Seagate Exos 2X18: HDD with up to 554 MB/s via dual actuator
With the Exos 2X18, Seagate has introduced a new HDD with dual-actor technology (Mach.2). The presents itself in the current product portfolio as a corresponding counterpart to the Exos X18 and doubles the data transfer rates. Thus, the hard drive is at least on the level of a SATA SSD in this respect.
Last year, Seagate launched the Exos 2X14, the first end product to feature its proprietary “Mach.2” technology, which focuses on dual actuators. By acting independently, the read and write heads ensure significantly faster data transfer compared to HDDs with conventional technology. the Exo’s 2X18 The 3.5-inch format is now the successor.
Transfer rates of up to 554 MB/s and thus SATA SSD level with capacities of up to 18 TB are promised. That sounds quite interesting at first, but it is not a product that is really on par. Cutbacks have to be accepted in terms of IOPS and latencies. In the first point, the data sheet mentions values of 304/560. However, the latency is specified as 4.16 ms. After all: Compared to the Exos X18 without dual actuators, there is an increase in terms of IOPS (170/550) with double the transfer rates. In exchange, the power consumption increases significantly. The Exos X18 needs a maximum of 5.8 watts when idling and 9.9 watts when in use. The Exos 2X18, however, has to be fed with 8 watts in idle mode and 13.5 watts in active mode.
Ultimately, the HDD is aimed at enterprise customers. Accordingly, the area of application is data centers. According to Seagate, the Exos 2X18 is suitable, for example, for hyperscale applications and cloud data centers, big data applications and content delivery networks. Variants are offered with two logical units (per actuator) of 9 and 8 TB, optionally with SATA or SAS connection. The total capacities are therefore 16 and 18 TB. Helium is used as filling.
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