Server Hard Disk, as the name suggests, is the hard disk (Hard Disk) used on the server. If the server is the core of the network data, then the server hard disk is the data warehouse of this core, where all the software and user data are stored. For users, the data stored on the server's hard disk is the most valuable, so the reliability of the hard disk is very important. In order to enable the hard disk to adapt to the large amount of data, ultra-long working hours of the working environment, the server generally use high-speed, stable, secure SCSI hard disk.

Now the hard disk from the interface, can be divided into IDE hard disk and SCSI hard disk (at present, there are some support PCMCIA interface, IEEE 1394 interface, SATA interface, USB interface and FC-AL (FibreChannel-Arbitrated) Fibre Channel interface). Loop) Fibre Channel interface products, but relatively speaking, very few); IDE hard disk that we use every day hard disk, it is because of the price is cheap and performance is not bad, so in the PC has been widely used, the vast majority of hard disk used in personal computers are this type of hard disk. Another type of hard disk is SCSI hard disk (SCSI that is Small Computer System Interface small computer system interface), because of its performance is good, so in the server are generally used in this type of hard disk products, but at the same time it is not expensive, so in the ordinary PC do not often see SCSI traces.

Compared with the ordinary PC hard disk, the hard disk used in the server has the following four characteristics.

1, fast

Server hard disk speed, can reach 7200 or 10,000 revolutions per minute, or even higher; it is also configured with a larger (generally 2MB or 4MB) write-back cache; the average access time is relatively short; external transfer rate and internal transfer rate is higher, using Ultra Wide SCSI, Ultra2 Wide SCSI, Ultra160 SCSI, Ultra320 SCSI and other standards of SCSI hard disk, the data transfer rate per second can reach 40MB, 80MB, 160MB, 320MB respectively.

2, high reliability

Because the server hard disk is almost 24 hours a day non-stop operation, bear a huge workload It can be said that the hard disk if there is a problem, the consequences are unimaginable. Therefore, hard drives are now using S.M.A.R.T technology (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology), while hard disk manufacturers are using their own unique advanced technology to ensure the safety of data. In order to avoid accidental loss, server hard disks are generally able to withstand impacts of 300G to 1,000G.

3, more than the use of SCSI interface

Most servers use a large data throughput, the CPU occupies a very low SCSI hard disk. SCSI hard disk must be used through the SCSI interface, some servers have an integrated SCSI interface motherboards, some have a dedicated SCSI interface card, a SCSI interface card can be connected to the seven SCSI devices, which is not comparable to the IDE interface. This is the IDE interface can not be compared.

4, can support hot swap

Hot Swap (Hot Swap) is a number of servers to support the installation of the hard disk, you can not stop in the case of the server, pull out or insert a hard disk, the operating system automatically recognizes the changes in the hard disk. This technique is essential for servers that run 24/7.