HGST has launched a new 10TB enterprise hard drive that leverages both their helium sealed-drive technology and shingled magnetic recording (SMR) to deliver a new storage solution designed specifically for active archive applications. The HGST Ultrastar Ha10 SMR HDD, as it's called, leverages host-managed SMR which enables the deepest of integrations with solutions providers who control their own software stack. While generally limited to the largest of data centers today, applications that can support large capacity SMR drives are certainly on the rise and should see more widespread adoption as the need to store larger data sets continues to accelerate. SMR has benefits in use cases where data is sequentially written but randomly. HGST is targeting social media, cloud storage, online backup, life sciences as well as media and entertainment with the Ultrastar Ha10.
HGST has launched a new 10TB enterprise hard drive that leverages both their helium sealed-drive technology and shingled magnetic recording (SMR) to deliver a new storage solution designed specifically for active archive applications. The HGST Ultrastar Ha10 SMR HDD, as it's called, leverages host-managed SMR which enables the deepest of integrations with solutions providers who control their own software stack. While generally limited to the largest of data centers today, applications that can support large capacity SMR drives are certainly on the rise and should see more widespread adoption as the need to store larger data sets continues to accelerate. SMR has benefits in use cases where data is sequentially written but randomly. HGST is targeting social media, cloud storage, online backup, life sciences as well as media and entertainment with the Ultrastar Ha10.
HGST estimates that active/deep archive applications are driving 20-35% of data being stored today. HGST expects those markets to grow over 50% in the next five years, further pressing the need for larger capacity storage options. By being able to take advantage of both the sealed-drive technology, which allows for more platters, and SMR, which allows for greater on-platter density, HGST is well-positioned to take advantage of this growth curve. When we add in the additional factor that the world's largest data centers, who run their own software and can sequentialize their writes to disk are behind this data growth (i.e. Facebook, Apple, Google), then the additional benefit of host managed SMR comes into play. This puts HGST in a unique position to offer a solution where no other viable option exists at this capacity point from disk or flash.
The Ultrastar Archive Ha10 is the third in the line of HGST’s helium-based HDDs. The HelioSeal drives have shown to be reliable, which was an initial concern, as is the case with more new technologies. HGST has deployed over a million HelioSeal drives and the HGST lines of sealed hard drives continue to boast impressive specs. The Ha10 is rated at two million hour MTBF, a 1 in 1015 UBER and 600K load/unload cycles. The drive also includes vibration sensors and a five-year warranty. HGST did not release any performance data.
Open Source
HGST is supporting the Open Source community with an eye toward accelerating adoption of SMR. Channel customers and white-box system builders that can leverage Linux and other select open source OSs may access HGST's Open Source SDK known as “libzbc” to aid in the integration of SMR command sets.
Ha10 specifications:
- Interface: SAS 6Gb/s/SATA 6Gb/s
- Capacity: 10TB
- Max Areal Density (Gbits/sq. in.): 830
- Form Factor: 3.5” HDD
- Performance
- Data Buffer (MB): 256
- RPM: 7,200
- Average latency: 4.16ms
- Interface transfer rate (MB/sec, max): 600
- Sustained transfer rate (MB/sec, typical): 157 read, 68 write
- Seek Time (read, ms, typical): 8.5
- Reliability
- Error Rate (non-recoverable, bits read): 1 in 10^15
- MTBF (M hours): 2.0
- Load/Unload Cycles: 600,000
- Availability: 24×7
- Warranty: 5-year
- Acoustics
- Idle (Bels):2.0
- Power
- Requirement: +5 VDC, +12 VDC
- Operating (W, typical): 7.6/8.4
- Idle (W): 5.1/5.7
- Power consump. efficiency index (W/GB):0.00051/0.00057
- Physical size
- Z-Height: 26.1mm
- Dimensions (WxD): 101.6 (+/-0.25) x 147mm
- Weight (max): 650g
- Environmental (operating)
- Ambient temperature: 10° to 60°C
- Shock (half-sine wave): 70
- Vibration (5 to 500 Hz): 0.67 (XYZ)
- Environmental (non-operating)
- Ambient temperature: -40° to 70°C
- Shock (half-sine wave): 300 (1ms), 150 (11ms)
- Vibration (2 to 200 Hz): 1.04 (XYZ)
UPDATE: In response to our question asking for differences between this and the 10TB announced in September, HGST responded that they're the same drive, just now branded.
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