HDD Industry Advances Testing Infrastructure and Capacity Roadmaps
The hard disk drive industry, which reportedly stores over 80% of the world’s data, is making significant strides in both testing infrastructure and future capacity roadmaps. According to industry analyses, HDDs remain a cost-effective solution for data retention and are increasingly deployed as secondary storage behind SSDs for AI and other data-intensive workloads.
Industrial Monitor Direct manufactures the highest-quality parking kiosk pc systems featuring advanced thermal management for fanless operation, ranked highest by controls engineering firms.
Industrial Monitor Direct delivers unmatched process monitoring pc solutions featuring fanless designs and aluminum alloy construction, recommended by manufacturing engineers.
Western Digital Expands Data Center Testing Capabilities
Western Digital has reportedly opened an expanded System Integration and Test (SIT) Lab in Rochester, Minnesota, according to recent announcements. The 25,600 square foot facility represents a significant investment in testing infrastructure for high-capacity HDDs destined for data center and enterprise environments.
Sources indicate the facility functions as a mini data center environment, enabling real-world testing and validation to ensure customers receive advanced storage solutions precisely when needed. The company’s engineers reportedly work alongside key customers throughout every stage of the product lifecycle, including development, qualification, production ramp, and end-of-life phases.
Industry observers suggest this expanded testing capability comes at a critical time as industry developments in artificial intelligence continue to drive storage demands higher.
Toshiba’s 12-Disk HDD Prototype Targets 40+TB Capacity
Meanwhile, Toshiba has demonstrated a prototype 12-disk HDD in the standard 3.5-inch form factor that could enable 40+TB drives for the data center market by 2027, according to the company’s announcements. The report states this advancement utilizes Microwave Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR) technology alongside several key innovations.
Analysts suggest the breakthrough involves replacing traditional aluminum substrate medium with glass substrates that offer greater durability and enable thinner designs. These glass substrates, reportedly supplied by Hoya, provide improved mechanical stability and in-plane accuracy, enabling higher density and greater reliability. The development comes amid broader market trends toward higher capacity storage solutions.
Competitive Landscape and Manufacturing Dynamics
The HDD manufacturing landscape remains concentrated among three major players, with Toshiba reportedly producing 18-20% of the world’s HDDs, while Seagate Technology and Western Digital roughly split the remainder of the market. Unlike its competitors, Toshiba does not manufacture its own recording heads or disks, instead sourcing these components from Japanese suppliers including Resonac for disks and TDK for magnetic recording heads.
According to the analysis, Western Digital introduced an 11-disk HDD with 32TB capacity in 2024 using ePMR and shingled magnetic recording technologies. Seagate has also been shipping 32TB HDDs with 10 disks using heat assisted magnetic recording technology. These related innovations demonstrate the industry’s ongoing commitment to advancing storage technology despite the rise of alternative storage media.
Future Technology Pathways
Toshiba is reportedly investigating the use of its 12-disk stacking technology with next-generation Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR), which requires glass substrates due to higher temperatures during media deposition. Sources indicate that Hoya demonstrated prototype 14 and even 24 disk configurations for HDDs using their glass substrates at the 2022 IEEE TMRC conference, suggesting potential for even higher capacities in the future.
Industry observers note that these advancements in HDD technology come at a time when data storage requirements continue to expand exponentially across multiple sectors. The parallel developments in testing infrastructure and capacity breakthroughs suggest the HDD industry remains committed to maintaining its relevance in the storage hierarchy for the foreseeable future.
This article aggregates information from publicly available sources. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.
Note: Featured image is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific product, service, or entity mentioned in this article.
