Seagate Claims Shingled Magnetic Technology Leadership, Releases New Tablet HDDs, Enters Rackmount NAS Market, Launches Data Recovery Program
Seagate Technology today announced it has shipped over one million drives using shingled magnetic recording (SMR). The company also announced the Seagate Business Storage NAS storage devices as well as the new Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD designed for mobile devices.
SMR is the next generation in storage technology and is critical for
continued improvement in areal density (the amount of data that can be
stored on a single disk) to support global growth in cloud and mobile usage.
The SMR generation of storage technology is expected to power gains of up to
25 percent.
"With SMR technology, Seagate is on track to improve areal density by up to 25 percent or 1.25TB per disk, delivering hard drives with the lowest cost per gigabyte and reaching capacities of 5TB and beyond," said Mark Re, Seagate's chief technology officer.
The last technology transition, perpendicular recording, improved areal density by arranging the bits in a perpendicular fashion, thereby enabling narrower data tracks and read/write heads. Due to physical limitations read/write heads cannot become smaller. The most reliable option to improve areal density is to change the way data is written to the drive.
This is where SMR technology comes into play. A fundamental change to the architecture of the media, SMR technology rearranges the way data is stored on a disk by overlapping tracks - similar to shingles on a roof - thereby, increasing track density and improving aerial density. As a result of increased track density the amount of data on a single disk increases as does the overall storage capacity of a single drive.
In 2014 Seagate will move from a 1TB per platter design to 1.25TB per platter, allowing the company to ship a 4 platter/5TB drive next year.
Seagate also today took the wraps off the new Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD designed exclusively for mobile devices. Integrated with the Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit which includes Seagate's Dynamic Data Driver software technology, the new storage solution delivers up to 7x the storage capacity of a traditional 64GB tablet with the same power, performance and reliability of a flash device.
Seagate has addressed several key areas beyond a standard laptop HDD to optimize mobile applications with the Ultra Mobile HDD and Mobile Enablement Kit. These areas include shock management, heat and vibration and gyroscopic motion.
Here are some quick specs of the Ultra Mobile 500GB HDD:
Model: ST500LT035
Capacity: 500GB
Interface: SATA 6Gb/s
Height: 5.0mm
Width: 69.85mm
Typical Weight: 93g
Cache: 16MB
Spin Speed: 5400RPM
Maximum Operating Shock: 400Gs
Average Operating Power: 1.7W
Seagate is offering its new Ultra Mobile HDD with the Dynamic Data Driver software. Reduced power consumption and improved performance are achieved through an intelligent caching design that is implemented at the system level. As a result a mobile device using 8GB of flash and the Ultra Mobile HDD and Dynamic Data Driver software have the power consumption equal to that of a 64GB tablet and the performance equal to that of a 16GB tablet - while costing less than either.
The software provides drive protection through the use of enhanced motion sensor and thermal monitoring algorithms to control drive access and avoid usage conditions that might harm it. The drive is so well insulated that in many cases a dropped device's screen would break before its hard disk drive.
The Ultra Mobile HDD also integrates Seagate?s own Zero Gravity Sensor providing better shock management. Incorporated power modes support the drive in sleep, standby and idle enabling it to consume as low as 0.14W and support the long battery life demanded by tablets.
The newly-engineered 2.5-inch 500GB drive is just 5mm thin while weighing in at a 3.3oz - about the same as a light bulb.
The Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit includes the Ultra Mobile HDD, Dynamic Data Driver software, and an optional customized reference design which allows HDD-powered tablets to transparently deliver high-capacity storage space to an end user in a mobile solution. The kit is currently designed to support the Android operating system.
The Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD will be available separately and as part of the Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit. Dynamic Data Driver software not sold separately.
Seagate is also entering the rackmount NAS market with the Seagate Business Storage, available in 8-bay and 4-bay 1U rackmount form factors. The system delivers centralized backup, data protection and remote access to critical information for small and medium-sized business organizations (SMBs) in capacities ranging from 4 to 32 terabytes.
For business collaboration and data protection, the new Seagate Business Storage 1U rackmounts support multiple simultaneous connections and enable everyone within an organization to easily backup and share files. Designed to backup all Windows and Mac computers within a network to a single centralized location, these new NAS solutions are compatible with backup software for Windows PCs and are also compatible with Apple's Time Machine software for Mac OS X computers. Additionally, the 8-bay and 4-bay rackmount NAS solutions feature the new Seagate NAS OS, which has been redesigned from the ground up to deliver performance along with a web-based dashboard for managing the server from the office or the road.
