Company Executes Next Phase of its HDD
Technology Roadmap, Giving Hyperscale, Cloud and Enterprise
Customers Unmatched Solutions to Help Reach Sustainability Goals
and Lower TCO
As new applications, use cases and connected devices multiply,
Western Digital’s (NASDAQ: WDC) enterprise-class hard disk drives
(HDDs) remain critical for helping data center customers design
more cost-efficient, scalable and sustainable infrastructure. When
combined with the emergence of generative AI and the multitude of
innovative applications it is enabling, the demand for
high-capacity, low-power and reliable storage is poised to
surge.
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the full release here:
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Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC680 28TB
SMR HDD, Ultrastar DC HC580 24TB CMR HDD, WD Gold 24TB HD (Photo:
Business Wire)
Western Digital leverages numerous technology innovations –
ePMR, OptiNAND™, UltraSMR and more – to deliver predictable
capacity growth in scalable, highly reliable products. Western
Digital is now shipping its new 10-disk 24TB1 CMR HDD family for
hyperscale, cloud and enterprise data center customers. Sampling
since August, the new 28TB SMR HDD is also ramping, adding to the
company’s SMR leadership position and momentum as its 26TB SMR HDD
exabyte shipments reached nearly half of its data center exabytes
shipped in the first quarter fiscal year 2024.
“With these new offerings, Western Digital is once again proving
that hard drives are not just keeping pace, they are forging a path
forward, ensuring that data-intensive applications of today and
tomorrow have a strong foundation to build on,” said Ed Burns,
Research Director, Hard Disk Drive and Storage Technologies with
IDC. “We are seeing strong momentum for Western Digital’s SMR HDDs
and believe that SMR adoption will continue to grow as their new
28TB SMR HDD offers the next compelling TCO value proposition that
cloud customers cannot ignore.”
This new generation of drives is built on a proven platform with
technology innovations specifically designed for data center
customers who are consistently looking for the highest capacity
storage to help them achieve the lowest possible total cost of
ownership (TCO). These high-capacity HDDs are also a significant
step forward in meeting the company’s sustainability targets and
toward helping data center customers meet theirs. Specifically,
these 28TB and 24TB HDDs are built with 40% (by weight) recycled
content, and are 10%+2 more energy efficient per terabyte,
contributing to customers’ data center infrastructure power
efficiency goals at scale.
“New and existing endpoints from industries, connected devices,
digital platforms, AI innovations, autonomous machines and more
create a staggering amount of data each day. This relentless
creation of data ultimately finds its way to the cloud, which is
underpinned by our continued advancements in HDDs,” said Ashley
Gorakhpurwalla, EVP and GM, HDD Business Unit, Western Digital. “As
a strategic partner to cloud and data center customers around the
world, we are extending the value of our proven HDD platform and
technology innovations to deliver the highest capacity HDD storage
and TCO value that our customers demand.”
28TB Ultrastar® DC HC680 SMR HDD
Western Digital is driving the next big shift in cloud data
center with SMR HDDs. At 28TB, the new Ultrastar DC HC680 SMR HDD
provides the utmost in storage density for hyperscale, cloud and
enterprise customers. Designed for sequential write workloads where
storage density, watt/TB and $/TB are critical parameters, it
targets environments such as bulk storage, online backup and
archive, video surveillance, cloud storage, storage for regulatory
compliance, big data storage, and other applications where data may
be infrequently accessed. For the growing list of customers who
have optimized their stacks to take advantage of the benefits of
SMR, these drives enable continued time-to-market advantage of
integrating the highest capacity HDDs on the market and scaling
their product offerings in a lower-power footprint.
24TB Ultrastar DC HC580 CMR HDD
Continuing to deliver innovation at scale, the Ultrastar DC
HC580 24TB CMR HDD with improved OptiNAND technology is the next
leap in data density, allowing data center customers to maximize
their storage within the same footprint, and in power-constrained
environments. For better storage density, the HC580 can enable up
to 612TB1 of raw storage per rack unit in a 4U 102-drive bay
solution. These drives are also more power efficient, providing 12%
less Watt/TB2 compared to the company’s previous 22TB version.
The Ultrastar DC HC680 and HC580 HDDs are currently being
qualified by select hyperscalers, CSPs and OEM customers, and are
now available for large enterprise customers looking for the
highest capacity with lower power per terabyte for designing more
efficient storage systems and data centers.
Ultrastar DC HC680 and HC580 SAS HDD versions will be available
in CYQ1’24 (FYQ3’24).
