If you are thinking of acquiring a hard drive for NASWe offer this guide so you can find the best option, and we also provide a list of the best brands and models available, so you don't get lost even if you don't have technical knowledge. In other words, everything you need to know about the NAS world, gathered in one article.
And if you still don't know what technology is NAS (Network Attached Storage)We'll also explain everything you need to know, including the possibilities and conveniences that these types of devices offer, so you can assess whether or not you really need one of the best home and business NAS servers.
To learn more visit: The different types of hard drives
What to look for in a NAS hard drive
To choosing a good NAS, you don't just need to choose any NAS enclosure and a hard drive, but you'll also need to take into account a few additional considerations. It's not as simple as creating an external hard drive with a case and an internal hard drive. In the case of NAS, cases aren't just simple plastic or metal protections like conventional hard drives, but they also contain circuitry and electronics that need to be monitored.
A NAS is a computer A small device with a large storage device, colloquially speaking. In fact, it contains a CPU, which will usually be an ARM-based SoC and an operating system that can be Linux in most cases for managing it (although the operating system is transparent to the end user), RAM, etc., as well as an integrated network adapter or network card.
All this hardware is important, since the performance and fluidity of this will depend on the CPU, as well as the RAM, just as the performance of the network connection will depend on the adapterTherefore, especially if it's a wireless technology, it's important that it's as stable and fast as possible, as we described in our article on the best network cards.
But there is something even more important than all that, and that is the hard drive or hard drives that is stored inside, as it also determines access latency (reading and writing) and something as important as storage capacity. Therefore, it's especially important to choose a good hard drive with high performance. Even manufacturers of mechanical/magnetic storage media (HDD) have taken this into account and have released editions or versions of their drives specifically for NAS.
You will also find the following useful: SSD, which can be used to achieve a faster NAS by taking advantage of their features, and even the hybrid SSDs we've already discussed. Remember that in any case, regardless of the type, the brand is important to achieve a lower failure rate, i.e., greater reliability. Nobody wants their data to be corrupted or lost due to errors, right?
Therefore, we recommend the same brands that we recommended in our articles for choosing the best hard drives. That is, for HDDs, Western Digital or WD, HGST and ToshibaAvoid Seagate drives, which have had the highest failure rates recently, even though they once reigned supreme. Of course, choose the NAS-branded versions of these brands, as regular hard drives aren't specifically designed for NAS use, and won't be as optimal.
In addition to the power consumption, reliability, and capabilities offered by these special NAS hard drives, you should know that manufacturers of enclosures or complete NAS devices also usually have products that allow the use of one or more hard drives, as I mentioned earlier. And if there are several, many have the ability to use several. RAID configurations, that is, for redundant storage that in principle provides much greater security for our data by making copies on several hard drives… or combining the capacities of several hard drives to have much larger storage space.
Finally I would tell you to also be vigilant consumption, as these are devices that will be permanently connected to the power supply and the grid so they can be accessed at any time. If their consumption is high, you may notice it on your electricity bill.
What is the best hard drive for NAS?
Table could not be displayed.Best HDD Hard Drives for NAS
As we always do, we will include our recommendation Here are the best NAS hard drives you can buy on the market, in case you're not technically savvy and are a bit lost in everything discussed above. Taking all this into account, the list of the best models is:
Western Digital offers excellent quality and reliability, as well as highly innovative technology. The range WD Red They are specially designed for NAS, and are valid both for a NAS intended for home use, as well as for professional NAS used in small, medium and large companies, since their performance is extremely good for any job, although the RED PRO series are better for professional use and also have better performance and reliability, among other things due to their 128MB buffer or cache (double that of the normal range).
Red has been designed to meet the needs of network storage, with capacities up to 10TB. The difference with other WD models is that these hard drives have been tested to work properly in a NAS, something that is not the case with other models. In addition, they are compatible with the NASware 3.0 technology which allows to balance performance and extend life (reliability when working as NAS and RAID).
