News - Western Digital announces 8TB and 10TB Helium filled HDDs

[Agent]

The problem with SSDs though is that they aren't reliable enough to replace the HDD, especially in enterprise markets.

What!?!?!?

Enterprise SSD based solutions predate consumer SSD drives by around a decade.

Enterprise SSD solutions are very reliable. They almost always use SLC NAND and there are military specifications for the stuff.

If you're talking about consumer drives in a enterprise environment and reliability....

[DevDrake]

Just give up on HDD's already. SSD's are already far denser than HDD's, which apart from price used to be their one advantage.

Now go and keep your sensitive data on SSD...
The SSD is good for running data, but for storage i will not trust them - not to mention 3 weeks ago my SSD broke.

I am afraid that helium filed drive will be as not reliable as the SSD is.
Soon we will find it out.

[tygrus]

Instead of the "Click-of-death" will it suffer the "Squeak-of-death" instead ?
(Helium pun intended).

[KendrickDM]

@Torasin however the 50000 RW per bit limit lifespan on SSD compares less favourably with well over 5 million RW per bit on HDD, so for most corporate and network users HDD is the way to go to save money and have greater overall reliability over a 5 year lifespan plus the money saved buys 2 HDD for every SDD.

SDD however is great for impact resistant laptops and power saving. Horses for Courses.

[adidan]

Can I ask what is the point of releasing yet more HDDs, using Helium of all things FFS?

Don't even get me started on balloons. No doubt it's due to the US having a stupid law passed meaning its reserves have to be sold by 2015 so it's dirt cheap.

I may get some just for the fact that to extract Helium from the air it'll cost about 10,000 times more - may be a good investment...

[DanceswithUnix]

Can I ask what is the point of releasing yet more HDDs, using Helium of all things FFS?

Some enterprise customers buy storage by the petabyte. If you are storing databases or VMs where you get lots of IO per second then SSD is probably the way forward, but if you have 10000 home directories to store then HDD is still quite adequate. If helium use improves density and lowers air conditioning costs then it seems one of the more sensible uses to me.

The helium is supposed to be at normal room pressure (the whole point is to be less dense than air) so it shouldn't need much either.

[adidan]

I'd rather save the helium for things like MRIs personally but that's just my opinion. I have more of an issue with helium balloons than these HDDs in all honesty - at least you can argue a reason for its use here, whether one agrees with it or not.

[DanceswithUnix]

I'd rather save the helium for things like MRIs personally but that's just my opinion. I have more of an issue with helium balloons than these HDDs in all honesty - at least you can argue a reason for its use here, whether one agrees with it or not.

Yeah I know where you are coming from, thankfully the last ones my kids were given at Frankie and Benny's was a blow up balloon on a stick. They like them just as much, the mass produced plastic stick can be re-used with new balloons, no tears the next morning because the gas has all escaped as you can just blow it up again. Seems an all round win to me, so using helium isn't just a stupid waste I think it is a worse balloon for it too.

I expect these hard drives are always going to be the high end low volume parts, and one balloon's worth is probably enough to fill a lot of drives, so I don't have a problem with this use.

[adidan]

I expect these hard drives are always going to be the high end low volume parts, and one balloon's worth is probably enough to fill a lot of drives, so I don't have a problem with this use.

Quite so. A choice of these or balloons, well, definitely use it here especially if it promotes better balloonage

[Unique]

I'd rather save the helium for things like MRIs personally but that's just my opinion. I have more of an issue with helium balloons than these HDDs in all honesty - at least you can argue a reason for its use here, whether one agrees with it or not.

yes, but i imagine one balloon could fill a hot of HDD's which will last considerably longer (and hold more than enough material to supply plenty of cheap thrills for a long time)

[Agent]

The gas used in balloons isn't high enough concentration for medical and other uses. It's also a very small amount of the helium use world wide. I agree we shouldn't be wasting it, but it really is a very small amount, which is why we've not seen any kind of move to ban it. I think it would send quite a powerful message though.

[DanceswithUnix]

Interesting quote on The Register in http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/09...archive_space/

"This means HGST SMR drives are not plug-and-play. The host OS or the drive-accessing application have to be aware of the zoning and have a filesystem that can cope with it; software changes, in other words."

So the drives are full speed, but essentially a sector is a full 256MB shingle zone.

[VishT]

10TB is great, helium filled technology is rather interesting but SSDs have far advanced the HDD, but comparably affordable in the space / cost ratio

[RobbieRoy]

Same difference...

Yes, what's a proton and electron between friends?!