Seagate EE25.2 Optimizing Storage for Extreme Environments (87K, PDF) - Page 2

Optimizing Storage for Extreme Environments- EE25.2 Series™ Hard Drives, Flash Solid-State Drives and Standard 2.5-Inch Hard Drives Out of the Office (Way Out) Office professionals and consumers alike have come to rely on the flexibility and mobility afforded by laptop computers. Conventional 2.5-inch laptop drives are specifically designed to offer the blend of capacity, durability and low power consumption such users demand. Outdoor and mobile applications require this same suite of capabilities, but, the brutal environmental conditions typical of such applications pose challenges well outside the design brief of standard laptop drives. Whether in automotive, industrial or military storage settings, such drives encounter stresses that can cause premature failure: • On a summer day, the GPS system inside a parked automobile can be exposed to interior temperatures in excess of 65ºC, while winter could see that same car's interior drop to -20ºC or lower. Furthermore, long-duration (11 ms) shock, such as the impact encountered by a drive mounted in a vehicle that hits a pothole, is far more punishing than the short-duration (2 ms) shock of a laptop falling from an office desk onto the floor. • In factory environments, industrial process control (IPC) devices often run 24x7 and are routinely located within feet of powerful machine tools, dies and welding equipment. The excessive heat and vibration in such settings can quickly cause a standard laptop drive to malfunction. • Military applications impose a demanding range of environmental stresses on hard drives, from scorching desert heat to punishing sub-zero cold at extreme elevation. In addition, military vehicles operating under such conditions often must negotiate rugged terrain that metes out far more shock and vibration than civilian roads and highways do. In contrast to conventional 2.5-inch laptop drives, the Seagate EE25.2 Series hard drive is purpose-built to handle the temperature, vibration, shock, altitude and humidity extremes endemic to outdoor and mobile storage applications. Utilizing RunOn™ technology, a comprehensive feature suite that ensures reliable performance in punishing physical conditions, the EE25.2 Series drive sets new standards for hard drive ruggedness. In spite of the obvious technical superiority of Seagate EE25 Series hard drives over conventional laptop hard drives, there are still those who would argue that flash solid-state drives are the preferable storage choice for extreme environments. A close examination of the facts suggests otherwise. Flash Solid-State Disks: Beyond the Hype As is often the case with new technologies, flash drives are currently riding a wave of critical approval and popular acceptance, fueled in large part by the many impressive claims made for flash relative to hard drives: lighter weight, lower power consumption, superior ruggedness and higher performance. However, when viewed in the unforgiving light of real-world use, the theoretical benefits of flash drives lose much of their luster. For example, the strengths of flash drives quickly pale when one considers their staggering cost: from US$500 to US$1200 more than EE25.2 Series drives of comparable capacity. To be sure, flash drives do indeed have a place in storage environments where fast random reads, low power consumption and extreme shock resistance take precedence over issues of capacity, read/write performance and cost. But for the vast majority of outdoor and mobile applications, flash drives are simply not the storage panacea they are made out to be. Purpose-Built Edge: Seagate® EE25.2 Series™ Drive vs. Standard 2.5-Inch Hard Drive Temperature (Operating, ºC) Vibration (5 to 500 Hz, Gs) Shock Altitude (Operating, 2 ms/11 ms, Gs) (M) Annualized Failure Rate (AFR) Seagate EE25.2 Series -30 to +85 2 Drive Standard 2.5-Inch Drive* 0 to +60 1 300/150 350/NA -300/+5000 -300/+3048