WD Ultrastar DC HC580: 22TB and 24TB Part Numbers, Data Sheet and the HC590 Choice

Ultrastar DC HC580 part numbers: 22TB and 24TB, SATA and SAS

WD gives each HC580 a long model number, such as WUH722424ALE6L4, and a short part number, such as 0F62796. A listing may print either, so this grid holds both. WD's en-gb product page ties each 0F number to a capacity, an interface and a security option. The data sheet is the grid's source for the long strings: the sheet prints its model list and its part-number list in matching order. Putting the two on one row is our reading, based on that order plus the key's final 1 and 4.

WD's own en-gb page disagrees with the sheet on three of these strings. Its spec blocks print WUH722222ALE601 and WUH722222ALE604 for 22 TB SED and Base (SE), where the grid has WUH722422ALE6L1 and WUH722422ALE6L4, and WUHT22424ALE6L1 for 24 TB Base (SE), where the grid has WUH722424ALE6L4. Those three grid strings do not appear on that page. We follow the sheet and cannot say why the two differ, so if a listing prints one of the page's strings, go by its 0F number.

The sheet has one SATA column and one SAS column, each covering both capacities, which is why so many cells repeat. Sustained transfer is a maximum that WD places about 10% into the capacity, and it does not change with interface at a given size. The random 50/50 power is at 4KB QD4 and maximum IOPS. The sheet prints its W/TB cells with no capacity labels: we read them in cell order, and dividing the idle watts by the capacity gives the same four figures.

If you searched for an Ultrastar HC580 24TB, the first four rows are yours, and the choice among them is interface first, then security. For the 22TB drive, the last four rows apply. By our arithmetic from the sheet's maximums, no full write can beat about 22.4 hours at 24 TB or 21.0 hours at 22 TB.

How to read a WD Ultrastar DC HC580 model number

WD's key explains the characters in WUH722424ALxxyz. The digits are the quick test for capacity: WUH722424 is the 24 TB drive and WUH722422 the 22 TB. The rest reads like this:

• W is Western Digital and U is Ultrastar. H means helium, where S would mean standard, and 72 means 7200 RPM.
• A is the generation code, and L is the 26.1 mm z-height.
• xx is the interface: E6 is 512e SATA 6 Gb/s and 52 is 512e SAS 12Gb/s.
• y is the pin 3 status: L is the legacy configuration with no Power Disable support and 0 is Power Disable support. Every SATA model on this sheet carries L and every SAS model carries 0.
• z is the security mode: 1 is SED, a self-encrypting TCG-Enterprise drive with crypto scramble and erase, and 4 is Base (SE), with no encryption and overwrite only. The key lists no other mode here, and its footnote says the ATA Security Feature Set comes as standard on SATA.

So a buyer who wants a self-encrypting drive looks for a final 1, or the short number marked SED on WD's page. Whether a given controller, backplane or enclosure works with a pin 3 setting or a security mode is not something this sheet answers, so check your own system's documents before you choose on price.

WD Ultrastar DC HC580 prices on Amazon.co.uk

This table takes the Amazon.co.uk listings we identify as the HC580 generation, lowest pounds per TB inc VAT first, with capacity as a column. It holds 1 listing right now. If your capacity, interface or security option has no row, the table holds none at this moment. Check each row's number against the grid above, because a number that is not on the grid is not described by the figures on this page.

WD's sheet states a CMR recording format for this family, whilst CMR in an Amazon title is a claim by whoever wrote that title. The Recording column prints a technology only where a document ties it to the part number, so a row without one marks our sourcing gap and says nothing about the drive.

WD's sheet and its en-gb page both state a 5-year limited warranty. We have not found a WD document setting out UK terms for the HC580, or one saying that warranty reaches a used row. A drive sold as recertified is a separate case, set out on refurbished WD Ultrastar.

In-stock alternatives

None of these is the product this page covers: they are what is in stock on Amazon.co.uk beside it right now. Each row says why it is listed. Check the interface, form factor and part number against your system before buying.

Ultrastar DC HC580 data center HDD: the rest of the datasheet

WD's data sheet is dated July 2024 and calls its contents sample specifications that are subject to change and do not constitute a warranty. These lines are the same on SATA and SAS unless marked, so they will not help you pick between part numbers, but they belong in any spec check.

• Platform: ten disks at 2.4 TB per disk in CMR format, 7200 RPM.
• Areal density: 1210 Gbits per square inch at 24 TB and 1109 at 22 TB, reading the sheet's joined cells in capacity order.
• Data buffer: 512 MB, with a portion used for firmware. Average latency: 4.16 ms.
• Random performance: 212 IOPS read and 565 IOPS write at 4KB QD32, the write figure the same with write cache on or off, and 220 IOPS for 50/50 read/write at 4KB QD4.
• Error rate: 1 in 10^15 bits read, non-recoverable. Load/unload cycles: 600,000 at 40°C. Availability: 24x7.
• AFR: 0.35%, projected. Limited warranty: 5 years.
• Size: 26.1 mm high, 101.6 mm wide and 147 mm deep.
• Operating limits: 5°C to 60°C (5°C ambient, 60°C device-reported), 40 G shock, 0.7 G RMS vibration from 5 to 500 Hz.
• Non-operating limits: -40°C to 70°C ambient, 200 G shock, 1.04 G RMS vibration from 2 to 200 Hz.

WD calls this its newest-generation OptiNAND platform, pairing an iNAND UFS embedded flash drive with spinning disks, and says that raises the non-volatile memory available to flush critical metadata in an emergency power off. It says ArmorCache writes all the data in the DRAM cache to that onboard memory on a sudden power loss, so host flush cache commands are no longer needed to protect data, in either write cache mode. The sheet also lists energy-assist magnetic recording, HelioSeal and a triple-stage actuator. These are WD's own claims and we have not tested them.

Treat the reliability pair with care. WD calls 2.5 million hours and 0.35% projected values, and says both derate above typical workload and 40°C, up to 550 TB a year and 60°C device-reported. It also says MTBF and AFR do not predict an individual drive's reliability and are not a warranty. Its application list runs through cloud and hyperscale storage, massive scale-out high-density data centres, distributed file systems, Hadoop, hybrid cloud and hyperconverged servers. That is where WD aims the drive, and it does not tell you the drive suits any one system.

Ultrastar DC HC580 vs HC590: the essential differences

The two families meet at 24 TB. These are the differences that matter from WD's sheets, July 2024 for the HC580 and October 2024 for the HC590. Where a cell shows two values with a slash, the first is SATA and the second SAS.

The HC590's own ground on these sheets is 26 TB and two more security codes. Two cautions: the sheets word their recording technology differently, and we have not found a WD document explaining why, so do not read EAMR against ePMR as a performance difference. And the acoustics rows run in opposite orders, so read each label before setting one number against another.

This page prices only the HC580, so there is no pound comparison here. The row-by-row 24 TB comparison, with all eight numbers at that size, is on WD Ultrastar 24TB, and the other family's map is at Ultrastar DC HC590.