Business owners have different IT needs than individuals. Mission-critical data loss can cripple a business. Every minute of downtime can equate to hundreds, or thousands, of dollars lost. While 24 Hour Data is there to help during a data recovery emergency, it’s best to try to avoid the need for data recovery services. 

Just as a regular SUV or even a consumer class truck won’t have the same reliability and performance of a commercial class truck, consumer hard disk drives perform differently than enterprise class hard drive storage, especially in RAID arrays. 

Let’s look at just a few of the benefits of enterprise class storage for your business. We’re not saying that every business needs enterprise class storage; in some cases, the benefits aren’t worth the added expenses. 

However, if you’re running a RAID server with multiple drives and a controller, enterprise class hard drives from reputable manufacturers like Seagate might be the right choice to reduce the likelihood of a failed disk drive and a data recovery emergency.

1. Sensors reduce the effects of vibration on the drive, helping prevent RAID failure.

When regular hard disk drives are used in RAID arrays, they’re often stored in metal racks, with additional equipment such as power supplies and fans surrounding them. Drives housed in these conditions are subject to intense rotational vibrations that may, with time, cause errors during the read/write process, resulting in the loss of mission critical data and even hard drive failure.

Enterprise class drives in the same RAID array use multiple sensors that detect vibration and then cause a controller within the drive to move the heads with the vibration, keeping the heads centered in the track and increasing rotational vibration tolerance. 

2. The possibility of an read/write data error is diminished thanks to features in an enterprise drive. – Not only is an enterprise drive stronger, many feature technology such as Error Correction Code (ECC), which checks data for errors (and corrects them) during read/write cycles. Seagate’s RAID Rebuild feature further reduces the chances that data from a RAID array will be lost during a rebuild.

3. Lower power consumption over the long-term, thanks to increased performance. – Consumer drives, especially those marketed at green drives, may use less power during operation. But slower performance in consumer class hard disk drives means drives may be in operation longer, consuming more power in the long haul than their faster-performing enterprise class counterparts. When you consider how many hard disk drives a server room might house, all running 24 hours a day, this can represent substantial power savings and lower electric bills. 

Is enterprise class storage the right choice for your RAID array?