What I learnt from using WD Red disks to build a home NAS

This article describes the author's experience building a custom Linux-based home NAS using WD Red hard drives. It details the transition from a Synology NAS to a self-built system for better performance and virtualization support. The main focus is on a firmware bug in older WD Red drives called IntelliPark, which aggressively parks the read/write heads every 8 seconds, leading to a high Load Cycle Count (LCC) that can shorten disk lifespan. The author provides SMART data showing LCC values and explains how newer drives have a fix, while offering a utility from Western Digital to adjust the firmware on older drives. The article is relevant to IT/TECHNOLOGY as it covers hardware, storage, and system building.