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Western Digital Launches World’s First 26 TB HDD, and 15 TB SSD

Western Digital has released the world’s first 26 TB HDD in the form of the Ultrastar DC HC670. Not only will this be the densest magnetic drive, but it’ll also feature the highest-capacity (2.6 TB) individual disks. As such, a total of “just” 10 platters is used to achieve the 26 TB mark. The Ultrastar uses most of WD’s cutting-edge technologies, including OptiNAND, ePMR, TSA, HelioSeal, and UltraSMR.

All these have already been in use in existing HDDs such as the WD Digital Gold 20 TB, Ultrastar DC HC560 20 TB, etc. OptiNAND is used not only as cache but to store metadata, reduce refresh time of adjacent tracks, and improve storage density among other things. ePMR, TSA, and HelioSeal are packaging technologies that boost disk density in a variety of ways.

UltraSMR allows for larger-sized block encoding, better error correction as well higher disk density by improving the width dimension of each track. ArmorCache is another caching layer that not only enhances performance but security as well.

The Western Digital HC670 26TB and HC 570 22TB have begun sampling to select customers and will be available in retail this summer.

The WD Ultrastar DC SN650 was announced along with the HC670. With a capacity of up to 15.36 TB, it’s one of the densest high-performance drives for data centers and servers. It leverages 3D TLC NAND and comes with support for PCIe Gen 4.

It’ll be available in two form factors: 2.5″, U.3, and E1.L. The latter is shaped much like a knife and comes with an NVMe connector. The SN650 has already been sampled and will be mass-produced and shipped in the second half of the year.

Areej Syed

Processors, PC gaming, and the past. I have been writing about computer hardware for over seven years with more than 5000 published articles. Started off during engineering college and haven't stopped since. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Divinity, Torment, Baldur's Gate and so much more... Contact: areejs12@hardwaretimes.com.
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