews posted here.

[mdgm]

Well I had no problems obtaining SeaGate 2TB disks from the compatibility list recently, purchasing them online from a reseller which offers great prices for consumer disks. I think I forgot about the Hitachi being no longer available. Hitachi isn't as easy to obtain down here anyway (a lot of sellers resell SeaGate and Western Digital but not Hitachi). If you really want to go with one brand then you may have trouble obtaining disks from the compatibility list sometimes, I guess.

[sphardy]

If you really want to go with one brand then you may have trouble obtaining disks from the compatibility list sometimes, I guess.

don't misrepresent what I stated - while i had intended to buy Hitachi drives from the HCL, I was unable to find *any* drives of any brand from the HCL and so decided to stick with Hitachi as the most likely safe option

Netgear has recently stated on this forum that they currently use Hitachi drives extensively which seemed the best endorsement of likely compatibility given the lack of an up to date HCL

[mdgm]

That is interesting. I could easily find the SeaGate 2TB drives I bought at a number of online websites. So I guess there must be availability problems in different regions.

[Regulus]

How frequently/infrequently is the HCL updated? It seems I've been waiting forever to see other 2Tb drives added to the list, and I'm wondering if anybody at Netgear has any intention of ever updating the list, or if I should stop bothering to check.

I use a ReadyNAS Duo in my home. I want to replace the 1Tb drives currently in the device with 2Tb, and can't a pair of any of the drives currently on the HCL. I admit I didn't read through the previous 20 pages in this thread so I might have missed this, but can any of you recommend a 2Tb drive you may have used with the ReadyNAS?

Thanks.

I was also wondering about this. I was checking web stores to find a Netgear 1000Mb switch for my brand new ReadyNas Duo (I have a 100Mb 3com Office switch now) but the models listed in the compatibility list seem pretty much outdated compared to what is available .... When switching to other brands then its the complete pits!!
Q .. does it really matter? (I would opt for something that supports jumbo frames!)

[sphardy]

Q .. does it really matter? (I would opt for something that supports jumbo frames!)

It shouldn't really matter. If there is a problem between router & NAS it is far more often than not an issue with the router, typically not supporting a certain feature - inconvenient perhaps, but unlikely to directly impact the functionality of the NAS. (Using non-approved HDD on the other hand could potentially cause functional issues with the NAS & also impact the support Netgear would offer if such a scenario was to arise)

Given that & the sheer number of routers available (including esoteric ISP provided units not available to non-customers) it's not realistic to expect a fully up to date HCL for routers. I suggest you choose a couple of routers that are available to you and meet your requirements, then search the forum for other users posting their experience - or post a question on the forum.

[Regulus]

Thanks for the information ... but being a new user with a number of decades of ICT experience on the counter, I can't help feeling a bit weird having to go through all these "compatibility" search issues instead of just not having to worry about this because the ReadyNas could be built following general & international connectivity standards ...

[gponcho]

Hi,

I am new to the forms just purchased the ReadyNAS Duo RND2000 unit I alreay have 2 Dlink 323 units but I wanted to try out Netgear's unit. Regarding the hard drives I agree with alot of the users that the compatibility list is small and does not support alot of newer drives. I wanted to buy 2 Western 2 Terabyte Drives that are not on the list. I know with the D-Link 323 units I can put any drive in the unit pretty much.

[mdgm]

Welcome gponcho.

The Dlink DNS-323 only has one 2TB drive on its compatibility list, the WD20EADS and that drive is no longer available. Furthermore that drive was only reported as working by users of that device and not tested by Dlink itself.

Furthermore I believe firmware supporting 4k sectors is still in beta for the DNS-323.

The compatibility list for the Duo is much better than the Dlink.

There is 4k sector support for the Duo if it comes with 4.1.7 or if you update to 4.1.7 (requires reboot, you will be prompted when to do this) and then do a factory reset.

Drives not on the compatibility list may/may not work.

[sphardy]

Thanks for the information ... but being a new user with a number of decades of ICT experience on the counter, I can't help feeling a bit weird having to go through all these "compatibility" search issues instead of just not having to worry about this because the ReadyNas could be built following general & international connectivity standards ...

The only compatibility list that is important is for HDDs you install in your NAS - and given you are trusting your data to a product that is designed to protect that data, it doesn't seem unreasonable that a NAS manufacturer would want to have some semblance of control over the required 3rd party products that can have a significant impact on the reliability of their own product

The other HCLs are guides and far from complete or exhaustive as explained - ideally any router or switch conforming to appropriate standards should work as you refer, but as I'm sure you've found in your decades of ICT experience, that is far from always the case - and not just with NAS devices

[Pence1]

http://www.readynas.com/?page_id=84

Netgear is losing thousands of dollars because of the very outdated Compatibility list like the one above,
Please update them or just dont make it available if inadequate or incomplete.