Although consumers have largely moved to fast, durable solid-state drives (SSDs), data centers and other storage-hungry sectors still depend on hard disk drives (HDDs). Rivals such as Western Digital and Seagate have spent years expanding HDD capacity, developing technologies to push past 30TB while cutting costs and power consumption.
Western Digital recently announced new data center HDDs that raise Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) capacity to 32TB and Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) capacity to 26TB. The company reached these unprecedented capacities by adding an 11th platter to the standard HDD form factor, which keeps the new drives compatible with existing infrastructure.
The Ultrastar DC HC690 32TB is the next step in Western Digital's rollout of Ultra Shingled Magnetic Recording (UltraSMR) technology, in which data tracks are arranged in overlapping layers. The HD590 26TB, meanwhile, offers a more cost-effective option for customers who prefer mature CMR technology.
Both products use energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR), which applies an extra electrical current to increase the bit density written on the platter. However, the main capacity gain comes mostly from the added platter.
Typically, a hard drive can hold up to 10 platters within the industry-standard size. Adding more platters is a simple way to increase capacity, but it can limit customer adoption because buyers would have to adapt to new, larger dimensions.
As a result, companies like Western Digital and Seagate have focused heavily on increasing the amount of data stored on each platter. That is the main goal of ePMR. Seagate, however, recently introduced a 32TB HDD using Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). Seagate spent years developing HAMR, which temporarily heats tiny areas of the platter to increase data density without compromising magnetic stability.
Western Digital, by contrast, achieved an 11-platter design for both its SMR and CMR drives by reducing the spacing between platters and optimizing the surrounding mechanical components. The company reworked the suspension, circuit board, platter assembly, and read/write heads to make room for the extra platter.
These changes raise storage capacity while keeping compatibility with existing server racks, all without increasing power consumption. Western Digital plans to reach 50TB in the future using similar methods.
Meanwhile, both Seagate and Western Digital are stepping up research into other recording technologies to keep raising capacity over the next few years. Industry forecasts suggest 60TB HDDs could arrive in 2028. Seagate is aiming for 100TB by 2030, although analysts believe that milestone may not be reached before 2037.
Source: Techspot
