Seagate introduceert Barracuda 36ES Ultra160 harddisk

Seagate heeft gisteren de nieuwe 7200rpm Barracuda 36ES harddisks geïntroduceerd. De Barracuda 36ES is grotendeels gebaseerd op de Barracuda ATA, met als belangrijkste verschil dat de 36ES is voorzien van een Ultra160 SCSI interface. Seagate richt zich met deze schijven vooral op de markt voor entry-level servers en high performance desktops. De harddisks zijn beschikbaar in twee modellen met een capaciteit van 18,4 en 36,9GB. De prijs is respectievelijk 319 en 519 dollar. Seagate geeft 3 jaar garantie, minder dan de 5 jaar die op de Barracuda 18XL wordt gegeven.

De gemiddelde zoektijd van de Barracuda 36ES is behoorlijk hoog omdat de schijf is gebaseerd op een IDE harddisk. Een 7200rpm Barracuda 18XL heeft bijvoorbeeld een zoektijd van slechts 5,8ms, terwijl de zoektijd van de 36ES 8,5ms bedraagt:

Enterprise storage leader Seagate Technology (NYSE:SEG) today announced its new Barracuda 36ES, an 18 and 36 Gbyte full-featured SCSI disc drive optimized for entry servers and high-performance personal computers. The new Barracuda 36ES is highly leveraged from Seagate's industry-proven Barracuda ATA, but features a high-speed Ultra160 SCSI interface. In today's entry-level server and high-performance personal computer markets, initial cost is often the most important purchase criterion. The Barracuda 36ES lets users affordably implement the more scalable, higher-performing, and backward compatible Ultra160 SCSI interface to new systems, or provides an easy upgrade and expansion path for existing SCSI systems. The Barracuda 36ES delivers the added performance and flexibility that comes with being a true world-class server SCSI disc drive at a competitive entry-level price.

According to IDC, customer demand for entry-level servers is strong and is expected to remain strong. "IDC expects the entry server market to post the strongest growth opportunity as Intel-based systems begin to make greater headway in attracting more mission-critical workloads," said Steve Josselyn, research director at International Data Corporation.

[...] The Barracuda 36ES is available in the Ultra160 SCSI interface with bus data rates of 160 Mbytes per second. It is also available with the single-ended narrow and wide SCSI interface solutions for those legacy systems needing additional storage resources. Its average seek times of 8.5 milliseconds, low acoustic levels of 3.4 decibels, and full-featured SCSI performance show that the Barracuda 36ES is designed for entry-level server performance. With a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) rating of 800,000 hours, three-year warranty and non-op shock rating of 350 Gs, the Barracuda 36ES sets the standard for entry-level server reliability.

The Barracuda 36ES is available in both 18.4 Gbyte and 36.9 Gbyte capacities. Single-unit Suggested Retail Price (SRP) is $319 and $519 respectively. Actual street prices will vary, and will be determined by Seagate authorized resellers. The Barracuda 36ES will be in volume production by the end of the year.