It is optimized for archiving, sharing content, and building RAID arrays in systems with ZFS and other file systems. The hard drives are designed and tested for NAS systems with up to 8 drive bays, providing the necessary flexibility, versatility, and security when storing and sharing your valuable personal and business files. With a NAS and WD Red Plus hard drives, you can stream, back up, organize, and effortlessly share your digital content with other devices on your home or business network. The NASware 3.0 technology enhances the compatibility of your hard drives with other devices. Larger enterprises with up to 24 drive bays can rely on the outstanding performance of WD Red Pro hard drives. Designed for optimal NAS compatibility, WD Red Plus hard drives with NASware technology make choosing the right hard drive easier. In short, WD Red Plus is the hard drive with the highest compatibility for NAS enclosures. This is also supported by numbers. WD Red Plus hard drives are the result of extensive compatibility testing with NAS partners and widespread integration of their technologies.
It is optimized for archiving, sharing content, and building RAID arrays in systems with ZFS and other file systems. The hard drives are designed and tested for NAS systems with up to 8 drive bays, providing the necessary flexibility, versatility, and security when storing and sharing your valuable personal and business files. With a NAS and WD Red Plus hard drives, you can stream, back up, organize, and effortlessly share your digital content with other devices on your home or business network. The NASware 3.0 technology enhances the compatibility of your hard drives with other devices. Larger enterprises with up to 24 drive bays can rely on the outstanding performance of WD Red Pro hard drives. Designed for optimal NAS compatibility, WD Red Plus hard drives with NASware technology make choosing the right hard drive easier. In short, WD Red Plus is the hard drive with the highest compatibility for NAS enclosures. This is also supported by numbers. WD Red Plus hard drives are the result of extensive compatibility testing with NAS partners and widespread integration of their technologies.
It is optimized for archiving, sharing content, and building RAID arrays in systems with ZFS and other file systems. The hard drives are designed and tested for NAS systems with up to 8 drive bays, providing the necessary flexibility, versatility, and security when storing and sharing your valuable personal and business files. With a NAS and WD Red Plus hard drives, you can stream, back up, organize, and effortlessly share your digital content with other devices on your home or business network. The NASware 3.0 technology enhances the compatibility of your hard drives with other devices. Larger enterprises with up to 24 drive bays can rely on the outstanding performance of WD Red Pro hard drives. Designed for optimal NAS compatibility, WD Red Plus hard drives with NASware technology make choosing the right hard drive easier. In short, WD Red Plus is the hard drive with the highest compatibility for NAS enclosures. This is also supported by numbers. WD Red Plus hard drives are the result of extensive compatibility testing with NAS partners and widespread integration of their technologies.
It is optimized for archiving, sharing content, and building RAID arrays in systems with ZFS and other file systems. The hard drives are designed and tested for NAS systems with up to 8 drive bays, providing the necessary flexibility, versatility, and security when storing and sharing your valuable personal and business files. With a NAS and WD Red Plus hard drives, you can stream, back up, organize, and effortlessly share your digital content with other devices on your home or business network. The NASware 3.0 technology enhances the compatibility of your hard drives with other devices. Larger enterprises with up to 24 drive bays can rely on the outstanding performance of WD Red Pro hard drives. Designed for optimal NAS compatibility, WD Red Plus hard drives with NASware technology make choosing the right hard drive easier. In short, WD Red Plus is the hard drive with the highest compatibility for NAS enclosures. This is also supported by numbers. WD Red Plus hard drives are the result of extensive compatibility testing with NAS partners and widespread integration of their technologies.
