How long does it take to rebuild a 16TB drive in a NAS?
As a theoretical floor, a 16TB drive read or written flat-out at 180–260 MB/s sustained takes roughly 17–25 hours. Real rebuilds run longer: parity, concurrent use and throttling add time, and SMR can multiply it. At this capacity strongly prefer RAID 6 / SHR-2, and use CMR drives.
Last verified July 22, 2026 · 2 official sources checked Updated
This is a floor, not a promise: it assumes the drive reads or writes flat-out at the rate you set, with nothing else happening. Real rebuilds run longer: parity computation, using the NAS during the rebuild, and drive throttling all add time, and an SMR drive can multiply it. Sustained rates for current 3.5-inch NAS drives run roughly 180–280 MB/s (see each drive’s datasheet); 200 MB/s is a reasonable middle default.
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At 16 TB a rebuild is measured in the better part of a day or more, which is exactly why large arrays lean on double parity.
The theoretical floor
Capacity ÷ sustained transfer rate gives the fastest possible rebuild. Current 3.5-inch NAS drives publish sustained rates around 180–260 MB/s. A 16 TB drive: 16,000,000 MB ÷ (180–260 MB/s) ≈ 17–25 hours as a floor. Try your drive's rate in the estimator above.
Why real rebuilds run longer
- Parity computation, concurrent use and throttling all add hours.
- SMR drives can extend this into several days.
Why it matters
A single-parity 16 TB rebuild leaves you unprotected for a day or more. At this capacity the case for RAID 6 / SHR-2 is strong: the rebuild is long enough that a second failure during it is a genuine risk, and double parity survives it. Use CMR drives and start the repair immediately. The table lists in-stock 16 TB CMR drives by price per terabyte.
16 TB CMR drives, by CA$/TB
Live Amazon.ca prices in CAD, ranked by price per terabyte. The Recording column is verified against manufacturer documentation. Prices checked
| Model | Capacity | Recording | Price | CA$/raw TB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Seagate IronWolf 16TB NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD – CMR 3.5 Inch SATA 6GB/S 7200 RPM 256MB Cache for Raid Network Attached Storage, with Rescue Service (ST16000VN001)Newbest price per TB CMR recording, SATA NAS drive rated for 24/7 use Amazon.ca · sold by MAPOGO LION LLC · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 7, 2026CA$1,028Buy on Amazon | 16 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,028 | CA$64.25/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 16TB WD Red Pro NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD161KFGXNew CMR recording, SATA NAS drive rated for 24/7 use Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon.ca · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 7, 2026CA$1,060Buy on Amazon | 16 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,060 | CA$66.25/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Toshiba N300 16TB Internal NAS Hard Drive, 3.5’’ SATA HDD, 7200 RPM, 24/7 Operation, Supports 1-8 bay systems, 128MB Cache, 180TB/Year workload, 3yr Warranty (HDEXZ11ZNA51F).New CMR recording, SATA NAS drive rated for 24/7 use Amazon.ca · sold by Rarewaves-CA · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 7, 2026CA$1,316Buy on Amazon | 16 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,316 | CA$82.22/TB | Buy on Amazon |
Related questions
Sources
Every technical claim on this page is checked against manufacturer and standards documentation. Dates are when each source was last reviewed.
- Seagate: IronWolf Pro datasheet (Max Sustained Transfer Rate OD, up to ~285 MB/s) (checked 2026-07-22)
- Synology KB: Repair a Storage Pool (checked 2026-07-22)