Following up on the prior release of a 14TB SMR (shingled magnetic recording) HDD, WD has launched a PMR (parallel magnetic recording)version of the same – the Ultrastar DC HC530:

While the new model does not yet incorporate MAMR, it does couple PMR with TDMR (two-dimensional magnetic recording), which gives a slight boost to platter density, reaching over 900 Gbit/sq. inch. The DC HC530 naming is a departure from the previous HGST Ultrastar line products, which were labeled as 'He8', 'He10', etc. High-level specs are as follows:

  • Rotational speed: 7200 RPM
  • Data buffer: 512MB
  • Seek time (typ): 7.5 ms
  • Sequential transfer rate: 267 MB/s (start of disk)
  • Available sector sizes: 512e (advanced format emulation), 4Kn (4KB sectors)
  • Warranty: 5 years

The SAS models offer double the interface throughput (12Gbps) and some additional custom sector sizes but require higher operating power to drive that faster interface. While track linear density is high enough (at least at the start of the disk) to saturate a SATA 3Gbit link, SATA 6Gbit and SAS 12Gbit links will still see a cache-hit benefit from the drives' relatively large 512MB data buffer.

WD's press release appears after the break, and more information is available on the Ultrastar DC HC530 product page.

WESTERN DIGITAL CONTINUES TO DRIVE CAPACITY AND IMPROVE TCO FOR CLOUD AND ENTERPRISE DATA CENTERS

New 14TB HelioSeal® Design Boosts Quality, Reliability, Power Efficiency and Added Robustness to Enable an Environment for Big Data to Thrive

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 18, 2018 – Enabling new lower levels of total cost of ownership (TCO) for cloud and enterprise customers, Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) today introduced the Ultrastar® DC HC530 hard drive – at 14TB, no other CMR (conventional magnetic recording) hard drive in the industry offers a higher capacity. The breadth and depth of big data is driving the universal need for higher capacities across a broad spectrum of applications and workloads. Built on Western Digital’s fifth-generation HelioSeal technology, the Ultrastar DC HC530 drive is designed for public and private cloud environments where storage density, watt/TB and $/TB are critical parameters for creating the most cost-efficient infrastructure.

     The data explosion caused by big data, IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning, rich content and fast data applications is challenging hyperscale cloud data centers and enterprises to efficiently build massive petabyte-scale infrastructures. This ability to cost-effectively scale-up or scale-out is business critical, not only for cloud service providers but for organizations leveraging big data analytics and machine learning in medical, science, agriculture and other fields seeking innovation, discoveries and unique insights, as well as for creating new business models.

     Brendan Collins, vice president of marketing, Devices, Western Digital, said, “Our enterprise and hyperscale cloud customers demand reliability with the highest capacities and densities to deliver the lowest TCO for business-critical applications. Having invented, brought to market and delivered five generations of industry-leading innovations in helium technology, and with more than 27 million drives shipped, our ability to maintain high quality and reliability have made us the trusted partner of top-tier cloud providers, Internet giants and OEMs around the world.”

     A follow-on to the industry’s first 14TB SMR (shingled magnetic recording) drive, the Ultrastar DC HC530 is a 14TB CMR drive that delivers drop-in simplicity for random write workloads in enterprise and cloud data centers. Since 2014, the company’s unique, patented HelioSeal process seals helium in the drive to provide unbeatable capacity, exceptional power efficiency and long-term data center reliability. Its low-power design does not compromise performance, while contributing to its overall TCO advantages. Both SAS and SATA interfaces will be available.

     Tencent, a leading global Internet service provider based in China is adopting Western Digital’s HelioSeal-based hard drives for their Tencent Cloud data centers. Huang Bing Qi, director of Tencent Cloud, said, “As the volume of data continues to expand, our customers look to us to provide speed, agility and longevity for a variety of applications, workloads and outcomes. Western Digital’s helium-filled HDDs provide the low-power and high-capacity we need to meet these demands in a cost-efficient and reliable manner. Tencent Cloud has already deployed 12TB HelioSeal HDDs and we are excited to work with Western Digital to qualify the new 14TB Ultrastar DC HC530 drives.”

Features and Specifications

  • HelioSeal: Western Digital’s fifth generation helium-based drives, based on the exclusive HelioSeal technology
  • Available with either 12Gb/s SAS or 6Gb/s SATA interface
  • Two Dimensional Magnetic Recording (TDMR) and improved Dual Stage Micro Actuator provides optimal head positioning and rotational vibration robustness
  • Data Protection: Helps protect end user data with encryption (Self Encrypting Drive)
  • Reliability: Amongst the industry’s highest MTBF rating at 2.5M hours and comes with a 5-year limited warranty

Availability

     The Ultrastar DC HC530 14TB HDD is currently shipping to select hyperscale cloud customers for qualification. Limited qualification samples are available now to qualified customers.  For more information on the Ultrastar DC HC530 14TB drive, visit: http://www.hgst.com/products/hard-drives/ultrastar-dc-hc530.

     The Ultrastar DC HC530 drives will also be available in the company’s high-density data center platforms designed for next‑generation disaggregated storage and software-defined storage (SDS) systems.