Seagate Exos X20 18TB 7.2K SAS 12G LFF SED-FIPS Hard Drive

Eighteen terabytes is the capacity of the Seagate Exos X20 18TB 7.2K SAS 12G LFF SED-FIPS Hard Drive (ST18000NM002D), the smallest of the X20 drives we list. It spins at 7200 rpm and uses SAS at 12 Gbps in a 3.5in LFF body.

The cache is 256 MB, the sector format is 512e, and the encryption field reads SED-FIPS.

Why an 18TB drive? Often because it matches a deployed array. Storage systems built around this size need spares of the identical type, and many administrators prefer to stay on one capacity per pool, since a larger drive added to a RAID group is limited to the size of the smallest member. In that case the extra capacity of a bigger model would go unused.

SAS-capable hardware is required to run it, and the encryption features need a controller or array that manages keys.

Conditions on offer are new, refurbished and used. New and refurbished units have 1 year or 3 years of warranty, and used units have 90 days.