Ultrastar Data60 and Data102 Hybrid Storage Platforms
The new Ultrastar drives are also being qualified and integrated
into the company’s Ultrastar Data60 and Data102 JBOD hybrid storage
platforms, which are key building blocks for designing
next-generation disaggregated storage and software-defined storage
(SDS) infrastructure. Each storage platform comes with unique
IsoVibe™ and ArcticFlow™ technologies for improved performance and
reliability. Ultrastar Data60 and Data102 platforms with the new
HDDs will be available beginning next month.
WD Gold® 24TB1 CMR HDDs
Western Digital is also now shipping its 24TB WD Gold CMR SATA
HDD into the channel. These drives are specifically designed for
system integrators and resellers serving enterprises and SMBs who
need more reliable storage for big data and enterprise storage
workloads compared to traditional client HDDs. Leveraging
innovations from the Ultrastar technology platform, the WD Gold
24TB HDD provides up to 2.5M hours MTBF (projected3), features
vibration protection technology, is designed to handle workloads up
to 550TB per year4 and comes with a 5-year limited warranty.
About Western Digital
Western Digital is on a mission to unlock the potential of data
by harnessing the possibility to use it. With Flash and HDD
franchises, underpinned by advancements in memory technologies, we
create breakthrough innovations and powerful data storage solutions
that enable the world to actualize its aspirations. Core to our
values, we recognize the urgency to combat climate change and have
committed to ambitious carbon reduction goals approved by the
Science Based Targets initiative. Learn more about Western Digital
and the Western Digital®, SanDisk® and WD® brands at
www.westerndigital.com.
1
One gigabyte (GB) is equal to one
billion bytes and one terabyte (TB) is equal to one trillion bytes.
Actual user capacity may be less due to operating environment.
2
The 28TB Ultrastar DC HC680 SMR
HDD offers 10% less Watt/TB at idle and for a random read 4KB QD=8
workload compared to the company’s previous generation 26TB SMR
HDD. The 24TB Ultrastar DC HC580 and WD Gold CMR HDDs provide 12%
less Watt/TB at idle and for random 50/50 read/write, 4KB QD=4
workloads compared to the company’s previous generation 22TB
HDDs.
3
Final MTBF and AFR specifications
will be based on a sample population and are estimated by
statistical measurements and acceleration algorithms under typical
operating conditions, typical workload and 40°C device-reported
temperature. Derating of MTBF and AFR will occur above these
parameters, up to 550TB/year and 60°C (device reported
temperature). MTBF and AFR ratings do not predict an individual
drive’s reliability and do not constitute a warranty.
4
Workload Rate is defined as the
amount of user data transferred to or from the hard drive. Workload
Rate is annualized (TB transferred X (8760 / recorded power-on
hours)). Workload Rate will vary depending on your hardware and
software components and configurations.
© 2023 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights
reserved. Western Digital, the Western Digital design, the Western
Digital logo, ArcticFlow, IsoVibe, OptiNAND, Ultrastar and WD Gold
are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital
Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries.
All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Not all products will
be available in all regions of the world.
This media alert contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding
expectations for future demand for data storage; the performance,
reliability and impact of the company’s products, including with
respect to total cost of ownership; the momentum of the company’s
products in qualifications and in the market; the availability of
particular products; technology trends and market opportunities.
These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current
expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements.
Key risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in the
forward-looking statements include: volatility in global economic
conditions; future responses to and effects of global health
crises; the impact of business and market conditions; the impact of
the company's planned separation of its HDD and Flash businesses,
including with respect to customer and supplier relationships,
contractual restrictions and the diversion of management’s
attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; the
impact of competitive products and pricing; the company's
development and introduction of products based on new technologies
and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with
cost saving initiatives, restructurings, acquisitions,
divestitures, mergers, joint ventures and the company's strategic
relationships; difficulties or delays in manufacturing or other
supply chain disruptions; hiring and retention of key employees;
the company's level of debt and other financial obligations;
changes to the company's relationships with key customers;
compromise, damage or interruption from cybersecurity incidents or
other data system security risks; actions by competitors; risks
associated with compliance with changing legal and regulatory
requirements and the outcome of legal proceedings; and other risks
and uncertainties listed in the company’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the
company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on August
22, 2023 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on
November 7, 2023, to which your attention is directed. You should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which
speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no
obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to
reflect new information or events, except as required by law.
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Product Media Communications WD.Productmediainquiries@wdc.com
Corporate Media Communications WD.Mediainquiries@wdc.com Western
Digital Investor Relations investor@wdc.com
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