I'm afraid I can't answer your compatibility question, but I do have some experiences to share, particularly with respect to your interest in a second NAS.
I started with a DNS-321 in 2009 and in Jun 2011 went to a DNS-323. Along the way, I installed a couple of DNS-323's for friends/relatives and last year, a DNS-320. I've thrown all manner of 500GB drives at all these with no compatibility problems whatsoever (all in Raid 1 mode). My own 323 has been running a couple of 2TB Seagate green drives (ST2000DL003-9VT1) in Raid 1 for 2.5 years with no problems whatsoever. I wouldn't say it gets hammered but it does get constant use being the primary storage for 3 or 4 users in the house and all our video/music media stored on it, streamed to Xbox, PS3 and 3 different WDTV media players.
One thing to note is I flashed the 1.10 beta firmware to format the 2TB drives, then immediately downgraded to 1.09 for day-to-day use. With the bevy of complaints I heard about 1.10 (which later transitioned unaltered from beta to production), I decided to play it safe - a decision I never regretted. Yes, v1.09 has some limitations and even some bugs (daylight savings & NTP, anyone?), but overall, tolerable. That said, I am annoyingly "underwhelmed" by the shoddy support/firmware D-Link has provided over the last several years (especially since "D-Link Multimedia"s departure from the scene). In case anyone from D-Link reads this, if corporate/marketing thinks product support and firmware improvements and fixes have no bearing on customer satisfaction/confidence/loyalty ... I'm here to tell you, "Dead wrong, mate!"
Lately, I've been bemoaning the low performance of the 323 (along with my waning loyalty) and started looking around for an alternative. One of the top resources I came across is smallnetbuilder.com (as has been mentioned before by fordem and others). Here's a link to their NAS comparison tool:
smallnetbuilder.com NAS comparoFor example to restrict the listing to 2-bay units, select "2" under Drives, then click the "FILTER" button and you'll see a comparison across current 2-bay devices they've tested. Choose the type of test you want beside the yellow-highlighted "Select benchmark:" heading.
This site also has archived reviews of some D-Link units including the DNS-323, 321, 320L, 325 ... although the end-of-life models no longer show up in the NAS comparison charts. If you spend some time poring through test results (on the smallnetbuilder site and elsewhere), you'll see the D-Link models are at/near the bottom of the pack.
FWIW, I decided to pursue the Thecus N2310 unit and was lucky enough to find it on sale last weekend for $130 CA at NCIX.com, completely in line with the cost of say, a DNS-320 here in Canada. (BTW, it's now reverted back to the regular Canadian price of $180.) I did some research on Thecus as a company and even though they're not as well known as D-Link, I'm satisfied that the N2310's price-to-performance is well worth the risk. Here's a link to its detailed review:
smallnetbuilder.com thecus-n2310 reviewHTH,
DH
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Topic: WD Drives red and black compatible (Read 4038 times)