WD has recently expanded their WD Red line of SATA Hard Drives designed for SOHO NAS applications. The company has released a 5TB and 6TB variant of the WD Red, and the company also introduced the WD Red Pro hard drives for medium to large business NAS market. The new WD Red Pro can be rack-mounted and is designed to handle high workloads. The WD Red is available in 1TB to 6TB capacities, while the WD Red Pro is available in 2TB to 4TB capacities. See more details below.
UPDATE: Both the WD Red 6TB and WD Red Pro are available. See below their respective price and where to buy.
WD Red Features
A storage industry innovation first introduced in 2012, WD Red hard drives address the unique environment of NAS and the growing demand for affordable, reliable and compatible storage that reduces customer total cost of ownership. With the release of 5 TB and 6 TB models, the WD Red line of hard drives is now further enriched with greater storage capacity and increased performance with NASware 3.0, an enhanced version of WD’s original NASware® technology, designed to improve reliability and system performance, reduce customer downtime and to simplify the integration process.
WD Red hard drives also feature 3D Active Balance Plus, an enhanced balance control technology, which significantly improves overall drive performance and reliability. Exclusive for WD Red customers, WD offers free premium 24×7 dedicated support.
By increasing NASware 3.0 capability, the WD Red 1–6 TB capacity drives are capable of supporting up to eight bay NAS systems with no negative impact to performance.
WD Red Specifications
For the detailed specifications of the WD Red hard drives, please visit: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810
WD Red Pro Features
Ideal for medium to large business environments, the new WD Red Pro line of NAS hard drives supports eight to 16 bay NAS systems. The enhanced design offers reliable, high performance storage powered by NASware 3.0. By introducing the WD Red Pro, WD now has a full portfolio NAS storage solution with the WD Red family (WD Red and WD Red Pro) for both consumer and business NAS solutions.
WD Red Pro Specifications
For the detailed specifications of the WD Red Pro hard drives, please visit: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1280
Price and Availability
The WD Red and Red Pro are now available in select US retailers and distributors. Below are their respective manufacturer’s suggested retail prices:
WD Red 5TB (model #: WD50EFRX) – $199.00 here
WD Red 6TB (model #: WD60EFRX) – $279.00 here
WD Red Pro 2TB (model #: WD2001FFSX) – $145.00 here
WD Red Pro 3TB (model #: WD3001FFSX) – $169.99 here
WD Red Pro 4TB (model #: WD4001FFSX) – $227.00 here
The WD Red comes with a 3-year limited regional warranty, while the WD Red Pro comes with a 5-year limited regional warranty.
UPDATE: Added retail prices and where to buy. Please note that prices are subject to change.