Last updated at 06/08/2026 14:23:31
Western Digital WD 2TB Red NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 inch WD20EFRX
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Western Digital WD 2TB Red NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 inch WD20EFRX
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Western Digital WD Red 2TB WD20EFRX 3.5in NAS Hard Drive
60-day returns
Western Digital WD Red 2TB WD20EFRX 3.5in NAS Hard Drive
60-day returns
Western Digital WD20EFAX 2TB 5400rpm SATA/600 Hard Drive
Free delivery between Tue – Sat
Western Digital WD20EFAX 2TB 5400rpm SATA/600 Hard Drive
Free delivery between Tue – Sat
For Wd Red Nas 2tb Wd20efrx 5400rpm 3.5" Sata Iii 64mb Internal
Delivery $15.54
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
For Wd Red Nas 2tb Wd20efrx 5400rpm 3.5" Sata Iii 64mb Internal
Delivery $15.54
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
For Wd Red Nas 2tb Wd20efrx 5400rpm 3.5" Sata Iii 64mb Internal
Delivery $15.54
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
For Wd Red Nas 2tb Wd20efrx 5400rpm 3.5" Sata Iii 64mb Internal
Delivery $15.54
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
originally posted on westerndigital.com
I build custom computers for artists, and they absolutely MUST have reliable, long-term data storage for their art work. WD Red and Gold are the best for their purpose.I purchased two of these in 10TB for in internal RAID 1 array, as these are excellent for long-term, heavy use storage. One of them was bad, with very slow data transfer and loud clicking. WD Customer Service replied quickly with an RMA for a refund and supplied the UPS return label. Problems with WD products are very rare, but when one does occur, their customer service is the best that I've encountered. I've dealt with CS at three of their larger competitors, and it's due to WDs superior response to a problem that their HDDs and SSDs are the only products that I will now use for data storage and ... MoreI build custom computers for artists, and they absolutely MUST have reliable, long-term data storage for their art work. WD Red and Gold are the best for their purpose.I purchased two of these in 10TB for in internal RAID 1 array, as these are excellent for long-term, heavy use storage. One of them was bad, with very slow data transfer and loud clicking. WD Customer Service replied quickly with an RMA for a refund and supplied the UPS return label. Problems with WD products are very rare, but when one does occur, their customer service is the best that I've encountered. I've dealt with CS at three of their larger competitors, and it's due to WDs superior response to a problem that their HDDs and SSDs are the only products that I will now use for data storage and transfer.My customers appreciate the reliability of these drives.
originally posted on westerndigital.com
These are by-far the most vibration-laden drives I have ever worked with in the 25+ years I have been building PCs. Even with being installed in a grommeted caddy, and having that caddy suspended in my drive cage, so much vibration still gets transferred to my case and can be heard two rooms over. Significant vibration is even transferred through the power and sata cables and into my case's side panel. I've never seen drives this poorly built in my life! These are rated to be spinning 24/7, but they are by far the loudest thing in my home whenever they spin up. I regret my purchase every single time they power on. I wish I had installed these prior to my return date so I could have sent them back. There is no way my data will last very long with how bad these ... MoreThese are by-far the most vibration-laden drives I have ever worked with in the 25+ years I have been building PCs. Even with being installed in a grommeted caddy, and having that caddy suspended in my drive cage, so much vibration still gets transferred to my case and can be heard two rooms over. Significant vibration is even transferred through the power and sata cables and into my case's side panel. I've never seen drives this poorly built in my life! These are rated to be spinning 24/7, but they are by far the loudest thing in my home whenever they spin up. I regret my purchase every single time they power on. I wish I had installed these prior to my return date so I could have sent them back. There is no way my data will last very long with how bad these vibrate. These drives are SUPPOSED to be a higher class of product, the price tag confirms as much.Note: The drives in question are the 8tb red+ with 256mb cache (WD80EFBX). Of course they just spun up again while confirming the model number with hddscan, and I'm even more displeased.
