As you start planning a network attached storage (NAS) system, one key decision is choosing the right hard disk drives. For durable RAID-optimized performance within a NAS, Western Digital‘s "WD Red" family is purpose-built for the job.
But the WD Red line contains different drive models tailored toward specific usage scenarios. In your situation, a common dilemma emerges – should you choose WD Red Plus or Red Pro HDDs to populate your NAS?
Don‘t worry – I‘ll compare the Red Plus and Pro product lines across all critical factors, so you can confidently decide on the best drives for YOUR needs.
By the end, you‘ll understand how key specifications like disk speed, workload limits, warranty duration and pricing stack up. This will reveal which tier – Plus or Pro – aligns with both your performance and budget goals.
Let‘s get into the details!
Comparing Overviews of WD‘s Plus and Pro Hard Drives
First, I want to introduce you to the target use cases for each WD Red product tier:
WD Red Plus hard drives are optimized for small/medium NAS environments in homes or small businesses. They balance performance with value for multitasking applications.
WD Red Pro drives cater toward intensive professional workloads. They ensure higher uptime and responsiveness when operating large NAS systems for critical data.
In a nutshell:
- Plus = Mainstream home/SMB NAS usage
- Pro = Demanding 24/7 enterprise storage
Now that you know the basic focus of each series, let‘s contrast some of the key specifications side-by-side…
Head-to-Head Technical Comparison
Here‘s an at-a-glance table covering vital stats you‘ll want to consider:
| Specification | WD Red Plus | WD Red Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Use Case | Mainstream NAS | Enterprise NAS |
| Price Per TB | $62.99 | $84.99 |
| Max Drive Bays | 8 | 24 |
| Workloads | Up to 180 TB/yr | Up to 300 TB/yr |
| Capacities | 1TB to 14TB | 2TB to 22TB |
| Interface | SATA III 6Gb/s | SATA III 6Gb/s |
| Cache Buffer | 256MB | 128MB |
| Rotational Speed | 5400 RPM | 7200 RPM |
| Warranty Length | 3 Years | 5 Years |
Let‘s analyze the significance of these specifications in greater detail…
Breaking Down the Key Differences
While the WD Red series share baseline NAS-centric optimizations, the Plus and Pro tiers differentiate across several vectors:
Storage Density
WD Red Plus scales from 1TB to 14TB per drive, allowing you to match storage to current data demands. These mainstream capacities best fit personal and SMB needs.
In comparison, WD Red Pro ranges from 2TB up to a massive 22TB. This exponential range enables growing large data repositories over time. Higher densities reduce overall disks required in expansive NAS deployments.
Performance & Workloads
One major divergence is disk rotational speeds – WD Red Plus operates at 5400 RPM while Red Pro spins 50% quicker at 7200 RPM.
Faster rotations translate to reduced latency and quicker response times. This enables WD Red Pro to handle heavy workloads exceeding 300TB per year.
Conversely, the power-optimized 5400 RPM speed of Plus works well for background NAS tasks under 180TB annually. Light workloads like streaming media don‘t require max throughput.
7200 RPM speeds offer snappier response times
So if you need to run intensive databases or virtual machines from your NAS, Pro is preferable. More moderate loads are still handled efficiently by Plus.
Warranties
WD Red Plus contains a solid 3-year limited warranty covering parts replacements and repairs. However, WD Red Pro doubles down on reliability with an extended 5-year warranty out of the box.
The longer Pro coverage underlines their suitability for always-on operation. Plus works for lower uptime situations. For mission-critical commercial NAS roles, Pro has your back.
Cost Considerations
Based on street pricing, WD Red Plus currently costs around $63 per TB while Red Pro averages $85 per TB. Plus lawfully saves your wallet some cash.
However for larger deployments, Pro warrants the premium through sheer performance, capacities, and resilience. As data importance scales up, Pro equally rises to match demands.
Now let‘s conclude with my recommendations…
Suggestions on Choosing Plus vs Pro
For most personal home or SMB NAS needs, the WD Red Plus strikes an ideal balance of quality and affordability. Unless continuously maxing out workloads, Plus reliably fits the bill.
However for mission-critical enterprise systems, or if you foresee rapid storage growth coming, I‘d suggest WD Red Pro instead despite higher costs. You‘ll reap rewards through consistent responsiveness and massive room to scale up.
Below is a quick rule of thumb on when to pick Plus or Pro:
WD Red Plus
- Home and SMB NAS
- Mixed workload types
- Under 180TB annual workloads
- Cost-conscious deployments
WD Red Pro
- Business-critical NAS demands
- Concentrated heavy workloads
- Over 300TB yearly workloads
- Maximizing capacity density
There you have it! I hope this full rundown of WD‘s Red Plus vs Pro product lines helps guide you to the optimal HDD selections for YOUR unique NAS plans and budget!
Feel free to reach out with any other questions. Now go design an awesome storage server!
