WD20EZBX - CMR or SMR?

CMR

The WD WD Blue 2TB (WD20EZBX) uses CMR recording.

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

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 WD20EZBX 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 numberWD20EZBX
BrandWD
FamilyWD Blue
Capacity2TB
Form factor3.5"
Rotational speed7200 RPM
Cache256 MB
Recording technologyCMR
Workload rate
Warranty2 years
StatusCurrent
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.

Related models

Other WD Blue capacities
WD10EZEX1TBCMRWD10EZRZ1TBCMRWD20EZAZ2TBSMRWD20EZRZ2TBCMRWD40EZAX4TBCMRWD40EZAZ4TBCMRWD60EZAZ6TBSMRWD80EAAZ8TBCMRWD80EAZZ8TBCMR
The same capacity from other makers
ST2000DM0062TBCMRST2000DX0022TBCMRST2000VX0082TBCMR
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Frequently asked questions

Is the WD20EZBX 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 WD20EZBX 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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