Likewise, Red has a system of optimizing consumption and reducing high temperatures during operation, something important when we have large NAS with several hard drives running so close together and for long periods of time (24/7).
Western Digital Red 1TB – 10TB
Western Digital launched one of its best series of HDDs for NAS in 2019, and among the most recent ones, we can find models with capacities of up to 14 TB, expanding the maximum capacity of the HDDs in the series.
This particular model is specifically designed to be compatible with non-commercial NAS systems. Therefore, they are ideal for home and small business NAS systems with up to 8 bays operating in a 24/7 environment, while supporting a workload rate of up to 180 TB/year.
WD Red drives feature NASware 3.0 technology to balance performance and reliability in NAS and RAID environments. This NAS HDD offers users the highest possible capacity at a relatively affordable price.
Western Digital Red PRO 1TB – 10TB
The WD Red Pro, up to 20TB, is another great NAS hard drive that continues to maintain a high standard in terms of architecture and performance. Its main difference from the previous model is the option to purchase it with larger storage capacities, in addition to improved performance of approximately 50-60 MB/s in read and write capacity.
The price difference between WD Red and Red Pro is obvious (WD Red Pro is more expensive). Hard drives vary in price depending on their capacity, so you can choose the one that best suits your budget.
Seagate IronWolf Pro
Another of the best NAS hard drives you can get with a great capacity is this Seagate IronWolf Pro. It performs well with speeds of up to 214 MB/s, and is also quite quiet.
It's designed for intensive use year-round, all day long. Its small drawback, however, is its workload rate of 300 TB/year. You won't notice this unless you plan to transfer large amounts of data annually.
This IronWolf Pro supports NAS systems with up to 24 bays, making it a great choice for businesses and users who need high performance.
Seagate IronWolf
If you're looking for a high-capacity NAS hard drive, the Seagate IronWolf 18TB is an excellent choice. It offers a good value and a wider range of features than the IronWolf Pro series.
It's designed to withstand intensive use over time without any unusual vibrations, and it also features the brand's management system to monitor it and ensure the security of your stored files.
As for transfer speeds, it reaches up to 180 MB/s, which, while not the fastest on the market, is quite good considering the price. It only supports up to eight bays, although few home NAS systems will exceed that capacity.
Toshiba N300
Toshiba also has some of the best HDDs for NAS under the N300 series. These are 3,5-inch models designed for users and businesses looking for high capacity and 24/7 performance.
Like all drives of its type, the N300 is optimized for reliability and endurance (a maximum workload factor of 180 TB/year) and supports multiple RAID configurations within NAS devices with up to 8 bays.
The N300 family features a SATA 6 Gbps interface, comes in 4TB, 6TB, and 8TB capacities, spins at 7200 rpm, and has a 1 million hour mean time between failures.
Best SSD Hard Drives for NAS
Using a hard drive SSD, very good speed performance is achieved, as all the qualities we get with an SSD in a PC are also enjoyed on our NAS network, allowing the hard drive not to be a bottleneck even if we have an ultra-fast (Gigabit) connection. Furthermore, they make zero noise, consume less power, and since they have no mechanical parts, they usually last longer.
If you choose an SSD, you'll need to check whether your NAS enclosure supports the chosen hard drive technology, i.e., it could support M.2 memory, but not NVMe. Once you know the type of memory it supportsYou can proceed to choose the capacity and model of hard drive you want. We recommend Samsung hard drives, which we consider the best:
Western Digital Red SA500
An SSD hard drive for NAS is synonymous with fast transfer speeds. The Western Digital Red SA500 is one of the best of its kind, offering reliability and speeds reaching 560 MB/s read and up to 530 MB/s write, far exceeding standard drives.
If you're looking to store or transfer 4K or 8K files on your NAS, this is the most recommended option in terms of price. The only downside is that it only has 2TB of storage.
