WD platter sizes 2.5": https://rml527.blogspot.com/2010/10/hdd-platter-database-western-digital-25.html |WD data sheet for WD Red, note 256MB cache suggesting DM-SMR: https://documents.westerndigital.co...et-western-digital-wd-red-hdd-2879-800002.pdf Seagate datasheet for 8TB Archive v2 showing HA-SMR: https://www.seagate.com/www-content...seagate-archive-hdd/en-us/docs/100795782a.pdf j) BPR is so complex no new features can be added afterwards: 2020, BSD Now podcast, from roughly 22:00, https://www.bsdnow.tv/340 The BarraCuda is very economical, compact, quiet and at the same time extremely fast, even in comparison with many HDDs from other manufacturers.

HGST Host-Managed SMR DataCenter drives: https://www.westerndigital.com/products/data-center-drives/ultrastar-dc-hc600-series-hdda) HA-SMR and HM-SMR in ZFS: 2014, Tim Feldman of Seagate, http://open-zfs.org/w/images/2/2a/Host-Aware_SMR-Tim_Feldman.pdf

WD platter sizes niche products: https://rml527.blogspot.com/2010/10/hdd-platter-database-western-digital-35.html

Seagate has formally introduced a new family of hard drives in the 2.5” form-factor. It is designed for laptops as well as external storage solutions. The new BarraCuda HDDs are based on 1 TB shingled magnetic recording platters and Seagate’s multi-tier caching technology. They enhance the maximum capacity of the company’s 2.5” HDDs to 5 TB - making the BarraCudaST5000LM000 the world’s highest-capacity 2.5” hard drive. q) Toshiba presentation on SMR technology: 2015, https://www.toshiba.co.jp/tech/review/en/01_02/pdf/a08.pdf Seagate platter sizes 2.5": https://rml527.blogspot.com/2010/09/hdd-platter-database-seagate-25.html o) Poster for Zone-based Storage Tiering for HA-SMA: 2017, University of Minnesota, https://sc17.supercomputing.org/SC17 Archive/tech_poster/poster_files/post204s2-file2.pdf

While the vast majority of the Seagate BarraCuda 2.5" 4 TB HDDs will use a four-platter configuration, some Seagate customers have apparently requested a five-platter configuration. Obviously, being based on 800 GB platters, such drives have lower areal density and, perhaps, different performance and behavior. All 2-6TB external drives - Elements, My Book, Easystore, etc. Precise models vary and are not guaranteed; assume SMR in capacities below 8TB. Seagate is a real industry giant in the hard drive market, where you can barely get past if you want to build a high-memory PC system. The range of models covers all segments - from small (2.5 inches) to large (3.5 inches), from green IT (at lower speeds) to high-speed (at 7,200 rpm), from home users to professional environment.l) OpenZFS Office Hour discussion on SMR: 2015, SMR, Resilvering, Possible Solutions at around 20, 31 and 46 mins respectively, https://youtu.be/mS4bfbEq46I?t=1220

SMR allows vendors to offer higher capacity without the need to fundamentally change the underlying recording technology. WD platter sizes 2.5 niche products: https://rml527.blogspot.com/2010/10/hdd-platter-database-western-digital-25_2393.html If newer firmware is available for your drive, it will reflect the improvements we have engineered for the latest manufacturing. Firmware for legacy products will be the final release from manufacturing. Please note that Seagate does not offer details about specific firmware. ST2000LM015 Seagate 2.5″ hard drive with a storage capacity of 2TB and featuring a SATA interface. ST2000LM015 Seagate BarraCuda Pro 2TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s 128MB Cache 2.5-inch Hard Drive.

Pricing History

Host Aware, HA-SMR, which is designed to give ZFS insight into the SMR process. Note that ZFS code to use HA-SMR does not appear to exist. Without that code, a HA-SMR drive behaves like a DM-SMR drive where ZFS is concerned.