600GB SAS SFF HDD at 10,025rpm by Toshiba
One week after similar announcement by Seagate
This is a Press Release edited by StorageNewsletter.com on February 17, 2010 at 3:06 pmToshiba Corporation announced a new high-performance, low-power HDD product line for enterprise applications that draws on synergies achieved by the integration of Fujitsu Limited’s enterprise-directed magnetic drive business into Toshiba HDD business.
The new MBF2600RC family brings 2.5-inch drives into the enterprise space, with no compromise in capacity or performance. The line-up features a 600GB drive, currently the industry’s highest capacity for 2.5-inch enterprise-class HDD, and rounds out the range with 300GB, and 450GB capacities, all offering maximum rotation speeds of over 10,000RPM.
Improvements to the magnetic recording head and disk’s magnetic layer gives the MBF2600RC an areal density of 595Mbit/mm² (384Gbpsi), highest areal density for 2.5-inch enterprise drives, and realizes 600GB capacity, the largest capacity yet available in the market including 3.5-inch drives. Combined with a rotation rate of over 10,000RPM, the line-up will meet the enterprise market’s exacting standards with 2.5-inch form factor drives.
Furthermore, the internal transfer rate in the MBF2600RC family is boosted by 13%, from 191.5MB/s to 216MB/s, compared with the previous generation MBD2300RC, due to improved linear recording density, and overall performance increased by realizing high speed seek time.
The new drives also offer an optional drive-based encryption design that secures data when end of lease, during disposal and recycling.
The range of storage capacities meets customer needs across a wide range of mission-critical IT equipment, from servers to large capacity storage systems.
The MBF2600RC family delivers significantly better environmental performance than MBD2300RC 2.5-inch drives. Advances include power management enhancement that allows the disk to spin at a slower rate when not being addressed, and achieve a low-power consumption of 2.5W. MBF2600RC also contributes a 45% improvement in energy consumption efficiency from the MBD2300RC. The MBF2600RC family is also compliant with the European Union’s RoHS directive and halogen-free.
Toshiba meets the growing demand for smaller, 2.5-inch HDD that consumes less power than 3.5-inch drives while offering high level processing speeds, lower heat generation and a smaller footprint. Meeting the 3.5-inch performance level in power efficient 2.5-inch form factor will allow Toshiba to further enhance its HDD business and to meet growing demand from enterprise applications.
Key Features
- The industry’s largest recording density and capacity in a 2.5-inch HDD with a rotation speed of over 10,000 RPM (MBF2600RC): MBF2600RC improves the perpendicular magnetic recording technology head and disk to realize the industry’s highest areal density of 595 Mbit/mm2 (384 Gbpsi) and a capacity of 600GB, the industry’s largest for a 2.5-inch HDD with a rotation speed of over 10,000RPM.
- Improved high speed processing (MBF2600RC, MBF2450RC, MBF2300RC): The MBF2600RC family supports a 6Gb/s SAS interface data transfer rate and a 10,025 RPM rotation rate, a large capacity 16MB buffer memory and faster data processing than the MBD2300RC. Improved linear recording density boosts the internal data transfer rate by 13%.
- Smaller, lighter, low energy consumption compared to 3.5-inch HDD (MBF2600RC, MBF2450RC, MBF2300RC): Toshiba has realized smaller, lighter, and more power efficient products than the 3.5-inch HDD (over 10,000RPM) that are mainly used in servers. The MBF2600RC family delivers significant better environmental performance than the MBD2300RC generation of 2.5-inch HDD, including a 45% improvement in energy consumption efficiency. This is achieved by a new power condition state that spins the disk at a lower rate when the drive is to being addressed.
- Environmentally Conscious products: Halogen-Free Product (The new drives achieve chlorine and bromine concentrations below 900ppm, and a combined overall total below 1,500ppm.); Decreased CO2 amount during lifecycle (MBF2600RC) (MBF2600RC decreases CO2 emissions across the product lifecycle by 3kg per year, by cutting power consumption and environmental burdens from the raw materials stage.); RoHS compliant(The new drives comply with the European Union’s RoHS directive on the elimination of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.)
Availability
The MBF product line is available in 300GB, 450GB and 600GB capacities and will ship in volume in April 2010 with samples available now for design development.
Product Specifications
Comments
This is the first enterprise hard disk drive released by Toshiba since
the acquisition of Fujitsu HDD business unit, confirming that the
acquirer will continue this activity of high-end unit manufacturing.
Toshiba is proud to release "the industry's largest recording density
and capacity in a 2.5-inch HDD with a rotation speed of over
10,000rpm". The unit is at 10,025rpm against 10,000rpm for a similar
drive (Savvio
10K.4)
announced one week ago by Seagate. Big deal! And Seagate could answer
that its unit is "the industry's smallest largest recording density and
capacity in a 2.5-inch HDD with a rotation speed of 10,000rpm", 14.8mm
and not 15mm high like Toshiba. Big deal!
What are the other serious differences?
- Toshiba offers SAS only, not FC like Seagate, but proposes three capacities (300GB, 450GB, and 600GB) aginst two (450GB, 600GB) for its competitor.
- Seagate was emphasizing its impressive MTBF: 2 million hours. No word at all from Toshiba concerning this specification.
- The number one HDD manufacturer is officially shipping the Savvio 10K.4. You will have to wait until April for the Toshiba MBF2600. That's big deal in an industry where a difference of two months is critical for OEMs.
- Now we are waiting for Hitachi GST, the only other maker of enterprise devices, for a similar unit. And why not WD, rumored to enter into this market in 2010, a firm that already has a 10,000rpm HDD (VelociRaptor) at 300GB, but SATA only?