WD today announced the debut of WD Redhard drives, an innovative line of SATA hard drives specifically designed for home and small office NAS (network attached storage) systems with one to five drive bays. Compatibility-tested with top NAS box manufacturers and optimised for power and performance, WD Red hard drives are now shipping in 3.5-inch 1 TB, 2 TB and 3 TB capacities.

The WD Red line features NASware technology, designed to improve reliability and system performance, reduce customer downtime, and to simplify the integration process. This new product line addresses the unique environment of NAS and the growing demand for affordable, reliable, and compatible storage that reduces customer total cost of ownership. WD Red hard drives also feature 3D Active Balance Plus, an enhanced balance control technology, which significantly improves the overall drive performance and reliability. In an exclusive service for WD Red customers, WD is offering free premium 24×7 dedicated support and a three-year limited warranty.

The addition of WD Red expands WD’s “Power of Choice” client hard drive solutions. WD recognises that customers and their applications are diverse and they should be empowered to choose the drives that best suit their specific storage needs. With distinguishable colours, the “Power of Choice” storage solutions are clear and easy to identify: WD Blue (solid performance and reliability for everyday computing), WD Green (cool, quiet, eco-friendly), WD Black (maximum performance for power computing), and WD Red (home and small office NAS). The four colours enable quick selection of the best WD drive for customers’ application or usage requirements.

“The network attached entry level storage market is poised to grow at an 86.2% 2011-2016 CAGR,” according to John Rydning, IDC’s Research vice president for hard disk drives. “WD’s new Red hard disk drives offer a unique combination of product features and customer support for users seeking to expand the capacity of their entry level network attached storage solutions.”

“Until now, customers had to choose between using desktop or high-end server drives for their home or small office NAS systems – neither of which were both cost effective for consumer solutions and fully NAS compatible,” said Melyssa Banda, senior director of product marketing for WD. “WD saw this challenge as a perfect opportunity to design a better solution so we developed WD Red drives, an optimised product for this rapidly-growing segment.”

WD Red hard drives integrate seamlessly with WD NAS solutions, and are qualified to work with a wide array of WD OEM partners. An updated list of WD Red-qualified products and manufacturers is available on the WD website at http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810.

WD Red hard drives are available now at select resellers and distributors. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for the WD Red 1 TB drive (model #: WD10EFRX) is £69.99, the 2 TB drive (model #: WD20EFRX) is £89.99 and the 3 TB drive (model #: WD30EFRX) is £129.99.

We should have some RED drives for review very soon, so watch this space.

CDW was told that WD are also dropping the Caviar and Scorpio name and replacing the those names with the new colours branding to try and make it easier for users to understand what drives they have or might want. Also they are now including QR codes on the drive (as you can see in the image above). This is a good idea, and along with the new 24×7 support line just for the Red drives, buyers should be very comfortable in their selections.