NAS Drive Compatibility

Western Digital Red 3TB

NAS HDD

Part number WD30EFRX - 68AX9N0 · Red series · 3.5" SATA HDD. If your machine is listed below, this drive is officially supported — not a forum workaround.

RedNAS HARD DRIVE3.5" SATA HDDWESTERN DIGITAL

Part of the Western Digital Red series →

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70
Compatible NAS models
70 Syn · 0 QNAP · 0 Asus · 0 TM
By vendor
3 TB
Listed capacity
Western Digital
Manufacturer
NAS (older line)
Product line (manufacturer rating)
5400
Spindle speed (RPM)
CMR/SMR
Recording
256 MB
Cache
180 TB
Rated workload / year

Specifications are the manufacturer's published ratings for this product series; verify the exact part number before purchase.

Strong pick as a cold copy

Recording for this series is mixed CMR/SMR — it varies by exact model number. Verify the exact part number before buying a cold copy: SMR drives throttle writes once their internal cache is full, which is exactly what a full-library backup pass does — a 16 TB cold-copy backup that takes days will slow to crawl on the last terabytes. For the off-site slot of a 3-2-1 plan, prefer the CMR variant of the same capacity; the 3-2-1 guide and the backup tools encyclopedia cover the rest of the chain.

Compatibility verdict

It appears on the official compatibility lists of 70 machines and series — 70 Synology. This is a NAS-class drive: built for 24/7 operation with vibration compensation for multi-bay enclosures — the right tier for most 1-8 bay home or small-office NAS units. Its series rating is on file as SMR (shingled) — the one trait that slows large RAID rebuilds and full-library copies.

Compatible NAS models

Synology DS1010+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1019+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1091-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS109+1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS110+1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS110j1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1111-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1121-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS112+1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS112j1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1141-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS115j1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1511+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1512+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1513+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1812+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1813+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1819+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2092-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS209+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS209+II2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS210+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS210j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2112-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS211+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS211j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2122-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS212+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS212j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2132-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS213+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS213air2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS213j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS214se2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS216se2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4094-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS409+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4104-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS410j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4114-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS411+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS411+II4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS411j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS412+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4134-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS413j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS509+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS710+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS712+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS713+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS918+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DVA3219 See its full HCL → Synology RS212 See its full HCL → Synology RS214 See its full HCL → Synology RS2418+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2418RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2818RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS3614xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS3617xs See its full HCL → Synology RS409 See its full HCL → Synology RS409+ See its full HCL → Synology RS409RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS411 See its full HCL → Synology RS810+ See its full HCL → Synology RS810RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS812 See its full HCL → Synology RS812+ See its full HCL → Synology RS812RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS814+ See its full HCL → Synology RS814RP+ See its full HCL →

Same-capacity alternatives

Other drives listed at 3 TB capacity, ranked by how many machines list them:

Toshiba MG04ACA300E 418 machines · MG04ACA**** Seagate ST3000NM0033 341 machines · Constellation ES.3 Western Digital WD30PURZ 307 machines · Purple Western Digital WD30PURX 300 machines · Purple Seagate ST3000VN007 295 machines · IronWolf Seagate ST3000NM0005 282 machines · Enterprise Capacity Western Digital WD3000FYYZ 268 machines · Re Western Digital H3IKNAS30003272SA (0S03662) 266 machines · Deskstar NAS

Quick answers

Is the WD30EFRX - 68AX9N0 officially compatible with my NAS?

It appears on the official compatibility lists of 70 machines and series — 70 Synology. Every machine page linked below shows the vendor's own list entry, refreshed daily.

Is the WD30EFRX - 68AX9N0 CMR or SMR?

As a Western Digital Red drive, it is rated CMR/SMR varies by model. CMR (conventional magnetic recording) is what a RAID array wants: SMR drives slow rebuilds dramatically. This series mixes both, so verify the exact part number before buying — the <a href="/faq/cmr-vs-smr-nas-drives/">CMR vs SMR guide</a> has a part-number lookup.

Is the WD30EFRX - 68AX9N0 a good NAS drive?

This is a NAS-class drive: built for 24/7 operation with vibration compensation for multi-bay enclosures — the right tier for most 1-8 bay home or small-office NAS units. Its series rating is on file as SMR (shingled) — the one trait that slows large RAID rebuilds and full-library copies.

Can I use the WD30EFRX - 68AX9N0 for a 3-2-1 cold backup copy?

Recording for this series is mixed CMR/SMR — it varies by exact model number. Verify the exact part number before buying a cold copy: SMR drives throttle writes once their internal cache is full, which is exactly what a full-library backup pass does — a 16 TB cold-copy backup that takes days will slow to crawl on the last terabytes. For the off-site slot of a 3-2-1 plan, prefer the CMR variant of the same capacity; the 3-2-1 guide and the backup tools encyclopedia cover the rest of the chain.

What are alternatives to the WD30EFRX - 68AX9N0?

At the same capacity, the most widely listed alternatives are Toshiba MG04ACA300E (418 machines), Seagate ST3000NM0033 (341 machines), Western Digital WD30PURZ (307 machines). The full ranked list is below.