News WD's Latest Enterprise HDDs Store Up to 28TB, With Max Transfer Rates of 298 MB/s

[Admin]

Western Digital continues to increase capacities of ePMR and SMR hard drives.

WD's Latest Enterprise HDDs Store Up to 28TB, With Max Transfer Rates of 298 MB/s : Read more

 

[8086]

298 MB/s is impressive for a spinning disc and makes me wonder when we will see SATA IV. That or future drives will probably come as Serial Attached SCSI.

 

[Order 66]

298 MB/s is impressive for a spinning disc and makes me wonder when we will see SATA IV.

By the time SATA IV comes out, SATA as a standard will likely be obsolete. The SATA III 6GB/s standard has been around since 2009.

 

[8086]

By the time SATA IV comes out, SATA as a standard will likely be obsolete. The SATA III 6GB/s standard has been around since 2009.

Hard Disc Drives are going to be with us for a while and aren't going anywhere soon. As they are ideal for backups to SSDs and for long term bulk archival storage. Also data recovery on a dead HDD is much more reliable than on an dead SSD.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Just move to SAS already.

We need all MoBo's to start using U.3 as the standard connector and let us choose what to connect.

Spoiler: Imagine every ATX MoBo with a row of U.3 Connectors along each edge.

Spoiler: Full size ATX MoBo's can have up to 11 U.3 ports

Spoiler: SSI (CEB, EEB, MEB) MoBo Formats with a dozen U.3 connectors.

Each U.3 connector can split into 4x SATA, 4x SAS, or be a functional U.2 connector to a BackPlane allowing 4x PCIe lanes of your choice version.

Move all modern SSD's to 1.8" HDD form factor, and we're golden.

Spoiler: 1.8" HDD Form factor, just make it a bit thinner at 5 mm thick.

 

[domih]

Just move to SAS already.

We need all MoBo's to start using U.3 as the standard connector and let us choose what to connect.
Imagine every ATX MoBo with a row of U.3 Connectors along each edge.
Full size ATX MoBo's can have up to 11 U.3 ports
SSI (CEB, EEB, MEB) MoBo Formats with a dozen U.3 connectors.
Each U.3 connector can split into 4x SATA, 4x SAS, or be a functional U.2 connector to a BackPlane allowing 4x PCIe lanes of your choice version.
Move all modern SSD's to 1.8" HDD form factor, and we're golden.

This is not going to happen with desktop CPU/APU. 12 x U.3/U.2 = 48 PCIe lanes in addition to the existing ones (for GPU, a few NMVe, Chipset). INTEL and AMD are not going to throw their CPU market segmentation out of the window to allow a cornucopia of U.3/U.2 connectors on consumer boards. Add the cost of PCIe traces for mobos manufacturers. Unrealistic. With HEDT/Workstation/Server mobos, just use the numerous PCIe lanes with U.3/U.2 cards. Meaning: a lot of $$$.

 

[jeremyj_83]

298 MB/s is impressive for a spinning disc and makes me wonder when we will see SATA IV. That or future drives will probably come as Serial Attached SCSI.

SATA III at 6Gbps is already able to handle double the speed that this drive achieves. Also SATA isn't widely used in data centers. HDDs are typically using the SAS III interface in the data center.

 

[USAFRet]

We need all MoBo's to start using U.3 as the standard connector and let us choose what to connect.

That's what the M.2 is supposed to be for.
AKA NGFF - Next Gen Form Factor.

Storage, WiFi card, etc, etc.


I wager that...
The majority of people do not have more than a single drive.
Those that do, rarely need more than SATA III speed on the secondary SSDs.
And a NAS box can be VERY good for mass storage.

What you are asking for would be a very niche product.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

This is not going to happen with desktop CPU/APU. 12 x U.3/U.2 = 48 PCIe lanes in addition to the existing ones (for GPU, a few NMVe, Chipset). INTEL and AMD are not going to throw their CPU market segmentation out of the window to allow a cornucopia of U.3/U.2 connectors on consumer boards. Add the cost of PCIe traces for mobos manufacturers. Unrealistic. With HEDT/Workstation/Server mobos, just use the numerous PCIe lanes with U.3/U.2 cards. Meaning: a lot of $$$.

There are way's to get to that point with SouthBridge style chipsets fanning out as needed.

Stop wasting mobo money on "Decorative Heatsinks" and funky color patterns on the MoBo, focus all the money on function on the MoBo.

That's what the M.2 is supposed to be for.
AKA NGFF - Next Gen Form Factor.

Storage, WiFi card, etc, etc.


I wager that...
The majority of people do not have more than a single drive.
Those that do, rarely need more than SATA III speed on the secondary SSDs.
And a NAS box can be VERY good for mass storage.

