Western Digital makes hard drives bigger again: up to 26 TB

Written by Guillaume
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This article is an automatic translation

Two technologies are used depending on the expected capacity, 22TB or 26TB.

The traditional hard disk, with platters, is certainly no longer very popular in our personal computers. However, it is still the first choice when capacity is essential, thanks to a cost per gigabyte that is still much lower than that of SSDs. The biggest hard drive manufacturers are not mistaken. For several years now, they have not really focused on the throughput or responsiveness of their storage units - much lower than SSDs - and talk about capacities.

Last February, Seagate was the first to exceed the 20TB threshold with a 22TB SMR ( Shingled Magnetic Recording) hard disk. Today, Western Digital shows its muscles by evoking not one, but two records. First, it launches the Ultrastar DC HC670, a hard disk model which, like Seagate's, is based on the SMR technology which aims at "superimposing" the data tracks to increase the storage density. Western Digital, however, significantly increases the capacity with a 26TB model.

For fans of more conventional technologies - and also more efficient in writing data - Western Digital is also launching the Ultrastar DC HC570, a CMR model (for Conventional Magnetic Recording) allowing the storage of 22 TB of data. Here again, it is a record, even if it could be beaten soon, whereas 24Tb models had been mentioned. On the other hand, to go even further and come to titillate capacities of 30Tb, Western Digital - as Seagate besides - estimate that it will be necessary to pass by other technologies as the ePMR(electrical Perpendicular Magnetic Recording). The next technology, HAMR ( Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording), should allow to reach capacities of 40Tb and more.