originally posted on westerndigital.com
I got these because they should be the best possible drive for My Cloud Expert Series EX2 Ultra, it came with two 4TB Red drives at 5400 RPM, absolutely silent but not the fastest. So based on the capacity, speed, and CRM vs SRM I was sold and these were on sale for 200 or so. Got the drives and removed one of the 4TB drives and rebuilt the RAID1 mirror. I quickly noticed how much louder the pro drive was than the regular and that it had almost a rythmic thud, made me think click of death. Kept moving forward hoping it was something about the RAID build process. Replaced the other 4tb with the second 12tb, expanded the drive and I had a 12tb mirror just like I wanted. Extreemly fast in comparison with the 4TB WD Red drives but was hot and extremely loud, across the ... MoreI got these because they should be the best possible drive for My Cloud Expert Series EX2 Ultra, it came with two 4TB Red drives at 5400 RPM, absolutely silent but not the fastest. So based on the capacity, speed, and CRM vs SRM I was sold and these were on sale for 200 or so. Got the drives and removed one of the 4TB drives and rebuilt the RAID1 mirror. I quickly noticed how much louder the pro drive was than the regular and that it had almost a rythmic thud, made me think click of death. Kept moving forward hoping it was something about the RAID build process. Replaced the other 4tb with the second 12tb, expanded the drive and I had a 12tb mirror just like I wanted. Extreemly fast in comparison with the 4TB WD Red drives but was hot and extremely loud, across the room loud. Lived with it for a week and decided that I deserver better for what I pay. Initiated a return and picked up two 12tb Red Plus drives, these are almost as good but dead slient in my NAS. They are not as responsive or do not move as much data but the are certainly an upgrade from the 4tb WD Red that the NAS came with and to be honest they were not bad either, just lower capacity and a bit slower. Disappointed as I really wanted to Red Pro drives but simply could not deal with the noise they made nor the risk to may data.
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Western Digital WD 2TB Red NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 inch WD20EFRX
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Western Digital WD 2TB Red NAS Hard Disk Drive - 5400 RPM Class SATA 6 Gb/s 64MB Cache 3.5 inch WD20EFRX
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Western Digital WD Red 2TB WD20EFRX 3.5in NAS Hard Drive
60-day returns
Western Digital WD Red 2TB WD20EFRX 3.5in NAS Hard Drive
60-day returns
Western Digital WD20EFAX 2TB 5400rpm SATA/600 Hard Drive
Free delivery between Tue – Sat
I build custom computers for artists, and they absolutely MUST have reliable, long-term data storage for their art work. WD Red and Gold are the best for their purpose.I purchased two of these in 10TB for in internal RAID 1 array, as these are excellent for long-term, heavy use storage. One of them was bad, with very slow data transfer and loud clicking. WD Customer Service replied quickly with an RMA for a refund and supplied the UPS return label. Problems with WD products are very rare, but when one does occur, their customer service is the best that I've encountered. I've dealt with CS at three of their larger competitors, and it's due to WDs superior response to a problem that their HDDs and SSDs are the only products that I will now use for data storage and ... MoreI build custom computers for artists, and they absolutely MUST have reliable, long-term data storage for their art work. WD Red and Gold are the best for their purpose.I purchased two of these in 10TB for in internal RAID 1 array, as these are excellent for long-term, heavy use storage. One of them was bad, with very slow data transfer and loud clicking. WD Customer Service replied quickly with an RMA for a refund and supplied the UPS return label. Problems with WD products are very rare, but when one does occur, their customer service is the best that I've encountered. I've dealt with CS at three of their larger competitors, and it's due to WDs superior response to a problem that their HDDs and SSDs are the only products that I will now use for data storage and transfer.My customers appreciate the reliability of these drives.
These are by-far the most vibration-laden drives I have ever worked with in the 25+ years I have been building PCs. Even with being installed in a grommeted caddy, and having that caddy suspended in my drive cage, so much vibration still gets transferred to my case and can be heard two rooms over. Significant vibration is even transferred through the power and sata cables and into my case's side panel. I've never seen drives this poorly built in my life! These are rated to be spinning 24/7, but they are by far the loudest thing in my home whenever they spin up. I regret my purchase every single time they power on. I wish I had installed these prior to my return date so I could have sent them back. There is no way my data will last very long with how bad these ... MoreThese are by-far the most vibration-laden drives I have ever worked with in the 25+ years I have been building PCs. Even with being installed in a grommeted caddy, and having that caddy suspended in my drive cage, so much vibration still gets transferred to my case and can be heard two rooms over. Significant vibration is even transferred through the power and sata cables and into my case's side panel. I've never seen drives this poorly built in my life! These are rated to be spinning 24/7, but they are by far the loudest thing in my home whenever they spin up. I regret my purchase every single time they power on. I wish I had installed these prior to my return date so I could have sent them back. There is no way my data will last very long with how bad these vibrate. These drives are SUPPOSED to be a higher class of product, the price tag confirms as much.Note: The drives in question are the 8tb red+ with 256mb cache (WD80EFBX). Of course they just spun up again while confirming the model number with hddscan, and I'm even more displeased.
