WD221KFGX - CMR or SMR?

CMR

The WD WD Red Pro 22TB (WD221KFGX) uses CMR recording.

Verified against: WD Red Pro NAS hard drive product page · 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 WD221KFGX 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 numberWD221KFGX
BrandWD
FamilyWD Red Pro
Capacity22TB
Form factor3.5"
Rotational speed7200 RPM
Cache512 MB
Recording technologyCMR
Workload rate300 TB/year
Warranty5 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.

We track this drive - live price
Red Pro 22TB NAS WD221KFGX
$851.99 · $38.73/TB
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Related models

Other WD Red Pro capacities
WD2002FFSX2TBCMRWD4003FFBX4TBCMRWD6003FFBX6TBCMRWD8003FFBX8TBCMRWD101KFBX10TBCMRWD121KFBX12TBCMRWD141KFGX14TBCMRWD161KFGX16TBCMRWD181KFGX18TBCMRWD201KFGX20TBCMRWD240KFGX24TBCMRWD260KFGX26TBCMR
The same capacity from other makers
ST22000NT00122TBCMR
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Frequently asked questions

Is the WD221KFGX CMR or SMR?

It is CMR. That comes from WD Red Pro NAS hard drive product page, 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 WD221KFGX 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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