Guides & explainers
The concepts behind a good NAS build - what the specs mean and how to choose with confidence.
How to choose a NAS hard drive
A plain-English walkthrough of everything that matters when picking drives for a NAS: CMR vs SMR, capacity, class, reliability and warranty.
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RAID and how many drives you need
A clear explainer of RAID levels for a NAS - what each one costs you in drives, how much protection it gives, and how many disks to buy.
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SSD vs HDD for a NAS
When to use hard drives vs SSDs in a NAS - bulk storage, cache, and all-flash setups explained.
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How long do NAS drives last?
What annualized failure rate (AFR) really means, how long NAS hard drives typically last, and how to plan for failures.
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Shucking external drives for a NAS
What drive shucking is, the risks (CMR/SMR, warranty, the 3.3V pin), and whether it's worth it for a NAS.
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SMR drives hiding in NAS lines
Manufacturers have quietly shipped SMR drives into NAS and desktop lines. Why it wrecks RAID rebuilds, which current models are SMR, and how to avoid them.
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