I got these because they should be the best possible drive for My Cloud Expert Series EX2 Ultra, it came with two 4TB Red drives at 5400 RPM, absolutely silent but not the fastest. So based on the capacity, speed, and CRM vs SRM I was sold and these were on sale for 200 or so. Got the drives and removed one of the 4TB drives and rebuilt the RAID1 mirror. I quickly noticed how much louder the pro drive was than the regular and that it had almost a rythmic thud, made me think click of death. Kept moving forward hoping it was something about the RAID build process. Replaced the other 4tb with the second 12tb, expanded the drive and I had a 12tb mirror just like I wanted. Extreemly fast in comparison with the 4TB WD Red drives but was hot and extremely loud, across the ... MoreI got these because they should be the best possible drive for My Cloud Expert Series EX2 Ultra, it came with two 4TB Red drives at 5400 RPM, absolutely silent but not the fastest. So based on the capacity, speed, and CRM vs SRM I was sold and these were on sale for 200 or so. Got the drives and removed one of the 4TB drives and rebuilt the RAID1 mirror. I quickly noticed how much louder the pro drive was than the regular and that it had almost a rythmic thud, made me think click of death. Kept moving forward hoping it was something about the RAID build process. Replaced the other 4tb with the second 12tb, expanded the drive and I had a 12tb mirror just like I wanted. Extreemly fast in comparison with the 4TB WD Red drives but was hot and extremely loud, across the room loud. Lived with it for a week and decided that I deserver better for what I pay. Initiated a return and picked up two 12tb Red Plus drives, these are almost as good but dead slient in my NAS. They are not as responsive or do not move as much data but the are certainly an upgrade from the 4tb WD Red that the NAS came with and to be honest they were not bad either, just lower capacity and a bit slower. Disappointed as I really wanted to Red Pro drives but simply could not deal with the noise they made nor the risk to may data.
Two WD40EFRX were put into PLeX server 7-3-15.Now they still run but along side eight WD80EFAX drives. Each drive has a MyBook B.U. drive.I have not lost a single drive or had a single problem.As with ANY electronic device the first thing I made absolutely sure of was the presence of a Power Supply that has 33% more GOLD power than the power requirements of the whole of all the parts that make up the Device, in this case a Server. I also back that Power Supply up with clean power that only a quality U.P.S. can provide, less ripple, less brown outs (the real killer/not black outs) less PROBLEMS!☆Second I make sure that proper amount of + AND - CFM flow drains the heat from the server....anyone can just slap some fans in a P.C. and say they have proper heat ... MoreTwo WD40EFRX were put into PLeX server 7-3-15.Now they still run but along side eight WD80EFAX drives. Each drive has a MyBook B.U. drive.I have not lost a single drive or had a single problem.As with ANY electronic device the first thing I made absolutely sure of was the presence of a Power Supply that has 33% more GOLD power than the power requirements of the whole of all the parts that make up the Device, in this case a Server. I also back that Power Supply up with clean power that only a quality U.P.S. can provide, less ripple, less brown outs (the real killer/not black outs) less PROBLEMS!☆Second I make sure that proper amount of + AND - CFM flow drains the heat from the server....anyone can just slap some fans in a P.C. and say they have proper heat management and many will slap a few extra fans in and say they REALLY have proper heat management. NO, bad user, BAD!! This is not how heat management worx! Read a book or a forum post from someone that does understand proper heat management and get that heat soak out of your drives!With just these two important steps well taken care of my hard drive longevity has made insane increases.Just like any "Review Collection" many people don't seem to take into account that you have absolutely no way of verifying the credentials or even just experience or wisdom of the post's owners.In my R.C. touring car Racing career and P.A./Home/Auto Audiophile hobby/second biz experience i ALWAYS started with fantastic power supply and heat removal! Amplifiers should provide MORE watts than the speakers they drive and the gains turned down to achieve zero THD for example.No one does this anymore, everyone just follows the person in front of them with blinders and blames anyone and everyone else they can when a problem arises.
