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Seagate's New 'SkyHawk AI' Disk Drive Is Just a Slightly Higher Speced Version of Its Predecessor (theregister.co.uk)
ourlovecanlastforeve shares a report from The Register, where Chris Mellor takes a look at Seagate's recently launched "SkyHawk" and "SkyHawk AI" HDDs. After closer inspection, Mellor concludes that the "AI" variant has a more buzz-worthy name and "slightly higher numbers on the specs" than its "SkyHawk" brethren. From the report: Seagate has bolted "AI" to its SkyHawk disk drive brand, saying it's better suited for next-generation deep learning and video analytics. The marketing department breathlessly describes it as "the first drive created specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) enabled video surveillance solutions." Sai Varanasi, VP product line management, burbled in the same fashion: "We are excited to introduce smart, purpose-built SkyHawk AI solutions that expand the design space for our customers and partners, allowing them to implement next-generation deep learning and video analytics applications." How so? Seagate says the new drive's "high throughput and enhanced caching deliver low latency and excellent random read performance to quickly locate and deliver video images and footage analysis." Both SkyHawk and SkyHawk AI have a 256MB cache buffer and 4.16ms average latency. Where it does differ from SkyHawk is having a higher 550TB/year workload and 2 million hours mean-time-before-failure rating, compared to 180TB/year and a million hours. It's been given a five-year limited warranty and a two-year Seagate Rescue Services contract is included with the drive. In other words the SkyHawk AI is more robust than the standard SkyHawk and transfers data 1.9 per cent faster. Otherwise it seems identical.
This is my story, I submitted it to Slashdot, but it says it was submitted by someone else and has a different title than I submitted it with.
crossing the line first. gold medal.
. . . the "SkyHawk Blockchain" . . . but it will cost 400% more . . .
. . . maybe they will also offer a hybrid model: "SkyHawk Blockchain AI" . . . ?
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
>" In other words the SkyHawk AI is more robust than the standard SkyHawk and transfers data 1.9 per cent faster. Otherwise it seems identical."
And it might actually be identical in every way. This is not uncommon in many industries- to sell identical machines, parts, products, whatever, but with glitzy marketing, different packaging, and a better warranty. In such cases, one is actually just paying more to get a longer warranty.
I am just speculating here, I have no evidence either way with the SkyHawk AI. Perhaps they use better construction, higher quality bearings, improved assembly, or maybe tweaked firmware. But if they don't specifically mention HOW this drive is actually better (what hardware or methods make it different), then I would be very skeptical about it actually being any better (at least as far as MTBF).
Want to buy my 3D printer?
> 2017
> not calling it AI 3D printer
(> having to literally >)
CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
Maybe it's not about what the A.I. needs, but rather humanity. Maybe A.I. needs a bottleneck to give us a chance to realize when we screw up before it's too late.
RIP TRICERATOPS, YOU NEVER EXISTED
The label on the box.
That's a fascinating philosophical postulation there, but I highly doubt Seagate is printing new lies on their marketing materials for humanitarian purposes.
Next you're doing to tell me the NAS drives are just slightly different to non-NAS drives, and Surveillance drives are only slightly different from regular drives too.
To be fair, the workload figure of 550TB/year is quite a bit higher than 180TB/year.
It's like comparing a consumer grade printer with an office grade printer. They might have the same speed, image quality and maybe even warranty period, but the office grade one is going to last a lot longer if it's printing hundreds or thousands of pages a day.
Even power tools are like that. The warranties of cheap products exclude commercial use, since they'll fail pretty quick if used all day every day.
Marketing drones frequently take liberties with reality.
I'm holding out for the AI quantum gluten-free HDD.
I'm holding out for the AI quantum gluten-free HDD.
Designed near Boulder CO, so it's also gotta be carbon-neutral organic free-range homeopathic grass pheno-fed and spagyric OG skunk kush grass-finished twin turbo astrobotanical gemstone infused.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
Old joke:
What's the difference between a computer and used car salesman?