Anywhere access is delivered with the integrated Wuala cloud service and business-focused apps for PC Mac and smartphone and tablet. The free Wuala app automatically syncs files and make them accessible from mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. And because the files are encrypted and transferred directly from the NAS to the recipients, business-critical files remain private and secure.
The 8-bay rackmount NAS is powered by Seagate?s NAS OS and it is featuring an Intel 2.3GHz dual core processor. The new design of the 8-bay rackmount features eight 3.5-inch Enterprise Capacity (formerly Constellation ES.3) drives that are hot-swappable for easy storage upgrades and maintenance. The system showcases a new fan design for effective cooling and simple serviceability. Additionally, it is equipped with swappable power supplies and dual Gigabit Ethernet connections.
Designed for smaller companies of up to 100 employees, the 4-bay rackmount provides is featuring hard drives optimized for NAS to support customized error recovery controls, specialized power management and vibration tolerance. With a 2.13GHz dual-core Intel Atom processor coupled with 2GB of RAM, the 4-bay rackmount NAS delivers impressive file transfer performance for this category of storage. Plus, the built-in support for iSCSI enables maximum performance and compatibility for virtualized environments.
The 8-bay 1U rackmount will be available in October from CDW and other resellers for MSRPs ranging from $2999.99 for the 8-terabyte model to $5999.99 for the 32 terabyte model.
The 4-bay 1U rackmount will be available at the same retail outlets later this quarter. The rackmount itself will be available without drives for a price point of $999.99 MSRP. The lowest capacity 4-terabyte model will retail at an MSRP of $1299.99 and $2499.99 for the 16-terabyte model.
Storge protection plan
Seagate also today announced Seagate Rescue and Seagate Rescue and Replace data protection plans offering coverage starting at $29.99. The protection plan covers drive replacement and data recovery services for data that is contained on the drive. The plans offer coverage for nearly any brand of internal or external hard disk drive or solid-state drive. This data protection plan covers data recovery services for data that may have been lost due to physical damage, corruption or accidental deletion at a fraction of the cost of data recovery services purchased after the event. The protection plan will be the first to be offered on a global scale following launches in Canada and Europe later this year and throughout the Asia Pacific region in mid-2014.
The service will first be made available through Seagate.com and will later be able to be purchased from Seahate's retail and manufacture partners at the time one purchases a computer, external storage or NAS. The Seagate Rescue plans come in 2-year, $29.99; 3-year, $39.99; and 4-year, $49.99 MSRP packages. The plan for Seagate Rescue and Replace, where the data is restored and a new drive is provided, has 2-, 3- and 4 -year offerings, for: $39.99, $49.99 and $59.99 MSRP, respectively.
"With SMR technology, Seagate is on track to improve areal density by up to 25 percent or 1.25TB per disk, delivering hard drives with the lowest cost per gigabyte and reaching capacities of 5TB and beyond," said Mark Re, Seagate's chief technology officer.
The last technology transition, perpendicular recording, improved areal density by arranging the bits in a perpendicular fashion, thereby enabling narrower data tracks and read/write heads. Due to physical limitations read/write heads cannot become smaller. The most reliable option to improve areal density is to change the way data is written to the drive.
This is where SMR technology comes into play. A fundamental change to the architecture of the media, SMR technology rearranges the way data is stored on a disk by overlapping tracks - similar to shingles on a roof - thereby, increasing track density and improving aerial density. As a result of increased track density the amount of data on a single disk increases as does the overall storage capacity of a single drive.
In 2014 Seagate will move from a 1TB per platter design to 1.25TB per platter, allowing the company to ship a 4 platter/5TB drive next year.
Seagate also today took the wraps off the new Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD designed exclusively for mobile devices. Integrated with the Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit which includes Seagate's Dynamic Data Driver software technology, the new storage solution delivers up to 7x the storage capacity of a traditional 64GB tablet with the same power, performance and reliability of a flash device.
Seagate has addressed several key areas beyond a standard laptop HDD to optimize mobile applications with the Ultra Mobile HDD and Mobile Enablement Kit. These areas include shock management, heat and vibration and gyroscopic motion.
Here are some quick specs of the Ultra Mobile 500GB HDD:Model: ST500LT035
Capacity: 500GB
Interface: SATA 6Gb/s
Height: 5.0mm
Width: 69.85mm
Typical Weight: 93g
Cache: 16MB
Spin Speed: 5400RPM
Maximum Operating Shock: 400Gs
Average Operating Power: 1.7W
Seagate is offering its new Ultra Mobile HDD with the Dynamic Data Driver software. Reduced power consumption and improved performance are achieved through an intelligent caching design that is implemented at the system level. As a result a mobile device using 8GB of flash and the Ultra Mobile HDD and Dynamic Data Driver software have the power consumption equal to that of a 64GB tablet and the performance equal to that of a 16GB tablet - while costing less than either.