The Netgear ReadyNAS Hard Disk Compatibility List does not include the WD RED Plus range.For some reason they have not replaced the old discontinued WD RED range with the WD RED Plus. The original WD Red had the SMR Recording Technology which a lot of people never liked.But the WD RED Plus has the well tested CMR Recording Technology.I could find any reason why the WD RED Plus would not work in a ReadyNAS RN314, RN312, or RN102 which I own, so I purchased 2x 12TB WD RED Plus hard drives, which worked absolutely fine when fitted in to either of the ReadyNAS.The only thing I would say is that the Two Bay ReadyNAS have a maximum storage limit of 24 Terabytes. So any hard drive larger than 12TB would have to be a single hard drive.
I've been using WD Red drives in my 5 bay Drobo NAS appliance for many years. I recently decided to up my capacity by replacing a 2TB drive with a larger 4TB drive. I went to NewEgg and grabbed this item thinking it was the same as the 4TB drive I bought just over a year ago. I was unaware that, in early 2020, WD did a major redesign on this product by changing the data recording scheme from "CMR" (Conventional Magnetic Recording) to the more dense "SMR" (Shingled Magnetic Recording). That change gives WD the potential to produce the drive cheaper but it also introduces complications when writing data. The result is a drive that has slower write performance than the "CMR" version. WD added caching mechanisms to try to smooth the write performance, but that cache can ... MoreI've been using WD Red drives in my 5 bay Drobo NAS appliance for many years. I recently decided to up my capacity by replacing a 2TB drive with a larger 4TB drive. I went to NewEgg and grabbed this item thinking it was the same as the 4TB drive I bought just over a year ago. I was unaware that, in early 2020, WD did a major redesign on this product by changing the data recording scheme from "CMR" (Conventional Magnetic Recording) to the more dense "SMR" (Shingled Magnetic Recording). That change gives WD the potential to produce the drive cheaper but it also introduces complications when writing data. The result is a drive that has slower write performance than the "CMR" version. WD added caching mechanisms to try to smooth the write performance, but that cache can apparently be filled when writing large files or high volumes of data. All my crashes seem to have occurred when trying to perform a full system backup on one of my networked machines. After the third crash I went online and discovered numerous postings by others who have also had issues with the new "SMR" drives. It took some time before WD finally admitted they had made this change and published documents saying which drive models were affected. (If you've ever wondered what the difference is between the "WD Red" and "WD Red Plus" lines are; for drives between 2TB and 6TB, the "Red" line uses "SMR" and the "Red Plus" line retains the old "CMR". Now you have to pay the premium "Plus" price to get the same drive you used to get as standard!) Online discussions showed many others have had problems with these "SMR" drives in raid configurations. For some time, WD appeared to try to explain away these problems. They ultimately announced that they had made this change and indicated that they still stand behind this product for use in NAS arrays. This definitely shakes my confidence in WD as a reliable source. If I had known all this before I ordered, I would have purchased the "Red Plus" version of the drive. Better still, I would have bought a different brand that is more upfront about the way it treats customers. Meanwhile, I'm stuck with a 4TB doorstop. Maybe I can use it for archival storage?
