One reason I decided to work with the folks at DCIG to collect data for their Small Business Storage Array Buyers' Guide was to learn more about the various products in the space. One difference I noted in these small arrays, which usually hold 4 to 8 drives, is their use of hard disk drive carriers or sleds. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but I was pleased to see … [Read more...] about SMB Arrays: Drive Carriers Or Not?
hard disk drive
Should Home Users Buy Enterprise Hard Disk Drives?
Ask a Pack Rat: Reader Dave Emery asked a question that I'm sure many others have wondered: Are "enterprise" drives worth the extra cost in a RAID enclosure? The reason I ask is I've had 2 of 4 Seagate 'consumer' (7200.12) drives fail in my (Other World Qx2) enclosure. The two drives that failed were maybe a year old, well short of any 'MBTF' expectation. Enterprise drives … [Read more...] about Should Home Users Buy Enterprise Hard Disk Drives?
What Is The Secret To Efficient Hard Disk Drives?
Hard disk drives, like the engines in our cars, have been massively upgraded over the last two decades. Although massive IOPS and horsepower get all the headlines, energy-efficient designs deserve a look as well. Manufacturers have recently introduced some new tricks to coax out a little more performance and capacity from a lot less energy, and we are going to examine three … [Read more...] about What Is The Secret To Efficient Hard Disk Drives?
2 TB Enterprise Drives Are Here?
That didn't take long! Less than a month after Hitachi introduced their 2 TB enterprise disk drive, Xyratex has announced that they will offer the drive in their OEM storage systems. The A7K2000 is 7200 rpm 5-platter design with a 3 Mb/s SATA interface: Not exactly high-end, but backed by the reputable folks at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. But the era of the 2 TB … [Read more...] about 2 TB Enterprise Drives Are Here?
WD’s 1 TB Laptop Drive? Not Quite!
Western Digital announced this morning the world's first "1 TB mobile hard drive!" But although the news is great for storage-hungry folks looking for a portable external drive, it doesn't quite mark a sea change in the storage industry since this drive cannot be used in (most) laptops. … [Read more...] about WD’s 1 TB Laptop Drive? Not Quite!