Lifespan of Synology NAS

[DavidL]

(27-06-2020 21:19)Mike48 Wrote:  It looks like the 6-yr-old disks in my DS414 may finally be dying. I guess this thread was as timely as they come.

Today an extended SMART test of Disk 4 remained at 80% for at least 4 hours. I have pulled the disk and inserted a new Seagate IronWolf Pro. I've also ordered 3 more from 2 suppliers to start swapping out the rest.

The NAS data are backed up on a connected USB drive. My thanks to those who offered advice, which helped me prepare for this situation.

With the USB drive hooked up, transition to a new NAS, when necessary, should be a lot easier. (I've got my eye on the new DS420+.)

Again, thanks to all who offered advice and relayed experiences.

When I first had a disc that showed errors in a SMART test, like you I replaced it and immediately got another spare in case of further failures. Reading around on the web at the time I noted that in a few cases others in this situation who had immediately installed a spare found that the new disc was dead on arrival. To guard against this possibility I therefore bought a SATA External hard drive enclosure and ran SMART tests on the new disc before installing it in the NAS. Given the likely criticality of your NAS data and the relatively low cost of a hard drive enclosure I'd strongly recommend you consider doing this.