The car salesman knows when he's lying.
Translation: A really really big seagate customer that does video surveillance and analytics ("AI") was not satisfied with drive reliability and performance. Since it was a really really big customer they got seagate to build them a special model. Seagate also sells this model to other customers and their salesdrones got overly excited about the "AI" angle.
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
The summary says the marketers claimed "excellent random read performance to quickly locate and deliver video". Which is it, random read or video? Because video is about throughput. Random read is data that fits in a few blocks - a few 512 byte or 4K blocks. Once you get into hundreds of megabytes or gigabytes, a million consecutive blocks, that's not random.
on my new 4K TV
Have had numerous dead Seagate drives over the years. I don't care if they replace them with good grace - I just want my HDD to function as expected for a period of many years (OK, "function as expected" in. Seagate's case probably means "die at the most inopportune moment"). My external WD HDD, however, still works 8 years after purchase. This is despite getting wet, being dropped both when running and when not plugged in, having the cable yanked out a few times and sent flying across the room at various gigs, and being trod on so hard by a punk in para boots that the cover came apart. The only difference is that after that last incident, it now runs more smoothly upside-down since the metal it's mounted on inside the case is slightly bent now. No data loss, no real issues at all. The plastic cover isn't even chipped. Nice one Western Digital.
I heard that if you use that phrase as a Starbucks order, the gates of Heaven will open up right there in the store.
Since this is Seagate we're talking about, I imagine the new AI will determine the worst possible time for the drive to fail (sometime after the warranty expires and right at the same time as all of the other drives in the raid array).
Seagate has airbrushed "GW" onto its solid state disk drive brand, saying it's better suited for Climate Change research. The marketing department throatily rasps it as "the first drive created specifically for the wide range of intelligence routinely encountered in climate debates."
But it's more than just re-branding for the virtue market. SSDGW virtue signal to noise ratio has been reduced and performance degradation has been enhanced, offering a failure profile that begins to rise steadily before the dawn of accurate satellite measurement, reaching peak failure during the Medieval Warm Period. Utilizing lopsided NAND gates, the drive cannot be guaranteed not to adjust past figures downwards, making it invaluable for preparing historical revisions to the surface temperature datasets. "This is our first drive with no guarantee or warranty, and we're surprised with its popularity within the academic community."
Drive firmware supports a new AlGorical Control Panel, special driver and utility for adjusting parameters. "We have made data degradation completely transparent and user friendly," the marketing dope said. "The driver is there principally to thwart the S.M.A.R.T. standard of drive integrity monitoring, these units seem to blow it out completely." From the Control Panel you can change the date ranges of the failure, but be warned: "parameters are stored by the same circuitry that manage the data. So you'd better check them often!"
It's two drives in one! The SSDGW can also be run in 'time-disable mode' which flattens the performance degradation to a uniform high level, making it a Virtual Plausible Deniability Drive. "Currently in beta, the VPDD is an exciting new way to store Secretary of State emails, FOIA requests, JFK files... or even HD surveillance footage if you'd rather have a grainy result."
When challenged with the idea that inferior products often exhibit these features, the marketing dope tossed his head and whinnied. "SSDGW is a premium product. Uniform degradation profiles are difficult to achieve on the production line. I'm sure there will be knock-off counterfeit SSDGWs out there but buyer beware. The first time you realize you've been deceived is when you get all your data back." He added, "And then it's too late."
The marketing dope also dropped hints of future Seagate products, including "a solid state disk that has an embedded mechanical device that will occasionally begin to click loudly at brief intervals, just to scare the shit out of you."
<blink>down the rabbit hole</blink>
A million hours is around 114 years. The warranty should be at least 100 years.
I had a drive with a MTBF of 65 years, with a three year warranty. It failed at three years three months.
Obviously the warranty length is a much better indicator of the manufacturer's confidence in their product.
http://www.datarecovery.hr/bud...