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May 2020, Vol. 18, No. 2

SMR, HAMR and other HDD technologies you can build on

You hear so much about software-defined, cloud-native and flash-enabled storage these days that you may have forgotten all about the hard disk drive. Some observers even make the case that the hard disk drive (HDD) -- not long ago a storage staple -- is on the fast path to obsolescence. Hold that thought. I have three things to say: mainframes, tape and Fibre Channel switching. Those technologies remain alive and well in on-premises and cloud data centers long after shinier objects pushed them past their prime. The same goes for hard disk drives. A few years back, skeptics wondered if HDDs would die before tape, which lost its role as the primary medium for back up to disk more than a decade ago. Well, remember how backup software went from boring to the Sexiest Storage Technology a year or two ago? HDDs will make a similar comeback in 2020. Sure, they won't be as red-hot as backup, and will never regain their place as the top choice for primary storage, as that still belongs to flash and solid-state drives. But due to a few ...

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Disaster Recovery
Data Backup
Data Center
Sustainability
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