Using a regular external hard drive for a 24/7 Mac server
A Mac running in is planned to use a new WD external as its main storage. The drive will hold media for a and will also store document backups and phone photos. The main concern is that the drive is not sold as a drive.
NAS drives are commonly understood to be better suited for being powered on all day and handling frequent reads, and possibly writes. The practical question is how much extra failure risk comes from using a regular external 24/7.
Key points
- A WD external will be used as the main storage for a Mac server setup.
- The planned uses are plus backups for documents and phone photos.
- The concern is whether a regular external is risky when left on 24/7.
- drives are generally marketed for always-on storage and frequent disk activity.
- For a setup, backups and heat matter as much as the drive label.