WD Elevates Red, Red Pro HDDs To 10TB With Helium

Western Digital announced two new 10TB additions to the Red and Red Pro product lines. The two series support network-attached storage (NAS) systems and RAID arrays, and the new 10TB option allows users to increase data capacity in devices built for home and medium-sized businesses.

Western Digital has already shipped over 15 million helium-filled HDDs under the WD and HGST brands. When initially introduced in 2012, some feared the HelioSeal would allow the precious gas to escape, rendering the drive useless, but the technology has shipped for five years and has an established history of reliability. WD has also shipped 16 million Red- and Red Pro-branded HDDs in the same general time frame, and the series has become a favorite for users looking for reliable disks to use in NAS environments.

“In July 2012, we introduced the WD Red line to address the unique performance, compatibility and scalability challenges facing home and small business NAS customers,” said Brendan Collins, vice president, devices business unit at Western Digital. “Five years and over 16 million WD Red family hard drives later, we continue to advance the platform, bringing our innovative HelioSeal platform and other advanced technologies that allow customers to meet their evolving private cloud needs.”

The more affordable Red line supports small arrays and uses a 5,400 RPM motor. The new 10TB model is the first in the series to utilize a massive 256MB DRAM buffer. This ensures the new red 10TB drives will be the fastest in the series to date. WD claimed the series can sustain up to 210 MB/s sequential read and write speeds. The new addition will sell for $494 at launch, and some online sellers list the drive as available at press time. The WD Red 10TB carries a three-year warranty term.

The Western Digital Red Pro works effortlessly in smaller NAS systems but can scale the drive count for larger systems. WD recommends this series for up to 16 drives in an array. As the number of drives increase, so does the vibration in the system, and more advanced technologies must be employed to sustain reliability and disk performance. The Red Pro uses 7,200 RPM rotating platters and the same 256MB DRAM buffer found in the new 10TB Red. This series carries a five-year warranty, but the price increases from the 10TB model to $533.