Toshiba has officially released its Mx11 family of helium-sealed enterprise drives, headlined by a new 28TB model that pushes storage density to new extremes.
According to reporting from Yahoo Tech, the series includes the MG11, offering up to 24TB via conventional recording, and the MA11, which reaches the 28TB mark using shingled tracks. The launch serves as a primary stepping stone in a broader strategy to facilitate 40TB models by 2027 and achieve a 55TB threshold by 2030.
Today, we’ll examine the specifications of the new Mx11 family, the roadmap for 50TB+ storage, and why the technologies required to reach these densities — specifically MAMR and SMR — create significant new hurdles for the data recovery industry.
The Path to 55TB (And Larger) Hard Drives
The Mx11 family represents a significant leap in enterprise storage capacity. Per Toshiba’s enterprise roadmap, these units utilize a 10-disk helium-sealed platform spinning at 7,200 RPM. The stacking technology sets a path for massive capacity increases over the next five years.
Toshiba’s new drives leverage Flux Control Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording (FC-MAMR) to achieve such high areal density. In our labs, we have noted that increasing the disk count within the same 3.5-inch form factor leaves virtually zero margin for mechanical error during the recovery process — more on that in a moment.
Enterprise Hard Drive Technology Isn’t for Consumers
The 28TB MA11 is not a plug-and-play drive for a home PC or a standard desktop NAS. It utilizes Host-Managed SMR, a technology where the host system’s operating software must actively manage how data is written to the overlapping tracks.
And in fact, consumers are generally better served by solid-state drives, which are faster for individual use. Few consumers have a reason to pay hundreds for more storage — not when cloud services provide that functionality for a fraction of the price.
But in enterprise environments, high densities remain important, and access speeds are analyzed differently. Enterprise hard drives usually operate in RAIDs, which utilize an array of storage devices to bypass the speed constraints of any single member. While HDDs are slower than SSDs, enterprise HDDs are engineered specifically for high-sustained performance and low latency compared to consumer counterparts.
The Science of MAMR and SMR
Toshiba employs FC-MAMR, which is a fascinating technology for data storage enthusiasts (such as our engineers). In FC-MAMR drives, a Spin Torque Oscillator located on the write head emits a microwave field.
The field assists the writing process by making the high-coercivity magnetic media more stable, allowing bits to be packed into smaller areas on the drive’s platters. We’ve detailed the physics behind this in our overview of Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR).
And by using Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR), Toshiba overlaps data tracks (think of shingles on a roof). While this is highly efficient for sequential writes in a data center, it requires specialized logic to handle data updates.
Enterprise Hard Drives Present Novel Challenges for Data Recovery
Any new storage technology will present challenges for data recovery engineers. MAMR fundamentally changes how we approach physical drive repairs and logical reconstruction.
- With 10 platters and 20 heads inside a single casing, the clearance between the heads and the platters is nearly non-existent. Maintaining or recreating this spacing can be difficult and requires specialized tools.
- High-capacity SMR drives rely on a complex translator to map data across overlapping tracks. If the firmware area becomes corrupted, the data remains physically present but logically indecipherable without specialized engineering.
- Standard donor heads cannot be used to recover a MAMR drive. The microwave oscillator on the write head is a proprietary component that must be perfectly matched to the original drive specifications for a successful swap.
Solutions for Enterprise Hard Drive Data recovery
When dealing with the latest generation of MAMR and SMR storage, the risk of permanent data loss is high if the initial recovery attempt is mishandled.
Datarecovery.com utilizes purpose-built cleanrooms and proprietary software to interface with these advanced enterprise storage devices, and we invest heavily in research and development to ensure that we’re able to treat these systems in an emergency.
If you’ve lost data on an enterprise-scale storage system, we’re here to help. Submit your case online or speak with a specialist at 1-800-237-4200.
