Hard Drive

The hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile hardware device that works as the main storage in computers. It stores an operating system, software programs, and other files.

Hard drives are found on several devices. These include desktop computers, consumer electronics, mobile devices, and enterprise storage arrays in data centers, servers, and more. Its ability to work with a wide range of devices makes it a very versatile device.

How a Hard Drive Works

Unlike volatile storage devices, a hard drive can store data even when the power is off. The hard drive’s platter divides into several tiny magnetized areas. These magnetic areas move the actuator arm to read and write data to the drive. It is this magnetism that helps your device to keep storing information without being switched on.

The actuator head moves over the platter to write 0’s and 1’s. The head goes back to the same spot to deduce the stored 0’s and 1’s. Modern hard drives can store over a trillion bits per platter. However,
SSDs with flash storage are gradually replacing the spinning hard drives. They are much faster, and they consume less energy than HDDs.

HDDs work as mass storage devices because they can hold a large amount of data. A standard option will give you up to 10TB of storage capacity. SSDs, on the other hand, can only have about 8TB of storage space, and other best hard disk drives available on our site.

Types of Hard Disk Drives

Hard drives can be grouped into three types, which are:

Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA)

Hard disk drives under this group were the first type introduced back by Western Digital. These drives have data transfer rates up to 133MB/s, and their channels can accommodate up to two devices. They transfer and store bits of data simultaneously in parallel using magnetism.

PATA hard drives connect to the motherboard via bulky ribbon-like cables. Suppose there is a need to use multiple PATA HDDs in a device. In that case, they have to be connected with the correct jumpers in a ‘master-slave’ configuration. The motherboard has both primary and secondary PATA channels. This makes the connection to older computers very easy.

Serial ATA Storage Drives (SATA)

These drive types evolved to take over from the PATA drives. They can transfer data a lot faster with their serial signalling technology. These types of drives have varying storage capacities and consume less power. SATA hard drives are made to transmit data at up to 150, 300, or 600 MB/s, and these are the best hard disk drives (HDD) for desktop servers.

These drives make your server, desktop computer, or PC work a lot faster, enhancing their capabilities. SATA drive cables are bulkier than PATA ones. They connect directly to the motherboard, allowing better airflow to the computer case.

Fibre Channel (FATA)

Fibre /Fiber Channel or FATA – Fibre/Fiber Attached Technology Adapted – is simply the low-budget ATA or SATA disk drive equipped with a controller, that connects the interface to Fibre/Fiber Channel (FC). FC drives use the SCSI command language; they require a special FC HBA controller. This allows users to use the disk in the enterprise-level drive enclosure, at about low of the cost of a native FC hard disk.

Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)

These drive types use a small system interface to connect to the computer. They are faster and more reliable options. They are ideal for daily operations with better flexibility across different arrays. SAS drives are most commonly employed in servers, and business computer systems, and the best hard disk drive (HDD) for data centers.

These types of hard drives will come in handy if you deal with a large amount of data. They can handle up to 1.6 million hours of use, and they meet complex servers’ needs. The Random Array of Independent Disks (RAID) system of this interface allows it to prevent downtime and data losses.