Toshiba MG08SCA16TE User Manual

High capacity 16TB HDD CMR HDD with two-dimensional magnetic recording (TDMR)

The growth and prevalence of cloud services has set the stage for the increasing dissemination of dierent types of

storage services for dierent types of data storage needs. In addition to data protection and archival storage

services, wider use of surveillance camera systems, a rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning

(ML), and the next wave of edge computing using a 5G networks, will all spur exponential growth in the volume of

data generated and data under management. To meet these varied and expanding storage needs, demand for

high-capacity nearline-class 3.5-inch hard disk drives (HDDs), for cloud- and core- data centers is increasing.

produces a lower aerodynamic drag resulting in less turbulence

1. Releasing the Gen-8 MG08 Nearline HDD series

Toshiba Enterprise HDDs have been divided into three

categories: “Enterprise Performance HDDs” for traditional

mission critical servers and storage systems, “Enterprise

Capacity HDDs” for entry servers and storage system for

business critical workload, and the most recently created

category - “Cloud-Scale Capacity HDDs” for Hyperscale data

centers. The very large scale of storage deployments used in

Hyperscale data centers have created demand for a new class of

very-high capacity HDDs. Where data transfer rates and Tier-1

workload reliability have historically been important factors for

the selection of traditional Enterprise Performance HDDs,

Cloud-scale infrastructure may benefit most from improvements

in storage density and operating power profile to deliver better

overall TCO. As a result, today’s Enterprise Capacity and

Cloud-Scale Capacity HDD categories both provide

nearline-class performance and reliability, with Cloud-Scale

Capacity models providing the added TCO benefits of increased

storage capacity and lower operating power achieved by a

Helium-sealed mechanical design .

In January 2019, Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage

Corporation released the MG08 nearline HDD series with a

capacity of 16 TB

recording (CMR) for very broad compatibility with the various

operating and file systems in use today. Building on the success

of the 14TB MG07 9-disk helium-sealed mechanical HDD design,

the MG08 series incorporates TDMR technology to achieve as

class-leading 16TB storage capacity.

, delivered using conventional magnetic

2. Helium sealing

Being smaller than air molecules, the helium molecule

or bueting of the rotating disks and head suspension

assemblies. The reduced turbulence helps reduce the vibration

of head suspension assemblies and the wobbling of disk platters

at high RPM. This, in turn, helps improve the positioning

precision of the actuator arms and therefore increase the areal

density that can be achieved. The reduced turbulence also

makes it possible to shrink the distance between platters,

making it possible to utilize 9-disks to increase the storage

capacity that can be achieved within the industry-standard

1-inch form-factor.

In addition, since helium has a viscosity close to that of air,

existing technologies can be used to “fly” the recording head

“slider” above the platter surface in a controlled manner so as to

maintain an optimum “fly height”. Furthermore, because helium

has less drag force acting on the spinning platters than air, it is

possible to significantly reduce the power consumption of the

spindle motor. As a result, the MG08 series consumes roughly

50% less power per gigabyte (W/GB)*2 than conventional

air-filled HDDs. The reduction in power consumption will greatly

benefit the overall cost of operating a Cloud-scale data center

utilizing many thousand HDDs.

3. Industry-leading high-density assembly design to squeeze in nine platters

With the Gen-7 MG07ACA series, Toshiba achieved the first

nine platter mechanical design for the industry-standard

3.5-inch enclosure with a height of 26.1 mm*3. This was made

possible by Toshiba’s expertise in high-density mechanical

design and precision assembly cultivated through its experience

with 2.5-inch and smaller HDDs. To fit more platters into an

enclosure of a fixed size, various modifications and innovations

were necessary. We reduced the platter thickness, shrank the

distance between platters, and modified the actuator design

and printed circuit board assembly (PCBA).

We also created an enclosure design that requires the

minimum space to hermetically seal helium gas in the HDD

while leaving a greater amount of space for the assembly of

platters than in prior conventional HDD models.

The platter thickness was also reduced. The nine-platter

MG07 series uses a platter with a thickness of 0.635 mm, down

from the 0.8-mm platters in Toshiba’s previous-generation

seven-platter Enterprise Capacity (nearline-class) HDDs. The

MG07 series also reduced the distance between platters.

High-density assembly and manufacturing technologies were

required for the actuator assembly, which has 18 heads to

support the nine platter design. We leveraged our expertise for

the design and manufacturing of 2.5-inch and smaller HDDs to

assemble parts thinner than those in conventional Enterprise

Capacity HDD models with high precision. The same assembly

design has been adopted for the 16-TB MG08 series to ensure these

Cloud Capacity nearline-class HDDs are able to be manufactured

in high volume with processes that are highly-consistent to ensure

the delivery of the required high quality.

4. TDMR with improved read signal integrity

To further increase storage capacity, the MG08 Series employs

TDMR (two-dimensional magnetic recording) technologies. As

areal density increases, the read signal detection becomes more

challenging. In addition, as the track widths become smaller,

magnetic tracks will tend to interfere or “fringe” on adjacent

tracks, adversely aecting the read signal accuracy. TDMR helps

solve this problem. Conventional HDDs use one writer and one

reader per head, whereas TDMR HDDs use two readers per head.

The two readers improve the read accuracy by enhancing the

signal detection and canceling noise due to inter-track

interference. As a result, TDMR makes it possible to reduce the

track width and thereby increase the areal density of HDD platters.

5. Toshiba’s Precision Laser Welding and quality discipline provide advantages

As described above, the small helium molecule helps increase

the HDD storage capacity. To prevent the helium from leaking

out, a high-quality welding technology is required to seal the

top cover of the HDD enclosure. To achieve the welding quality

and precision required, Toshiba is able to adopt laser welding

technology developed by the Corporate Manufacturing

Engineering Center of Toshiba Corporation. Toshiba has a

proven track record in the deployment of precision laser

welding technologies for such products as lithium-ion batteries

and other industrial applications.

Furthermore, we improved the yields for heads, media, and

other parts, drawing on our advanced technologies and

extensive expertise in the field of semiconductor fabrication. We

continuously oer technical assistance to parts suppliers in

order to ensure a stable supply of high-quality components for

all our HDD products.

With a line-up of conventional Enterprise Capacity CMR HDDs

ranging from 1 TB to 10TB, Toshiba has expanded the model

line-up with innovative Cloud-Scale helium HDD models,

including 12-TB, 14-TB and 16-TB HDDs , oering new levels of

storage value and eiciency for Cloud-scale use cases.

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation will

continue to collaborate with Toshiba Group companies and

external suppliers in order to develop products that meet

customers’ needs and contribute to the enhancement of the

infrastructure that underpins today’s information society.

Media

Track N-1

Track N

Track N+1

TDMR Nearline HDDs

*1 Definition of capacity: A terabyte (TB) is 1012 (1 000 000 000 000) bytes. A computer operating system, however, indicates storage capacity using powers

of 2 for the definition of 1 TB = 2

size, formatting, settings, soware and operating system and/or pre-installed soware applications.

*2 Power eiciency is calculated by dividing active idle power consumption by capacity.

*3 As of December 2017 (as surveyed by Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation)

Reader

Pre Amp

Analog Filter

Pre Amp

Analog Filter

= 1 099 511 627 776 bytes and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity will vary based on file

Two

Dimension

Equalizer

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2019-07