What you are asking for would be a very niche product.

M.2 is optimized for LapTop / Mobile world.

DeskTop doesn't need a fragile connector like M.2, that only hinders things.

U.2 / U.3 is th optimum DeskTop / Server environment connector.

A TRULY robust connector.

Your modern M.2 SSD needs 4x PCIe lanes just to operate.
Having a 4x PCIe lane based U.3 Connector just evens things out moving forward for nVME U.3 SSD's.

We'll have to agree to disagree on it being a niche product.
I believe in U.3 being the standard for DeskTop / Server environments and M.2 should be relegated to LapTop / Mobile / Space Constrained formats.

Such a fragile connection has no real useful place in the DeskTop / Enterprise world IMO.

 

[USAFRet]

Stop wasting mobo money on "Decorative Heatsinks" and funky color patterns on the MoBo, focus all the money on function on the MoBo.

They focus on what sells.

(I'm not a fan of that decorative crap either)

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

They focus on what sells.

(I'm not a fan of that decorative crap either)

Long before "Pretty Gamer Aesthic RGB filled" MoBo's were the norm, MoBo's sold just fine with basic color schemes and it wasn't much of a issue.

We need entire basic product lines like those back in every company.

 

[USAFRet]

Long before "Pretty Gamer Aesthic RGB filled" MoBo's were the norm, MoBo's sold just fine with basic color schemes and it wasn't much of a issue.

We need entire basic product lines like those back in every company.

Yes, I know.
I'm not a fan of unicorn puke either.

But times and products change.

 

[8086]

Long before "Pretty Gamer Aesthic RGB filled" MoBo's were the norm, MoBo's sold just fine with basic color schemes and it wasn't much of a issue.

We need entire basic product lines like those back in every company.

I'd like to see a motherboard with more PCI-e x16 slots with no bifurcation or lane splitting and less onboard components (sound and network are okay). Fewer M.2 slots (2x max). And leave the PCI-e open if you need to add more SSDs via a hipoint raid controller or simple pci-e adapter card.

 

[jeremyj_83]

U.2 / U.3 is th optimum DeskTop / Server environment connector.

There are some HEDT motherboards that have U.2 connectors built into the motherboard. That said you don't need U.2 in standard desktops. If you end up buying a ln enterprise SSD you can always get an adapter.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

There are some HEDT motherboards that have U.2 connectors built into the motherboard. That said you don't need U.2 in standard desktops. If you end up buying a ln enterprise SSD you can always get an adapter.

I don't want to see a single M.2 slot on my MoBo.

If I wanted M.2, I'll get a PCIe adapter to M.2

You can always adapt PCIe slots to M.2, you can't adapt M.2 to PCIe Slots easily.

U.2/3 is for Storage Drive and other devices that only need up to x4 PCIe lanes.

We really don't need the M.2 connector invading DeskTop / Enterprise space.

leave that connector for Mobile / LapTop world.

 

[jeremyj_83]

I don't want to see a single M.2 slot on my MoBo.

If I wanted M.2, I'll get a PCIe adapter to M.2

You can always adapt PCIe slots to M.2, you can't adapt M.2 to PCIe Slots easily.

U.2/3 is for Storage Drive and other devices that only need up to x4 PCIe lanes.

We really don't need the M.2 connector invading DeskTop / Enterprise space.

leave that connector for Mobile / LapTop world.

Then get a HEDT motherboard that has the U.2 connector for yourself. Or get a PCIe > U.2 expansion card. For 99.9% of users the M.2, soon M.3, connection is perfectly fine in desktops. Oh and there are M.2 > U.3 adapters anyways.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

Then get a HEDT motherboard that has the U.2 connector for yourself. Or get a PCIe > U.2 expansion card. For 99.9% of users the M.2, soon M.3, connection is perfectly fine in desktops. Oh and there are M.2 > U.3 adapters anyways.

HEDT is over priced.
I shouldn't have to get a PCIe > U.2 expansion card, the MoBo should come with that function by default.

It's 2023, stop treating SATA as if it's some amazing thing we all need to have when U.3 would easily cover:
U.3 > SATA
U.3 > SAS
U.3 > nVME over PCIe on M.2 or U.2
U.3 > Direct U.2 Connection to Storage BackPlanes.

One Connector to rule them all, let the end user choose which adapter to get.

 

[thestryker]

Just move to SAS already.

We need all MoBo's to start using U.3 as the standard connector and let us choose what to connect.

Spoiler: Imagine every ATX MoBo with a row of U.3 Connectors along each edge.

Spoiler: Full size ATX MoBo's can have up to 11 U.3 ports

Spoiler: SSI (CEB, EEB, MEB) MoBo Formats with a dozen U.3 connectors.

