INTRODUCTION

   Much like system requirements for most of the latest game titles and programs storage capacity needs also tend to increase each year that goes by so although last year i was happy to have several 6TB drives in our lab for storing backups and IP camera recordings today i can barely make due with several 8TB ones. This of course is by far not the worse imaginable scenario, that will probably be whenever the time comes for us to replace the Full HD IP camera models we use around the lab with Ultra High Definition ones and above since this will practically triple the storage required for their recording. Lucky for all of us storage manufacturers never really sleep and so it wasn't more than just a few weeks back that Seagate introduced to the world their latest line of 10TB capacity hard disk drives including the latest model designed primarily for NAS use (this will probably replace the NAS HDD model) called the IronWolf.

   Founded in 1979, Seagate is the leading provider of hard drives and storage solutions. From the videos, music and documents we share with friends and family on social networks, to servers that form the backbone of enterprise data centers and cloud-based computing, to desktop and notebook computers that fuel our personal productivity, Seagate products help more people store, share and protect their valuable digital content. Seagate offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of hard disk drives, solid-state drives and solid-state hybrid drives. In addition, the company offers an extensive line of retail storage products for consumers and small businesses, along with data-recovery services for any brand of hard drive and digital media type. Seagate employs more than 50,000 people around the world.

   The brand new IronWolf line of HDDs by Seagate is currently available in 1/2/3/4/6/8/10TB capacities and optimized for use with up to 8 bay network attached storage devices, desktop servers and private cloud storage. Since 24x7 applications such as the ones mentioned are very demanding Seagate has implemented their latest AgileArray technology in the IronWolf line which includes dual-plane balancing, RAID optimization and advanced power management. The IronWolf line (4/6/8/10TB models) is also the first in its class to feature Rotational Vibration (RV) mitigation a technology which basically uses several RV sensors which according to Seagate help "maintain high performance in multi-drive NAS enclosures". In terms of specifications the IronWolf 10TB drive is possibly a 7 platter model (Seagate is not very clear on that) that spins at 7200RPM (1/2/3/4TB models spin at 5900RPM while 6/8/10TB models spin at 7200RPM), has a total of 256MB cache (1/2/3/4TB models have 64MB while the 6TB model has 128MB and the 8/10TB models have 256MB) and features SATA 6Gb/s interface. Seagate rates the IronWolf line with an MTBF of 1 million hours, 180TB per year endurance (workload limit) and covers it with a limited 3 year warranty. As mentioned earlier the IronWolf line will replace the NAS HDD line by Seagate but since it's not aimed towards enterprise use the Enterprise NAS HDD line will probably be replaced by the upcoming IronWolf Pro line.