WD Sentinel DX4000 12TB

At Spare Time Notebook, we treat computer hardware like we treat our cars - we buy the biggest/best we can at the time, and then run them until they fall apart.  To that end, the old Windows 2003 Server built circa 2004 was fast approaching retirement.  With 2TB of RAID5 storage, it served admirably over its years, but as of late, was really starting to show its age.

While investigating a replacement, I ran through a number of options:

• building a full replacement server
• building a NAS
• purchasing a NAS off the shelf

All of which had pluses and minuses, but a large factor in my decision was time spent vs. cost saved.  In many cases, with the home grown server/NAS options, I just wasn't going to save enough time to justify the limited cost savings.  Combine that with a number of good NAS options off the shelf, and the decision practically made itself.

The new drive selected was the Western Digital Sentinel DX4000 12TB.  For its cost point, it had the best options available and would fit seamlessly into my existing network (since unlike many options, the DX4000 runs Windows Storage Server vice an embedded flavor of Linux).  With four 3TB drives, it will result in just about 9TB of storage (effectively losing a to RAID5 parity).

When the device arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the "heft factor" - the DX4000 has some weight behind it (a surprising ratio of metal to plastic in its construction).  It feels sturdy, and with its black finish, really looks the part of an office-oriented NAS.

The pictures below show the device next to a CyberPower 1000VA UPS.  With the new setup, I'm hoping for years of uninterrupted storage service.