Seagate Enterprise Drives

Seagate offers multiple drive lines targeted to both consumer and enterprise implementations. Among the drives aimed at enterprise uses (including NAS, SAN, nearline storage, etc., depending on model) are the Cheetah, Savvio, SV35, Barracuda ES (a separate branch of the Barracuda family, the Barracuda 7200s, is targeted to desktop implementations), and the new Constellation families. All are available separately.

A sampling of high end drive offerings in each of the product families include:

- The Cheetah 15K.7 drives boast a 15,000 RPM platter speed and are offered with SAS (6 Gb/sec) or Fibre Channel (4 Gb/sec) interfaces. Targeted to Tier-1 deployments, the 3.5 inch form factor drive is offered in capacities of 300, 450, and 600 GB; includes a 16 MB cache; boasts a 1.6 Million hour MTBF rating; and features the vendor's PowerTrim technology, which they state optimizes the drive's power consumption. The Cheetah 15K.7 is also offered (as was its predecessor, the 15K.6) in a self-encrypting drive flavor "... only to major OEMs." Other enterprise drives in the Cheetah line as of this writing include the Cheetah NS series (10,000 RPM drives optimized for capacity and power consumption, also FC and SAS; the new NS.2 drive is also offered in capacities of up to 600 GB) and the older Cheetah 15K.5/15K.6.

- The Savvio 10K.3 drives are 2.5 inch 10,000 RPM drives offered in capacities of 146 and 300 GB. The 10K.3 drives boast a SAS 2.0 interface capable of interface communication rates of up to 6 Gb/sec. As in the Cheetah 15K.7, an FDE version is available through select OEMs.

- The Savvio 15K.2 builds on the original Savvio 15K with the introduction of a SAS 2.0 (6 Gb/sec) interface. An FDE version of this one is also available, boasting AES encryption of data. Capacities for the 15K.2 are 73 and 146 GB.

- The SV35 drives are optimized for and targeted specifically to digital media environments, offered in capacities ranging from 160 GB to 1 TB in SATA and ATA/100 form factors (depending on drive). The SV35s boast ATA-7 streaming commands support and caches of up to 32 MB.

- The Barracuda ES.2 drives are 7200 RPM drives that boast the vendor's perpendicular recording technology, boosting potential capacity to up to 1 TB. They ship with either SAS or SATA interfaces, in capacities ranging from 250 GB to 1 TB primarily for Tier 2 deployments.

- New to the vendor's Enterprise drive line are the Constellation series of drives; offered in 2.5 inch (Constellation) and 3.5 inch (Constellation ES) form factors and targeted to Tier 2 deployments. Capacity is the lead feature of the Constellation drives; with the 2.5 inch drive offered in capacities up to 500 GB and the 3.5 inch drive boasting up to 2 TB. The Constellation is offered with both 3 and 6 Gb/sec SAS interfaces, while the Constellation ES can be had in either SAS or SATA flavors.

Other features of the Constellation family include the vendor's PowerChoice technology (offering user-manageable power-saving options), a 1.2 Million hour MTBF rating, and optional self-encrypting drive technology.

The Constellation is expected to begin shipping in 1Q/2009; while the Constellation ES is expected to debut in 3Q/2009. Contact Seagate for further information.