Yes, it does have a fan that is audible ONLY at startup. Beyond that, during operation even with a WD Re drive (which is a power guzzler compared to the WD Red drives that the units actually ship with), the fan was very quiet - not audible at the noise levels in a usual room.
As for ventilation, you can see from the product chassis photos gallery - there are plenty of perforations around the top and rear - the chassis design is the same as the other 2-bay products from WD over the last two years - it has remained that way partly because it has been very effective in terms of keeping optimal operating conditions for the internal drives.
While i have not used this model, I have tired to use 2 other solutions from WD older models where called WORLD BOOK. Both failed in warranty period (reason I have 2, 3 actually but I wont be using the 3rd) and I will no longer use them. Warranty was easy, but all data was lost. Online are some sites on recovering data (both times it was not the HD's but he hardware running it that Failed) but you need to take apart and have linix box, which voids warranty. I have used other products with the same idea from other manufactures and had no fails. Just bad luck? not sure, but 2 fails is to much in a short time when using them as backups.
Another question: can two of these be on the same home network? I already have sad experience with a Seagate home NAS unit which allowed only one on a network.
Any other comments on my use case appreciated: I'm not after speed nor size, mainly, but it's vital that that no single hardware failure can result in a loss of data. I would use two of these NAS boxes to get that independence. And probably JBOD within each one for the same reason. Feasible?
I believe there is nothing technically preventing two of these devices on the same network. Just make sure they are not both being setup simultaneously as the default name of the device is 'WDMyCloudMirror' and some routers can get confused when two different devices with different DHCP IP addresses have the same device name. It is possible to change the name of the device in the Network Settings section from the web management interface.
If speed / size is not a constraint, and you don't want single hardware failure resulting in data loss, yes, your solution will work - I might advise going with RAID-1 within each NAS, as that will allow automatic rebuild if one of the disks fail. You will still have the other NAS obviously, but the amount of time you spend with the data not having any protection at all is reduced quite a bit with the RAID-1 configuration.
Can you use this to sync/backup folders over the internet? I didn't see anywhere mentioned if this only works on lan. I thinking of using this as remote back up. Install the software on one pc to back up a folder and it will then transfer that over the internet to the device at another location.
My concern about these consumer devices (and other consumer Cloud backup solutions) is how will the ISPs respond to having several thousand GB of data being constantly uploaded by each customer? On most my machines I try to avoid having my OS files uploaded to a Cloud service, but I wonder how many people do that. Someone could probably set one of these up in a manner where it would be uploading files 24/7.
I imagine these are differential backups, so only modified files get transferred, based on comparison of file lists and modified dates (only a few MB for the whole disk).
Also ISPs already have a bunch of BitTorrent people who upload constantly and they seem to cope with that (sometimes they get throttled).
I don't think this is copying anything to WD's servers, except when you use remote access, then it downloads on-demand to the remote device, possibly via WD's network.
I've used two older WD EX2100 units (12TB) and have found WD's configuration interface to be the easiest to use of any NAS I have ever worked with. I think my grandma could set one up. Their software developers and UI designers deserve a medal.
I don't think you said anywhere in the article that this 4TB model comes with 2 x 2TB drives! I had to look at the photos to see that. You list "USD 310 (2x 2TB)" for the price entry in the specs table, but that doesn't say anything about which model it is for (I see it's the 4TB one). If set up as a mirror, as by default, and as the product is named, you only get 2TB or storage. They sell this as having capacity of 4TB. WD's website gives you no hint about this. I looked up the listing on Amazon and thank goodness they do have "4 TB 2X2TB" in the technical details, but otherwise there is no hint there either - actually when you choose the model at the top it says "Capacity" next to the 4TB which actually only gives you 2TB capacity.
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Arbie - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
What about ventilation and temperatures? Does it have a fan?ganeshts - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
Yes, it does have a fan that is audible ONLY at startup. Beyond that, during operation even with a WD Re drive (which is a power guzzler compared to the WD Red drives that the units actually ship with), the fan was very quiet - not audible at the noise levels in a usual room.As for ventilation, you can see from the product chassis photos gallery - there are plenty of perforations around the top and rear - the chassis design is the same as the other 2-bay products from WD over the last two years - it has remained that way partly because it has been very effective in terms of keeping optimal operating conditions for the internal drives.
bobbozzo - Sunday, October 11, 2015 - link
Hi Ganesh,Can you please include idle power (with disks) in your NAS/SAN reviews?