I loaded up a bunch of competitor's 12TB drives in my Synology 1522+ NAS and used it for Apple Time Machine. At that time, I didn't understand that if I had a hot spare, I only needed to implement SHR and not SHR2 RAID, and I wasted an entire drive's worth of space.Fast forward and I found a cheap DX517 expansion module on an auction site, which I stocked with Western Digital 12TB WD Red drives. I stopped the SMB file services, moved the shared folder to the expansion module, re-formatted the base unit's drives, the moved them back.No errors and everything is now running again, letting me use the DX517 with the WD Red drives to hold my music and video libraries. Unlike the other brand of drives, the WD Red were verified and are running properly in a minimum of ... MoreI loaded up a bunch of competitor's 12TB drives in my Synology 1522+ NAS and used it for Apple Time Machine. At that time, I didn't understand that if I had a hot spare, I only needed to implement SHR and not SHR2 RAID, and I wasted an entire drive's worth of space.Fast forward and I found a cheap DX517 expansion module on an auction site, which I stocked with Western Digital 12TB WD Red drives. I stopped the SMB file services, moved the shared folder to the expansion module, re-formatted the base unit's drives, the moved them back.No errors and everything is now running again, letting me use the DX517 with the WD Red drives to hold my music and video libraries. Unlike the other brand of drives, the WD Red were verified and are running properly in a minimum of time with a minimum amount of fuss. Will buy again!
Recently I set up a home network NAS server, two actually; one new and one purchased used on ebay. The used one is a 4-bay unit that arrived with 3 of these WD30EFRX 3TB NAS drives, in a Raid-5 array. That left the fourth bay empty, and as the the 3 WD drives were all matching I opted to find another drive to match them and set up a new array with all four bays in use. These older drives are not the WD Red drives being sold today. The specs appear to be the same, but there's a major difference between these older Red's and today's drives: These drives use CMR technology, while today's Red's use SMR. I'm not going to waste the space defining these terms, but I recommend you research them as to how they differ. If you want the superior CMR in a WD Red NAS drive today ... MoreRecently I set up a home network NAS server, two actually; one new and one purchased used on ebay. The used one is a 4-bay unit that arrived with 3 of these WD30EFRX 3TB NAS drives, in a Raid-5 array. That left the fourth bay empty, and as the the 3 WD drives were all matching I opted to find another drive to match them and set up a new array with all four bays in use. These older drives are not the WD Red drives being sold today. The specs appear to be the same, but there's a major difference between these older Red's and today's drives: These drives use CMR technology, while today's Red's use SMR. I'm not going to waste the space defining these terms, but I recommend you research them as to how they differ. If you want the superior CMR in a WD Red NAS drive today you must buy WD Red Plus. There's a big difference in price. Since the 3 WDs I inherited with my NAS server were not new, but in perfect condition with no errors and great specs, I purchased a used drive here on ebay. The price was excellent, shipping was quick and the drive checks out perfectly. Of course, used is used, but let's be real here. I'm running a home network for my pleasure, and to create adequate storage for tons of media and information on all kinds of subjects I've been collecting since the1980's. TheseWD30EFRX drives are perfect for this! Remember, NAS is for storage, not for backup, so I backup my storage. I'm also watching the drives' conditions for deterioration. You cannot beat the quality of these drives for the prices they are being sold at!
I purchasd 2 hard drives (4 TB) in 2021 for the Open Media Vault NAS. One hard drive stopped working in 2023 (and NAS was not production, just waiting on a shelf). Then another hard drive degraded in 2024. The motor starts spinning and then stops every 8-10 seconds. As a result, ETC of resyncing 4 TB parralel RAID massive is 128 hours or 5 days! This is a disaster! Both hard drives were manufactured on August 2021). My older hard drives (the oldest one manifatured in 2007) are still alive.
beware WD Red are SMR shingled. This means each writes will be wrtien twice after the buffer. Red are (EFAX)HDD ARE NOT SUATABLE FOR RAID. WD Red plus (EFZX) are CMR, not. Please get information on CMR disks.Performance in raid shows write drops while SMR will rewrite all in disk in shingled way to keep 6TB possibility.It's a ok drive for archive (loner drive), and very bad choice for raid.Replacing a 6TB with a WD Red (EFAX) in a raid environment wold take 9 days of write to rebuilt. This would cause stress to the disk and you data would be at risk for 9 days if you don't access your data during the process.
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