WD unveils new high-capacity 32TB SMR and 26TB CMR disk drives

The large picture: Although consumers person mostly transitioned to accelerated and durable solid-state drives, information centers and different sectors requiring wide retention still trust connected disk drives. Competitors Western Digital and Seagate person spent years pushing nan limits of HDD storage, processing various technologies to separator past nan 30TB people while reducing costs and powerfulness consumption.

Western Digital precocious announced caller information halfway HDDs that summation Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) capacity to 32TB and Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) capacity to 26TB. The institution achieved these unprecedented capacities by squeezing an 11th platter to nan industry-standard HDD shape factor, making nan caller products compatible pinch existing infrastructure.

The 32TB Ultrastar DC HC690 represents nan adjacent measurement successful Western Digital's implementation of Ultra Shingled Magnetic Recording (UltraSMR) technology, which arranges information tracks successful overlapping layers. Meanwhile, nan 26TB HD590 offers a much cost-effective solution for clients who for illustration nan mature CMR technology.

Both products besides usage Energy-Assisted Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (ePMR), which employs further electrical currents to summation nan areal density of bits written to nan disk. However, nan superior boost successful capacity came from nan summation of nan other platter.

Traditionally, difficult drives incorporate up to 10 platters wrong nan industry-standard dimensions. While adding much platters is simply a straightforward measurement to summation capacity, it tin limit take by requiring clients to accommodate to new, larger shape factors.

As a result, companies for illustration Western Digital and Seagate person focused overmuch of their invention connected expanding nan information stored per platter. This is nan main intent of ePMR, but Seagate precocious introduced 32TB HDDs utilizing Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). Seagate has spent years processing HAMR, which temporarily heats mini sections of nan disk to summation information density without disrupting magnetic stability.

In contrast, WD achieved its 11-platter creation for some SMR and CMR drives by reducing nan abstraction betwixt platters and optimizing nan surrounding mechanical components. The institution made improvements to nan suspension system, circuit board, disk stack, and read/write caput to accommodate nan other platter.

These changes accrued retention capacity while maintaining compatibility pinch existing server racks, each without expanding powerfulness consumption. Western Digital intends to yet scope 50TB capacity done akin methods successful nan future.

Meanwhile, some Seagate and Western Digital are pushing different signaling technologies to steadily summation capacity complete nan adjacent respective years. Industry forecasts propose that 60TB HDDs could get by 2028. Seagate is targeting 100TB by 2030, though analysts judge this milestone whitethorn not beryllium achievable earlier 2037.