Samsung 870 EVO 250GB – 4TB
Samsung's 870 EVO is available in nearly every capacity you might need for home and small businesses, from 250GB to 4TB.
This Samsung 870 EVO comes in a 2,5” 7mm form factor and has a sleek black anodized aluminum casing that gives it a premium feel compared to its cheaper competitors.
In terms of specifications, it has a static SLC cache of 6GB to 12GB along with a dynamic SLC cache spanning tens of gigabytes. It can also achieve sequential speeds of up to 560/530 Mbps.
Samsung 860 EVO 1TB – 4TB
The main difference with the 870 EVO is that the 860 EVO only uses 2-bit MLC technology, which is significantly slower compared to the 870. Additionally, the new 870 update fixes the SATA 3 protocol issue on the 860 that prevents it from reaching its full potential.
Beyond that, it's only slightly faster, making the 860 EVO cheaper in some cases. If price is important to you, you probably won't notice these speed differences, although you'll need to be mindful of compatibility with your NAS.
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB – 2TB
Samsung's 970 EVO Plus can deliver up to 3,5GB/s of sequential read performance and up to an astonishing 3,3GB/s of write performance. It also offers up to 620/000 random read/write IOPS.
Unlike most NAS SSDs, Samsung NVMe SSDs feature an optional driver download that helps slightly improve performance over the default Windows NVMe driver. It also helps ensure compatibility with older Windows operating systems, such as Windows 7.
You can use Samsung's Magician and Data Migration software to monitor, compare, and even clone data from your current drive to your new Samsung SSD.
You could use other brands SSDs like Crucial, Intel, etc., but the performance and quality you'll get with Samsung are almost unmatched.
What is a NAS server and what is it used for?
NAS (Network Attached Storage) It's a technology that allows us to have a storage device with an integrated network adapter so we can connect it via cable or Wi-Fi to our LAN or the Internet, and thus access it simply by connecting to this network from anywhere. In other words, it's storage connected to the network using protocols like TCP/IP.
These devices can be purchased now complete, that is, a case that integrates one or more hard drives inside, and also the power supply and the network adapter to provide it with a link to our network, or we can also buy housings for NAS, and we ourselves can purchase the hard drive(s) separately. This gives us more flexibility when choosing the hardware, as is the case with the hard drive enclosures we can purchase. We can even set up a NAS server to connect through any client and use this "home cloud" service.
You will have already given yourself many clues the possibilities that a NAS allows you, such as having your own private cloud storage at home. That is, connecting a hard drive to the network and being able to store whatever you want or access content from anywhere in the world. Why? Well...
- Backup: It allows you to make backup copies of your PCs and mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) whenever you need to on a private storage medium that you manage yourself, so you don't have to pay for a cloud service or worry about privacy policies and other issues that we have when we leave our private data in the hands of cloud services.
- MultimediaImagine storing music, pictures, or videos on your NAS, so you can access them from anywhere. For example, imagine you have movies on your NAS and want to watch them with a friend at their house. You'll simply access the network-connected NAS from your friend's smart TV, and you can watch the movie as if you had it locally.
- Share: You can use the NAS as a personal server and share data with multiple clients. These clients can be your own devices (laptops, desktops, smartphones, game consoles, network printers, etc.) or other devices. You can open it up and grant access to third parties so that friends, company employees, or anyone else can also read and write the content, making data sharing easier.
- NAS server: Similar to the previous example, but on a larger scale, meaning if your bandwidth and demand allow it, you could use it to open it to the public and give access to anyone who wants to connect to it via the Internet and store or read/download data.
- SANA SAN is a Storage Area Network, that is, connecting multiple NAS devices to the same network to form a larger storage network. This allows for a local network with multiple NAS devices operating in blocks rather than separately.
- CCTVIf you use IP cameras, you could also set up a video surveillance system and store the recordings on your NAS.
As you can see, the possibilities are quite broad.