This drive is sold under the MDD (MaxDigitalData) label. Who is MDD? → — the trademark record, what the warranty covers, and the checks to run on arrival.
Before you buy: this is a SAS drive
SAS drives do not plug into a normal SATA motherboard port. You need a SAS host bus adapter or a backplane that speaks SAS - an LSI/Broadcom HBA in IT mode is the usual answer. A SATA drive will run on a SAS controller, but not the other way round. HBA and IT-mode guide
This is a refurbished or recertified listing
Recertified enterprise drives are pulled from datacentre fleets, tested and resold. They are usually the cheapest route to bulk capacity, and the risk is concentrated in the first weeks - so check SMART data the day it arrives rather than the day you need it. What recertified means · Refurbished warranty terms · Verify on arrival
The MDD 3TB SAS 6G 7200RPM is a 3TB SAS-6G enterprise drive at $20.00/TB - Verify recording technology before use in RAID. As a refurbished unit, run SMART diagnostics on arrival and verify power-on hours.
Against every other drive we have an in-stock price for today, this one is cheaper per tb than 96% of them (232 of 241). The cheapest we can currently buy is $14.99/TB; the middle of the market is $38.33/TB.
These are third-party figures about the retail market as a whole, quoted and dated. They are not our own measurements and they do not describe this specific drive.
Yes. At our last check it was $59.99 ($20.00 per terabyte at its 3TB capacity), sold renewed under ASIN B0D9MYC9F5. Amazon sets the final price at checkout.
The listing's own title says "renewed" for the MD3TSAS12872E. That is the seller's claim; we store it verbatim and the warranty is the reseller's, not the manufacturer's.
Use Case Scenarios
🏠
Home & SMB NAS
Building a mid-range NAS for media, backups and file sharing.
~ Good fit
Verify CMR recording before using in RAID. Refurb units offer strong value for non-critical NAS.
💾
Backup Server / Veeam Target
Dedicated backup storage for Veeam, Commvault, or NetBackup.
✓ Excellent fit
3TB SAS drives are ideal for backup targets. Dual-port SAS suits dual-path backup infrastructure.
🏗️
Virtualization Host Storage
VM images and snapshots on Proxmox, VMware or Hyper-V.
~ Good fit
Suitable for VM storage where workloads are not IOPS-intensive. SAS dual-port suits HA cluster shared storage. Consider NVMe cache for latency-sensitive VMs.
Maintenance & Troubleshooting
Maintenance Checklist
On installCheck SMART baseline on arrival
Run smartctl -a /dev/sdX and record: Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Power_On_Hours, Spin_Retry_Count. Critical for refurb drives — refuse any with reallocated sectors > 0.
MonthlyRun SMART short self-test
smartctl -t short /dev/sdX — takes 1-2 minutes, catches most developing issues. Schedule during off-peak.
QuarterlyRun SMART long self-test
smartctl -t long /dev/sdX — full surface scan, takes 2 hours for 3TB. Any test failure is grounds for immediate replacement.
QuarterlyCheck RAID array health
Verify no degraded drives. A degraded array with no hot spare is one failure from data loss. Check mdstat or controller UI.
AnnuallyVerify drive firmware version
Check MDD support site for firmware updates. Some versions have known bugs affecting integrity.
Every 3-5 yearsPlan proactive replacement
Enterprise HDDs have higher failure rates after year 4-5. At 3TB per drive, budget for replacements before failures occur.
Troubleshooting Guide
Cause: HBA not initialized, SAS expander issue, cable fault, or incompatible controller.
Fix: Verify HBA firmware. Check SAS topology with sas2ircu or StorCLI. Test with known-good cable. Confirm drive is SAS not SATA.