WD101KFBX - CMR or SMR?

CMR

The WD WD Red Pro 10TB (WD101KFBX) uses CMR recording.

Verified against: Western Digital internal client HDD recording technology - SMR drives by capacity (7 July 2020) · Checked

Sources disagree on this model

An earlier 10TB Red Pro. WD's current Red Pro data sheet lists WD103KFBX and WD102KFBX at this capacity instead, so the workload rating and cache are not stated here rather than assumed from its successors.

What this means for you

Conventional recording writes tracks side by side without overlap, so a write never forces the drive to rewrite neighbouring data. That makes the WD101KFBX safe for every use including RAID, ZFS, a NAS, and anything with sustained random writes. A rebuild or a resilver on this drive behaves the way the array expects, which is the whole reason the distinction matters. There is no recording-technology reason to avoid this drive for any workload.

Specifications

Model numberWD101KFBX
BrandWD
FamilyWD Red Pro
Capacity10TB
Form factor3.5"
Rotational speed
Cache
Recording technologyCMR
Workload rate
Warranty
StatusDiscontinued
Replaced by

A dash means the manufacturer does not state that field for this exact model. We leave it blank rather than filling it from a retailer listing.

We track this drive - live price
WD Red Pro 10TB WD101KFBX
$349.99 · $35.00/TB
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Related models

Other WD Red Pro capacities
WD2002FFSX2TBCMRWD4003FFBX4TBCMRWD4005FFBX4TBCMRWD6003FFBX6TBCMRWD6005FFBX6TBCMRWD6002FFWX6TBCMRWD8003FFBX8TBCMRWD8005FFBX8TBCMRWD103KFBX10TBCMRWD102KFBX10TBCMRWD121KFBX12TBCMRWD122KFBX12TBCMR
The same capacity from other makers
ST10000VE000810TBCMRST10000VN00010TBCMRST10000NE00010TBCMR
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Frequently asked questions

Is the WD101KFBX CMR or SMR?

It is CMR. That comes from Western Digital internal client HDD recording technology - SMR drives by capacity (7 July 2020), which is WD's own documentation for this exact part number rather than a capacity-level summary or a retailer listing.

Can I use the WD101KFBX in a NAS or RAID array?

Yes. Conventional recording means a write never forces neighbouring tracks to be rewritten, so rebuilds and resilvers behave normally. There is no recording-technology objection to this drive in an array, check the workload rating and warranty for your duty cycle separately.

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