NAS Drive Compatibility

Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC550 16TB

Enterprise HDD

Part number WUH721814ALE6L1 · Ultrastar DC HC550 series · SATA 6Gb/s (SATA III). If your machine is listed below, this drive is officially supported — not a forum workaround.

Ultrastar DCHC550NAS HARD DRIVE3.5" SATA HDDWESTERN DIGITAL

Part of the Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC550 series →

Check WUH721814ALE6L1 price on Amazon  partner link

86
Compatible NAS models
0 Syn · 86 QNAP · 0 Asus · 0 TM
By vendor
16 TB
Listed capacity
Western Digital
Manufacturer
Enterprise capacity
Product line (manufacturer rating)
7200
Spindle speed (RPM)
CMR
Recording
512 MB
Cache
550 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

Rated CMR (conventional magnetic recording) — the right recording type for a large cold copy. CMR keeps a full-library backup pass fast even at 16–24 TB, which is the whole point of the offline slot in a 3-2-1 plan: rotate two drives monthly, keep one powered off, and the backup tooling (Veeam, Duplicati, Hyper Backup, HBS 3) does the scheduling. Full rule and vendor tool table: 3-2-1 for NAS.

Compatibility verdict

It appears on the official compatibility lists of 86 machines and series — 86 QNAP. This is a Enterprise-class drive: rated for heavier sustained workloads than desktop drives. It is a strong pick for a NAS running 24/7, large-array rebuilds or camera workloads, and enterprise lines are also the drives most widely listed across all five vendors' HCLs. Its series rating is on file as CMR (conventional) — what RAID rebuilds and full-library copies want.

Compatible NAS models

QNAP TL-D800S See its full HCL → QNAP TL-R1200PES-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TL-R1200S-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TL-R1600PES-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TR-002 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1232PXU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1264U-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1273AU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1277XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1283XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-133 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1635AX See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1655 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1673AU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1677XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-1683XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-216G See its full HCL → QNAP TS-233 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-2477XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-253E See its full HCL → QNAP TS-262 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-264 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-433 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-435XeU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-453E See its full HCL → QNAP TS-462 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-464 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-464U See its full HCL → QNAP TS-464U-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-464eU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-467X See its full HCL → QNAP TS-473A See its full HCL → QNAP TS-664 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-667X See its full HCL → QNAP TS-673A See its full HCL → QNAP TS-855X See its full HCL → QNAP TS-855eU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-855eU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-864eU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-864eU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-867X See its full HCL → QNAP TS-873A See its full HCL → QNAP TS-873AeU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-873AeU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-877XU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-877XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-883XU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-883XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-977XU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-977XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-983XU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-983XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1065eU See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1065eU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1277AXU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1277XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1655XeU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1677AXU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1677XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1886XU-RP R2 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h1887XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h2287XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h2477XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h3087XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h686 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h886 See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h966TX See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h973AX See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h977XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TS-h987XU-RP See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-472XT See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-672X See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-672XT See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-872X See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-872XT See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h1277AX See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h1288X See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h1677AX See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h1688X See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h474 See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h674 See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h674T See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h874 See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h874T See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h874X See its full HCL → QNAP TVS-h877AX See its full HCL →

Same-capacity alternatives

Other drives listed at 16 TB capacity, ranked by how many machines list them:

Seagate ST16000NM001G 314 machines · Enterprise Toshiba MG08ACA16TE 299 machines · MG08ACA*** Seagate ST16000NE000 294 machines · IronWolf Pro Seagate ST16000VE000 287 machines · SkyHawkAI Seagate ST16000VN001 239 machines · IronWolf Western Digital WUH721816ALE6L4 227 machines · Ultrastar DC HC550 Western Digital WD161KRYZ 224 machines · Gold Seagate ST16000NM000J 219 machines · EXOS x18

Quick answers

Is the WUH721814ALE6L1 officially compatible with my NAS?

It appears on the official compatibility lists of 86 machines and series — 86 QNAP. Every machine page linked below shows the vendor's own list entry, refreshed daily.

Is the WUH721814ALE6L1 CMR or SMR?

As a Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC550 drive, it is rated CMR. CMR (conventional magnetic recording) is what a RAID array wants: SMR drives slow rebuilds dramatically. See the <a href="/faq/cmr-vs-smr-nas-drives/">CMR vs SMR guide</a> for the full series table.

Is the WUH721814ALE6L1 a good NAS drive?

This is a Enterprise-class drive: rated for heavier sustained workloads than desktop drives. It is a strong pick for a NAS running 24/7, large-array rebuilds or camera workloads, and enterprise lines are also the drives most widely listed across all five vendors' HCLs. Its series rating is on file as CMR (conventional) — what RAID rebuilds and full-library copies want.

Can I use the WUH721814ALE6L1 for a 3-2-1 cold backup copy?

Rated CMR (conventional magnetic recording) — the right recording type for a large cold copy. CMR keeps a full-library backup pass fast even at 16–24 TB, which is the whole point of the offline slot in a 3-2-1 plan: rotate two drives monthly, keep one powered off, and the backup tooling (Veeam, Duplicati, Hyper Backup, HBS 3) does the scheduling. Full rule and vendor tool table: 3-2-1 for NAS.

What are alternatives to the WUH721814ALE6L1?

At the same capacity, the most widely listed alternatives are Seagate ST16000NM001G (314 machines), Toshiba MG08ACA16TE (299 machines), Seagate ST16000NE000 (294 machines). The full ranked list is below.