Each U.3 connector can split into 4x SATA, 4x SAS, or be a functional U.2 connector to a BackPlane allowing 4x PCIe lanes of your choice version.

Move all modern SSD's to 1.8" HDD form factor, and we're golden.

Spoiler: 1.8" HDD Form factor, just make it a bit thinner at 5 mm thick.

It will never happen because M.2 has taken over, but with Z790 there are 20 lanes worth of PCIe 4.0 available which means up to 5x U.3 ports would be possible. When U.2 never made it to consumer drives and standard boards ditched it after I think the 200 series Intel chipsets the chances of anything other than M.2 were dashed.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

It will never happen because M.2 has taken over, but with Z790 there are 20 lanes worth of PCIe 4.0 available which means up to 5x U.3 ports would be possible. When U.2 never made it to consumer drives and standard boards ditched it after I think the 200 series Intel chipsets the chances of anything other than M.2 were dashed.

My idea requires a different form of SouthBridge or Peripheral Controller Hub chip.

one that is designed for my end goals =D.

 

[froggx]

i've been pretty impressed with how far they've been able to push CMR. a few years ago it seemed like these kinds of storage densities would only be able to be reached with novel solutions involving microwaves or lasers to heat the platters and things to that effect. SMR is crap though, as soon as it's time to rewrite a portion of the disk things move to a crawl...

edit: i take that back, the article later states ePMR, which does zap the platter one way or another during writing to improve density. i suppose a lot of this is semantics moreso than anything so interpretations may vary. doesn't change that SMR is crap for writes, puts the disadvantages of magnetic storage and flash storage into a single drive.

My idea requires a different form of SouthBridge or Peripheral Controller Hub chip.

one that is designed for my end goals =D.

have fun with the DIY then.

 

[8086]

Then get a HEDT motherboard that has the U.2 connector for yourself. Or get a PCIe > U.2 expansion card. For 99.9% of users the M.2, soon M.3, connection is perfectly fine in desktops. Oh and there are M.2 > U.3 adapters anyways.

The problem is, too many high end boards are all about maximized m.2 slots at the expense of PCI-e slots. Your typical HEDT board will have 4-6 m.2 slots and maybe 2 pci-e slots leaving me little room to upgrade my networking, usb, raid storage, etc.

 

[Oldcompsci]

I'd like to see a motherboard with more PCI-e x16 slots with no bifurcation or lane splitting and less onboard components (sound and network are okay). Fewer M.2 slots (2x max). And leave the PCI-e open if you need to add more SSDs via a hipoint raid controller or simple pci-e adapter card.

THIS!!!

 

[8086]

THIS!!!

I just stumbled upon this video from JayTwoCents. Just look at how many x16 slots we used to get.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzEJ1c1TYps

Dude hit the nail on the head!

 

[USAFRet]

And with larger drive sizes, and people leaving a LOT of stuff in the cloud, there is much less need for multiple drive ports, of whatever type.

 

[bit_user]

Just move to SAS already.

We need all MoBo's to start using U.3 as the standard connector and let us choose what to connect.

In enterprise/cloud, it looks like U.2 is probably going to be the path hard drives of the future take.

NVMe 2.0 Brings Support for PCIe-Connected Hard Disk Drives

Spinning disks will run on PCI Express

www.tomshardware.com

There are some HEDT motherboards that have U.2 connectors built into the motherboard. That said you don't need U.2 in standard desktops. If you end up buying a ln enterprise SSD you can always get an adapter.

True, but the adapters are kinda...
🤮

I don't want to see a single M.2 slot on my MoBo.

If I wanted M.2, I'll get a PCIe adapter to M.2

This isn't a viable path for mini-ITX boards, which typically have room for just one or two PCIe slots. Even on micro-ATX boards, PCIe slots are at a premium.

We really don't need the M.2 connector invading DeskTop / Enterprise space.

Putting the connector directly on the motherboard is the cheapest option, and therefore is always going to happen. I'm partially with you on the idea that we could have ATX motherboards with just one M.2 slot and more, wider add-in card slots.

I'm not a fan of M.2 for desktops, but you're really fighting against the tide, here ...after it's already come in!

Or get a PCIe > U.2 expansion card.

Those put the drive at the wrong end of the motherboard. You want to mount U.2 drives in the front of the case, right behind the intake fans. They typically dissipate up to 20 W and most consumer cases probably don't have enough airflow at the back of their case to keep them cool enough.

Oh and there are M.2 > U.3 adapters anyways.

The requisite SATA/SAS controllers should add cost, here. To me, U.3 sounds like a step backwards that only makes sense if you need to integrate with SATA/SAS legacy.