NAS drive dataset

Cite: NASdisks (2026), NAS Drive Dataset, Zenodo. doi:10.5281/zenodo.21225049

An original dataset of NAS and enterprise hard drives: full specs, CMR vs SMR classification, and annualized failure rates derived from Backblaze Drive Stats. 208 drives.

The core of this dataset - the CMR/SMR classification and drive specs - is our own original research, compiled from manufacturer datasheets and model-number analysis. Manufacturers do not publish a unified CMR/SMR list; we built one. The failure-rate column enriches it with rates derived from Backblaze's raw Drive Stats data (our computation, their underlying counts).

Maintained at nasdisks.com, where the same data powers a NAS drive comparison across seven Amazon regions.

These files are a dated snapshot and may be out of date. The current, always-up-to-date dataset lives at nasdisks.com/data/ - download the latest there, or call the CORS-enabled endpoints below. Each file in data/ carries its export date in the filename so you always know how old your copy is.

What's inside

File	Rows	What it is
data/drives-2026-07-16.csv	208	The headline file: one flat row per drive, all specs and failure rate combined.
data/drives-2026-07-16.json	208	The same rows as JSON (mirror of the live API).
data/cmr-reference-2026-07-16.csv	208	Source of truth for specs and CMR/SMR classification (including idle/seek noise and helium fill), with a per-row confidence flag. Our original research.
data/backblaze-afr-2026-07-16.csv	31	Annualized failure rates over a rolling window through Q1 2026 (full-year 2025 plus the Q1 2026 quarter), computed from Backblaze raw Drive Stats.
data/series-reliability-2026-07-16.csv	-	Manufacturer series specs (warranty, rated workload, MTBF) used as context where Backblaze has no data.

Quick start

The files in data/ are ready to use as-is. If you'd rather hit a live endpoint (CORS-enabled, cached, no key, no rate limit):

# JSON: { source, license, attribution, count, drives: [...] }
curl -s https://www.nasdisks.com/data/drives.json | jq '.drives[0]'

# Flat CSV
curl -s https://www.nasdisks.com/data/drives.csv

Columns (drives-2026-07-16.csv / drives-2026-07-16.json)

Column	Meaning
model	Manufacturer model number (e.g. WD80EFPX).
brand	WD, Seagate, Toshiba, HGST.
line	Product line (Red Plus, IronWolf Pro, N300, Exos, Ultrastar, etc.).
capacity_tb	Capacity in TB.
rpm	Rotational speed.
cache_mb	DRAM cache in MB.
interface	SATA or SAS.
form_factor	3.5 or 2.5.
recording_tech	cmr or smr - the field that matters most for RAID/NAS use.
acoustic_idle_db / acoustic_seek_db	Idle / seek noise as A-weighted sound power (dB), from manufacturer datasheets. Null where the maker doesn't publish it.
is_helium	Whether the drive is helium-sealed (true/false); null if unconfirmed.
drive_class	NAS, NAS-Pro, Enterprise, Surveillance, Desktop, etc.
in_production	Whether the drive is currently sold new.
also_sold_as	Equivalent SKUs merged into this drive - format/firmware/secure-erase/OEM variants of the same physical drive. ;-separated in the CSV, an array in JSON; empty when none.
afr_pct	Annualized failure rate over a rolling window through Q1 2026 (2025 + the Q1 2026 quarter), derived from Backblaze Drive Stats (null where Backblaze doesn't track the model).
reliability_drive_count / reliability_drive_days / reliability_failures	The raw Backblaze figures behind afr_pct.
reliability_source	Provenance of the failure rate.

Methodology

• CMR vs SMR is our original classification, built from manufacturer datasheets and model-number decoding. Manufacturers ship SMR drives into NAS lines without labelling them as such; this dataset exists because there was no single authoritative per-model reference. The confidence column in cmr-reference-2026-07-16.csv flags certainty per row.
• Noise and helium are read from manufacturer datasheets (idle/seek A-weighted sound power; helium-seal designation). Our compilation; licensed CC BY 4.0 alongside the other specs.
• Failure rates are computed from Backblaze's raw quarterly Drive Stats: we aggregate drive-days and failure counts into a single annualized rate over a rolling window through Q1 2026 (full-year 2025 plus the Q1 2026 quarter), which keeps per-model samples large, and validate against Backblaze's published fleet figures (~1.34% over that window). The computation and methodology are ours; the underlying counts are Backblaze's (see licence section). Models Backblaze doesn't track are left null rather than guessed.
• series-reliability-2026-07-16.csv gives manufacturer-rated context (warranty, workload TB/year, MTBF) for lines Backblaze doesn't run.

Licence & attribution

Short version: the specs and CMR/SMR data are fully open (CC BY 4.0). The failure-rate fields are free to use but must credit Backblaze and cannot be resold on their own.

1. Drive specs, CMR/SMR classification, and acoustics - CC BY 4.0

Our original work (every field except the failure-rate ones). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0); full text in LICENSE.

• You can: copy, modify, redistribute and build on it - including commercially.
• You must: credit the source, e.g.

  Drive specs & CMR/SMR by nasdisks.com, CC BY 4.0
  

  A link back to https://www.nasdisks.com/ is enough.

2. Failure-rate data - Backblaze's terms (NOT CC BY 4.0)

The fields afr_pct, reliability_drive_count, reliability_drive_days, reliability_failures (in drives-2026-07-16.csv / drives-2026-07-16.json) and all of backblaze-afr-2026-07-16.csv are derived from Backblaze Drive Stats. The computation is ours; the underlying counts are Backblaze's.

• You can: use it for free, and build (and even sell) derivative works from it.
• You must: credit Backblaze as the source.
• You can't: sell the raw data itself.
• Backblaze does not endorse this project. Details in NOTICE.

Updates

This repo is a point-in-time snapshot; the date in each filename is its export date. For current data use nasdisks.com/data/ or the endpoints above.

Changelog

• 2026-07-16 - v1.0.3 - Refreshed Backblaze failure rates to a rolling window through Q1 2026 (full-year 2025 plus the Q1 2026 quarter, ~1.34% fleet); 208 drives, 25 with a failure rate.
• 2026-06-26 - v1.0.2 - Refreshed to the current live catalog (149 drives); minor catalog reconciliation since v1.0.1.
• 2026-06-21 - v1.0.1 - Added per-drive noise (idle/seek A-weighted sound power, dB) and helium fields. Corrected WD40EZAX / WD60EZAX to CMR (newer EZAX is CMR; only older EZAZ is SMR).
• 2026-06-16 - v1.0.0 - Initial public dataset: full specs, CMR/SMR classification, full-year 2025 Backblaze annualized failure rates.