Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

Seagate SEDs

Why Drive-Based Encryption Is Safest and Best
By
Brought to you by What's this

As the leading pioneer in self-encrypting drives and a key force behind the TCG’s Storage Work Group, Seagate has the broadest lineup of SEDs now available and the only hard drives certified as FIPS 140-2. Prior generation Seagate HDDs have achieved FIPS 140-2 Level 2 validation with FIPS 140-2 Validation Certificate No. 1299. The newest generation of Seagate HDDs and SSDs are currently in the midst of moving through the FIPS process.

Let’s take a quick run through several of the highlights from Seagate’s self-encrypting lineup and see which devices are best suited to given market types.

Constellation ES. The Constellation ES.2 and Constellation ES series use the latest 6 Gb/s SAS and SATA interfaces. As the 3.5” family’s high capacity, low power flagship, the Constellation ES.2 blends a 7200 RPM rotation rate with 64 MB of cache and a seam-stretching 3 TB capacity. Constellation ES models range from 500 GB to 2 TB. A 3 Gb/s SATA option is available in this line. These drives are highly recommended for high-capacity, lower-tier storage applications, including nearline tasks and archiving.

Constellation. Echoing the ES series, the Constellation and Constellation.2 drives represent Seagate’s first- and second-generation designs with 6 Gb/s SAS and SATA interfaces in a 7200 RPM, 2.5” form factor. The Constellation.2 tops out this group’s capacity range at 1 TB with a 64 MB cache. The earlier Constellation drive peaks at 500 GB with a 32 MB cache.. Both Constellation and Constellation.2 series are well-suited to moderate-performance, high-density environments, particularly where balancing energy savings with cost savings is a priority.

Savvio 10K. Taking a step up the performance ladder, the 2.5” Savvio 10K’s higher spin rate complements its choice of either 6 Gb/s SAS or 4 Gb/s Fibre Channel interfaces. Capacities start at 300 GB and top out at 900 GB.The Savvio 10K hits a sweet spot in mission critical systems needing a strong mix of performance and capacity.

Savvio 15K. The Savvio 15K gives up platters in trade for its top-tier 15,000 RPM rotation rate. Models run from 73.4 GB to 300 GB and only use the 6 Gb/s SAS interface. This series marks the highest performance Seagate offers in a hard disk drive.  The Savvio 15K targets applications that that need high performance but not blistering fast SSD speed.

Cheetah 15K. The Cheetah 15K is the highest performing 3.5” Seagate HDD with a 15,000 RPM rotation rate. With capacity up to 600 GB, this drive offers a choice of either 6 Gb/s SAS or
4 Gb/s Fibre Channel interfaces.  The Savvio 15K targets large form factor systems and applications that require high performance.

Pulsar.2 and Pulsar XT.2. At the top of Seagate’s performance stack for transactional applications stand the Pulsar.2 and Pulsar XT.2 solid state drives. Both families offer self-encrypting and have FIPS models en route to final certification, but the two groups contain some key differences. The Pulsar.2 uses MLC NAND memory, allowing it to reach up to 800 GB capacities on either a SAS or SATA 6 Gb/s interface. The Pulsar XT.2 is based on SLC memory, setting it in the highest speed and reliability class found in today’s 2.5” drive world. The XT.2 uses a SAS 6 Gb/s interface and comes in 100, 200, or 400 GB models.



[1]http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140val-all.htm

[2]http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/STM/cmvp/documents/140-1/140val-all.htm