Hitachi enterprise drives target the datacentre

The Ultrastar C10K600 uses a 64MB cache for data management and read/write optimisation

Hitachi has added to its line of enterprise hard drives, promising speed and power improvements on its Ultrastar C10K600 range.

The new Ultrastar C10K600 300GB, 450GB and 600GB Ultrastar models offer improved efficiencies and create quicker returns on investment, according to the firm.

The 2.5in drives take up 70 per cent less physical space and use 65 per cent less power than Hitachi's comparable 3.5in models, allowing organisations to build smaller and more efficient datacentres or storage arrays, the company said.

"The Ultrastar C10K600 is closely aligned with customer requirements for increased performance, improved server/storage density, greater power efficiency and lower total cost of ownership," said Brendan Collins, vice president of product marketing at Hitachi GST.

"We are proud to establish new power and performance benchmarks with our latest Ultrastar drives, while delivering to customers the proven quality and reliability they have come to expect from Hitachi."

Hitachi claimed that the drives set new performance standards for 10,000rpm 2.5in models, with 18 per cent faster sequential and 15 per cent better random performance than the competition.

The drives' dual-port 6Gbit/s SAS interface allows faster data throughput, the firm added, and the new models are the only drives in their class that use a 64MB cache for data management and read/write optimisation.

The Ultrastar C10K600 has what Hitachi calls Advanced Power Management capabilities that should lead to lower energy use. Hitachi added that the drives have an "industry-leading" random read/write operating power spec of 5.6W and idle mode of 3.1W.

More eco-benefits come in the form of halogen-reduced components, which have earned Hitachi's EcoTrac classification.

The drives are shipping now, and come with optional bulk data encryption software.