The software provides drive protection through the use of enhanced motion sensor and thermal monitoring algorithms to control drive access and avoid usage conditions that might harm it. The drive is so well insulated that in many cases a dropped device's screen would break before its hard disk drive.
The Ultra Mobile HDD also integrates Seagate?s own Zero Gravity Sensor providing better shock management. Incorporated power modes support the drive in sleep, standby and idle enabling it to consume as low as 0.14W and support the long battery life demanded by tablets.
The newly-engineered 2.5-inch 500GB drive is just 5mm thin while weighing in at a 3.3oz - about the same as a light bulb.
The Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit includes the Ultra Mobile HDD, Dynamic Data Driver software, and an optional customized reference design which allows HDD-powered tablets to transparently deliver high-capacity storage space to an end user in a mobile solution. The kit is currently designed to support the Android operating system.
The Seagate Ultra Mobile HDD will be available separately and as part of the Seagate Mobile Enablement Kit. Dynamic Data Driver software not sold separately.
Seagate is also entering the rackmount NAS market with the Seagate Business Storage, available in 8-bay and 4-bay 1U rackmount form factors. The system delivers centralized backup, data protection and remote access to critical information for small and medium-sized business organizations (SMBs) in capacities ranging from 4 to 32 terabytes.
For business collaboration and data protection, the new Seagate Business Storage 1U rackmounts support multiple simultaneous connections and enable everyone within an organization to easily backup and share files. Designed to backup all Windows and Mac computers within a network to a single centralized location, these new NAS solutions are compatible with backup software for Windows PCs and are also compatible with Apple's Time Machine software for Mac OS X computers. Additionally, the 8-bay and 4-bay rackmount NAS solutions feature the new Seagate NAS OS, which has been redesigned from the ground up to deliver performance along with a web-based dashboard for managing the server from the office or the road.
Anywhere access is delivered with the integrated Wuala cloud service and business-focused apps for PC Mac and smartphone and tablet. The free Wuala app automatically syncs files and make them accessible from mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. And because the files are encrypted and transferred directly from the NAS to the recipients, business-critical files remain private and secure.
The 8-bay rackmount NAS is powered by Seagate?s NAS OS and it is featuring an Intel 2.3GHz dual core processor. The new design of the 8-bay rackmount features eight 3.5-inch Enterprise Capacity (formerly Constellation ES.3) drives that are hot-swappable for easy storage upgrades and maintenance. The system showcases a new fan design for effective cooling and simple serviceability. Additionally, it is equipped with swappable power supplies and dual Gigabit Ethernet connections.
Designed for smaller companies of up to 100 employees, the 4-bay rackmount provides is featuring hard drives optimized for NAS to support customized error recovery controls, specialized power management and vibration tolerance. With a 2.13GHz dual-core Intel Atom processor coupled with 2GB of RAM, the 4-bay rackmount NAS delivers impressive file transfer performance for this category of storage. Plus, the built-in support for iSCSI enables maximum performance and compatibility for virtualized environments.
The 8-bay 1U rackmount will be available in October from CDW and other resellers for MSRPs ranging from $2999.99 for the 8-terabyte model to $5999.99 for the 32 terabyte model.
The 4-bay 1U rackmount will be available at the same retail outlets later this quarter. The rackmount itself will be available without drives for a price point of $999.99 MSRP. The lowest capacity 4-terabyte model will retail at an MSRP of $1299.99 and $2499.99 for the 16-terabyte model.
Storge protection plan
Seagate also today announced Seagate Rescue and Seagate Rescue and Replace data protection plans offering coverage starting at $29.99. The protection plan covers drive replacement and data recovery services for data that is contained on the drive. The plans offer coverage for nearly any brand of internal or external hard disk drive or solid-state drive. This data protection plan covers data recovery services for data that may have been lost due to physical damage, corruption or accidental deletion at a fraction of the cost of data recovery services purchased after the event. The protection plan will be the first to be offered on a global scale following launches in Canada and Europe later this year and throughout the Asia Pacific region in mid-2014.
The service will first be made available through Seagate.com and will later be able to be purchased from Seahate's retail and manufacture partners at the time one purchases a computer, external storage or NAS. The Seagate Rescue plans come in 2-year, $29.99; 3-year, $39.99; and 4-year, $49.99 MSRP packages. The plan for Seagate Rescue and Replace, where the data is restored and a new drive is provided, has 2-, 3- and 4 -year offerings, for: $39.99, $49.99 and $59.99 MSRP, respectively.