Thanks!
nfriedly - Sunday, January 10, 2016 - link
Yes! Please! For something like a NAS that is expected to be on 24x7, idle power usage is far more important than RAID rebuild.clok1966 - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
While i have not used this model, I have tired to use 2 other solutions from WD older models where called WORLD BOOK. Both failed in warranty period (reason I have 2, 3 actually but I wont be using the 3rd) and I will no longer use them. Warranty was easy, but all data was lost. Online are some sites on recovering data (both times it was not the HD's but he hardware running it that Failed) but you need to take apart and have linix box, which voids warranty. I have used other products with the same idea from other manufactures and had no fails. Just bad luck? not sure, but 2 fails is to much in a short time when using them as backups.edward1987 - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
Here it says Operating temperatures 41° F to 95° F,do not really need a fan.
http://www.span.com/product/Western-Digital-My-Clo...
Arbie - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
Another question: can two of these be on the same home network? I already have sad experience with a Seagate home NAS unit which allowed only one on a network.Any other comments on my use case appreciated: I'm not after speed nor size, mainly, but it's vital that that no single hardware failure can result in a loss of data. I would use two of these NAS boxes to get that independence. And probably JBOD within each one for the same reason. Feasible?
ganeshts - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
I believe there is nothing technically preventing two of these devices on the same network. Just make sure they are not both being setup simultaneously as the default name of the device is 'WDMyCloudMirror' and some routers can get confused when two different devices with different DHCP IP addresses have the same device name. It is possible to change the name of the device in the Network Settings section from the web management interface.If speed / size is not a constraint, and you don't want single hardware failure resulting in data loss, yes, your solution will work - I might advise going with RAID-1 within each NAS, as that will allow automatic rebuild if one of the disks fail. You will still have the other NAS obviously, but the amount of time you spend with the data not having any protection at all is reduced quite a bit with the RAID-1 configuration.
munkle - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
Can you use this to sync/backup folders over the internet? I didn't see anywhere mentioned if this only works on lan. I thinking of using this as remote back up. Install the software on one pc to back up a folder and it will then transfer that over the internet to the device at another location.ganeshts - Friday, October 9, 2015 - link
Yes, it is available over WAN also.Details on the necessary configuration: http://support.wdc.com/KnowledgeBase/answer.aspx?I...
Goodspike - Saturday, October 10, 2015 - link
My concern about these consumer devices (and other consumer Cloud backup solutions) is how will the ISPs respond to having several thousand GB of data being constantly uploaded by each customer? On most my machines I try to avoid having my OS files uploaded to a Cloud service, but I wonder how many people do that. Someone could probably set one of these up in a manner where it would be uploading files 24/7.stephenbrooks - Sunday, October 11, 2015 - link
I imagine these are differential backups, so only modified files get transferred, based on comparison of file lists and modified dates (only a few MB for the whole disk).Also ISPs already have a bunch of BitTorrent people who upload constantly and they seem to cope with that (sometimes they get throttled).
bobbozzo - Sunday, October 11, 2015 - link
I don't think this is copying anything to WD's servers, except when you use remote access, then it downloads on-demand to the remote device, possibly via WD's network.Conficio - Saturday, October 10, 2015 - link
Really no IPv6 support? Is this 1999 or what? It's linux underneath, so one has to deliberately disable IPv6.ganeshts - Saturday, October 10, 2015 - link
It is all part of a differentiation drive when compared to the EX2 series.I suspect most of the consumers who are going to buy this unit probably don't even know what IPv6 is.
Sivar - Monday, October 12, 2015 - link
I've used two older WD EX2100 units (12TB) and have found WD's configuration interface to be the easiest to use of any NAS I have ever worked with. I think my grandma could set one up.Their software developers and UI designers deserve a medal.
whiteonline - Friday, October 16, 2015 - link
What SSH client is that?Moishe - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
Thanks for mentioning the lack of features in this versus the EX2. Lack of encryption in this is a deal killer.mikato - Saturday, November 14, 2015 - link
I don't think you said anywhere in the article that this 4TB model comes with 2 x 2TB drives! I had to look at the photos to see that. You list "USD 310 (2x 2TB)" for the price entry in the specs table, but that doesn't say anything about which model it is for (I see it's the 4TB one). If set up as a mirror, as by default, and as the product is named, you only get 2TB or storage. They sell this as having capacity of 4TB. WD's website gives you no hint about this. I looked up the listing on Amazon and thank goodness they do have "4 TB 2X2TB" in the technical details, but otherwise there is no hint there either - actually when you choose the model at the top it says "Capacity" next to the 4TB which actually only gives you 2TB capacity.