DS 1821+ expansion options

[Enquiries]

Good morning (for me anyway),
I currently have a DS1821+ configured as follows:

8 drives 4 x 8TB, 4 x 16 TB, SHR-2, BTFS

The 4 x 16Tb drives replaced 4 x 8Tb drives which remain perfectly serviceable.

My question:
- Do we think its better to eventually replace the remaining 4 x 8TB drives with 4 x 24TB drives and keep leapfrogging sets (whilst only having 8 drives; OR
- Perhaps purchase a DX517 and populate that with the currently idle 4 x 8Tb drives?

Regards,

Mark
Are there any performance considerations with spreading the pool across two devices, etc.?

[ed]

Good morning, Mark!

You have a couple of viable options to consider for expanding your storage setup with your DS1821+. Let's weigh the pros and cons of each:

Replace the remaining 4 x 8TB drives with 4 x 24TB drives:
Pros: This option simplifies your setup by maintaining all drives within the main NAS enclosure. It ensures uniformity in drive sizes and potentially reduces management complexity.
Cons: It involves a higher upfront cost to replace the remaining 8TB drives with 24TB drives. Additionally, you'll need to migrate data from the existing 8TB drives to the new 24TB drives, which can be time-consuming.
Purchase a DX517 expansion unit and populate it with the 4 x 8TB drives:
Pros: This option allows you to utilize the currently idle 8TB drives without the need for immediate replacements. It provides additional storage capacity while keeping the existing drives in service.
Cons: Introducing a separate expansion unit adds a layer of complexity to your setup. There may be some performance considerations, especially regarding data transfer speeds and access times, as the storage pool is spread across two devices. However, the impact on performance should be minimal under typical usage scenarios.
Regarding performance considerations, spreading the storage pool across two devices like the DS1821+ and DX517 expansion unit may introduce some minor overhead compared to a single large pool. However, for most use cases, this impact should be negligible, especially considering the ample processing power and connectivity options of the DS1821+.