Seagate SV35.2 Beat the Heat: Designing SDVR Systems for Optimal Thermal Perfo - Page 4

Specifically designed for SDVR duty, a new generation of drives incorporates intelligent power management features that enable the host to spin down idle drives into sleep mode. The power savings are significant; while an idle drive may consume roughly 8 watts, a sleeping drive needs only 0.25 watts of power. Reducing power consumption by up to 96 percent, these new drives deliver greater energy efficiency, cooler running and longer drive life. REDUCED CURRENT DRAW AT HDD STARTUP: A conventional disc drive requires significantly more power at system startup or when awakened than when simply spinning. While bringing a single drive's platter(s) up to speed and energizing the various components within demands substantial power, the load on the system's power supply is particularly severe at startup, when multiple drives are simultaneously powered on. This increased current draw demands larger (and more expensive) power supplies, whose higher-capacity output also entails more heat. Purpose-built SDVR drives require less startup current (under 2.0 amps), which enables the use of smaller, less costly power supplies. Once again the result is greater efficiency and cooler running. OPTIMIZE READ/WRITE STRATEGIES FOR DATA ACTIVITY: SDVR systems focus on video streaming capabilities, but they must also be able to read and write traditional data structures used to manage video databases and related applications. Optimal efficiency can only be achieved by matching the HDD's read/write strategies to the type of data being used. Purpose-built SDVR drives support the ATA-7 command set, enabling the drive's read/write profile to be specifically tuned for video or data. This ensures video read/writes stream more reliably, while data read/writes are optimized for data integrity. By curtailing extraneous disc activity, this approach also reduces power consumption and operating temperatures. Summary: SDVR System Thermal Best Practices CHASSIS DESIGN Shape, size Tower form factor enhances convection cooling; should be large enough to ensure unobstructed airflow between components Material Metal (aluminum, steel) better thermal conductor, aids system cooling Fans Speed, CFM capacity optimized for shape, size of system chassis Heat sinks Quantity, size/surface area adequate to dissipate component heat POWER PROFILE Power supply High-efficiency designs consume less power, produce less heat Power draw Fewer cameras, lower frame rates cut workload and heat output of system's CPU, video encoder(s) Component quantity Minimal number of HDDs in system enhances cooling, reliability OPERATIONAL PRACTICES HDD spin down HDDs with power management enable spin down of idle drives into sleep mode; reduces power consumption, disc drives run cooler HDD startup Purpose-built SDVR HDDs require less startup current; enables smaller, less costly power supplies for higher efficiency, cooler operation Read/write profile ATA-7 command set enables HDD read/write profile to be tuned for video or data; cuts extraneous disc activity, power use and heat outputs Conclusion Optimizing the thermal performance of your SDVR system can pay a host of dividends: higher HDD reliability and greater data integrity, longer component life, plus improved system performance and stability. In addition, the steps outlined above for lowering system temperatures can also significantly enhance the energy efficiency (and thus cost effectiveness) of your SDVR system. AMERICAS ASIA/PACIFIC EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA Seagate Technology LLC 920 Disc Drive, Scotts Valley, California 95066, United States, 831-438-6550 Seagate Technology International Ltd. 7000 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, Singapore 569877, 65-6485-3888 Seagate Technology SA 130-136, rue de Silly, 92773 Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex, France, 33 1-41 86 10 00 Copyright © 2006 Seagate Technology LLC. All rights reserved. Printed in USA. Seagate, Seagate Technology and the Wave logo are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology LLC. Other product names are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their owners. One gigabyte, or GB, equals one billion bytes when referring to hard drive capacity. Accessible capacity may vary depending on operating environment and formatting. Seagate reserves the right to change, without notice, product offerings or specifications. Publication Number: TP552, May 2006