Seagate Finally Brings Its HAMR Hard Drives To Market With 32TB Exos M HDD

With the focus squarely on AI, crypto and quantum computing in 2024, one technology has been silently making strides – storage.

As our digital appetites grew, business and individuals needed more data storage solutions, with higher transfer rates and higher capacities. Yet, there are very few breakthroughs in this age-old technological landscape - till now, that is.

After decades of anticipation, mass-capacity data storage leader Seagate is finally introducing its long-awaited HAMR (heat-assisted magnetic recording) hard drives on the market. With the news of its latest, industry-first 32 terabyte Exos M hard drive, Seagate has hit new ground in storage capacity innovation.

What does this mean for enterprise storage and Seagate’s rivals who have been developing similar technologies? Let’s explore!
 

So, What Is HAMR Technology?

Seagate’s announcement highlighted its Exos HDDs as “the world’s first generally available HAMR HDDs,” raising the question about what HAMR actually is..
 
HAMR, or heat-assisted magnetic recording, is a revolutionary storage technology that uses a laser diode to quickly heat small areas of a disk, allowing higher data density without compromising reliability. The process involves heating, writing data and cooling data in a very short span, which requires advanced engineering in optical and firmware modifications.

Seagate said in a statement, “Each bit is heated and cools down in a nanosecond, so the HAMR laser has no impact at all on drive temperature, or on the temperature, stability, or reliability of the media overall.”

This innovation has been in development since at least 2002 but makes its commercial debut with Seagate’s Mozaic 3+ platform. According to Seagate, the technology offers three times the efficiency per terabyte compared to conventional drives, setting a new standard for the industry.

So, what is the Exos M hard drive all about?
 

What’s Next For Seagate’s 32TB Exos M HDD?

 
Driven by HAMR technology, Seagate's Exos M hard drive can hold up to 32TB (terabytes) of data while still boasting the traditional 3.5-inch size. The product page highlights 30TB and 32TB models using conventional magnetic recording (CMR) and shingled magnetic recording (SMR) formats, respectively.

The company has finished its qualification testing with some major enterprise-level clients, including with “several customers within the Mass Capacity markets, including a leading cloud service provider.” The storage leader said its plans to ship the HAMR-based HDD to the unnamed cloud provider in the “coming weeks.”

Volume shipments are also expected soon, with Seagate anticipating high demand for enterprise applications such as AI model training and data centers. So, does this affect its data storage rivals?
 

How Does Seagate Compare To Competitors?

Western Digital, owner of rivals Sandisk, recently launched its 32TB ePMR (energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording) drive, competing with Seagate in the high-capacity HDD market.
While Seagate’s HAMR drives were launched first, Western Digital achieved a general release for its product earlier. This has added to an already neck-and-neck competition in the storage hardware space.

Toshiba, another key name in the storage space, has announced plans to develop HAMR drives, positioning the three major HDD manufacturers to invest heavily in advanced storage solutions.

Seagate believes it has an advantage given its decades-long research and development that made it the first company to leverage HAMR using Seagate’s Mozaic 3 Plus HAMR platform. While unconfirmed, this development could lead to the release of 40TB+ HDDs in the near future.
 

Conclusion

The latest innovation with HAMR technology is critical in meeting the growing storage needs of data-driven businesses, especially for AI model training. Its long life and high efficiency will help businesses save money and energy.

Seagate's 32TB Exos M drive is a big step toward helping cloud storage and data center providers run more efficiently. It also solidifies Seagate’s position as a leader in the storage business with large-scale shipments just around the corner.

By maintaining compatibility with existing systems, the Exos M drives will ensure easier adoption and upgrades for enterprises that adopt the HAMR HDDs.

Do you think that Seagate's HAMR drives will change the way companies store data?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!