Western Digital Releases 24TB Red Pro Hard Drive, Perfect for NAS Storage

Western Digital has recently introduced its Red Pro 24 TB hard drives, targeting creative professionals and regular users who require substantial storage capacity. These high-end NAS drives are designed to cater to the needs of consumers who demand reliable and efficient storage solutions.

The Red Pro 24 TB HDDs build upon the success of Western Digital’s previous 22 TB model, offering an incremental improvement in capacity and performance. With a conventional magnetic recording (CMR) technology, a rotating speed of 7200 RPM, a 512 MB cache, and OptiNAND technology for enhanced reliability, these drives deliver impressive performance and power efficiency. While they may not be as fast as drives aimed at cloud service providers and enterprises, they still offer a commendable media to cache transfer rate of up to 287 MB/s.

Similar to enterprise-grade drives, the Red Pro 24 TB HDDs utilize helium-filled platforms, ensuring optimal performance and durability. Equipped with rotation vibration sensors and multi-axis shock sensors, these drives can effectively counteract disturbances caused by vibration and detect subtle shock events to prevent damage to the disks.

However, it’s worth noting that the Red Pro 24 TB HDDs lack the ArmorCache feature found in Western Digital’s WD Gold and Ultrastar drives for enterprises and cloud data centers. This feature provides protection against power loss and enhances performance when write-cache is enabled or disabled.

In terms of reliability, the Red Pro 24 TB HDDs are designed for continuous operation in vibrating environments and can handle up to 550 TB/year workloads. They also boast an impressive load/unload cycle rating of up to 600,000, aligning with the reliability standards set by Western Digital’s WD Gold and Ultrastar hard drives.

When it comes to power consumption, the WD Red Pro 24 TB consumes up to 6.4W during read and write operations, up to 3.9W in idle mode, and up to 1.2W in standby/sleep mode.

The Red Pro 24 TB (WD240KFGX) HDDs are now available for shipping to resellers and NAS manufacturers. These drives are expected to be priced slightly lower than the WD Gold 24 TB model, making them an attractive option for consumers seeking high-capacity storage solutions.

Background Information

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About Western Digital: Western Digital, established in 1970, is a prominent data storage solutions provider known for its wide range of hard drives and solid-state drives. Catering to various applications, from personal computers to enterprise storage systems, Western Digital emphasizes data management and security. With a reputation for reliability and innovative solutions, the company has been pivotal in shaping the storage industry. Their products are trusted by individuals, businesses, and data centers worldwide

  

Technology Explained

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NAS: Network Attached Storage (NAS) is a specialized storage device or server that provides centralized data storage and access over a network, usually using Ethernet connections. NAS systems are designed to offer a convenient and efficient way to store and share files among multiple users or devices within a home or office environment. Unlike traditional storage solutions, NAS devices operate independently and have their own operating systems and management interfaces. They are characterized by easy setup and configuration, making them accessible even to users with limited technical expertise. NAS devices can offer various features, including data redundancy through RAID configurations, remote access over the internet, automatic backup, media streaming, and even application hosting in some advanced models. As a versatile and user-friendly storage solution, NAS has become a popular choice for both personal and small business use.