Overview

Reimagining the HDD for Exponential Data Growth Hyperscale cloud, CSPs, enterprises, smart video surveillance partners, NAS suppliers and more, need storage solutions to meet the exponential growth in data creation. When it comes to cost-effective storage of data at scale, hard disk drives (HDDs) continue to play a central role. IDC projects that in 2025, HDDs will represent 82% of storage capacity sold to the enterprise market. HDDs deliver the capacity, performance, and reliability needed to store vast amounts of data today and well into the future. Investments in HDD technology remain critical to supporting worldwide data growth. Western Digital has developed flash-enhanced drives with OptiNAND™ technology by vertically integrating the company's leading NAND flash with its world-class HDDs. Western Digital HDDs have been leaders in areal density with industry first technologies of energy-assisted magnetic recording technology (EAMR), triple-stage actuator (TSA), HelioSeal®, and now OptiNAND technology. Higher areal density means higher capacities to meet storage challenges. 20TB HDDs with OptiNAND Technology OptiNAND integrates an iNAND® Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Embedded Flash Drive (EFD) with traditional spinning disk media, and incorporates innovative changes to the firmware algorithm and system-on-a-chip (SoC). OptiNAND is not a hybrid technology. The drive works smarter, with enhanced firmware algorithms taking advantage of expanded metadata that has been offloaded to the iNAND, enabling more tracks per inch (TPI), resulting in increased areal density. The Ultrastar DC HC560, with the first implementation of OptiNAND technology's capacity-enabling features, delivers an unbeaten 20TB capacity in a nine-disk platform (2.2TB/platter) with CMR recording format.