To learn more about the “Advanced Format” Technology, please have a look at the Toshiba AF Video or visit the IDEMA website.
 

Read the Toshiba AF Whitepaper

In high performance server and storage applications, hard disk drives don't get a break like we do and are required to operate reliably at all times, although they work with physical moving parts.

Toshiba drives with the 24/7 feature, can operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only shutting down and  entering  power saving mode when work load allows. While operating they have to be extremely reliable and are able to read and write data constantly.

Especially applicable for storage used in mobile devices where requirements for stability and robustness are of top priority. One of the most harmful things that could happen to your hard disk drive is a so called head crash, where the read and write heads that normally fly above the disk surface collide with the sensitive surface of the platters. Through the impact, not only the head itself, but more importantly the vital data stored on the hard disk can be damaged or lost. Head crashes are caused by shock movement, e.g. when a laptop is dropped.

With latest demands for data anywhere and wireless connection to the internet one major concern to users on the move is the loss of the data stored on the internal hard drive in mobile devices. The hard drive inside the computer uses read and write heads that fly at fractions of a millimeter above the data recording surface. Shock and vibration to the hard drive could cause the sensitive heads that normally fly above the media to collide with the media, the result could damage both the head and media leading to more importantly the loss of valuable user data.

Whatever You Plan To Do With Your Laptop - Your Data Is Safe.

Toshiba Storage Device Division has developed an effective technology to help prevent head media damage. The principle is as simple as it is effective: When a possible harmful speed is sensed, the read and write heads are retracted away from the disk surface and locked in a secure position off the media.

Obviously, the technology is more complicated. A three axis sensor, a so called MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) linear accelerometer, measures the acceleration magnitude, which in normal conditions is approx. 1 G. When the hard disk drive is falling, the acceleration magnitude changes to approx. 0 G. The sensor detects the change in the G-force and retracts the read/write heads from the media preventing a contact and damage.

The accelerometer is so sensitive, that a fall from as little as 10 cm (4 inches) is detected and the read and write heads are secured. In other words, the whole process of measuring the change in G force, retracting and securing the read and write heads takes less than 150 milliseconds.

Standard mobile hard disk drives are typically designed to be powered on for several hours a day. Some applications like industrial systems require constant operation and a more intensive read and write load which is called "high duty cycle".

Toshiba High Durability drives are designed especially for these kinds of applications. In addition, a Toshiba High Durability drive features an improved rotational vibration performance. The Best-in-class rotational vibration tolerance ensures unrivalled availability and performance in systems which require multiple drive configurations and intensive use scenarios.

As personal computers and multimedia applications like set-top-boxes are becoming more prevalent in the home and HDDs are being used for audio/video and entertainment requirement, a number of technologies have been developed to reduce the overall acoustic noise emitted by a HDD.

As a result of the advanced "Silent Seek" technology featured in Toshiba hard disk drives, the HDDs are extremely quiet. The ultra silent Toshiba drives boast acoustic specifications making them almost indistinguishable to the human hear.

Longitudinal Magnetic Recording (LMR) and more recently Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) are technologies used for data recording on the media in hard disk drives. Longitudinal recording aligns the data horizontally, parallel to the surface of the disk. In contrast, perpendicular recording aligns the bits vertically, perpendicular to the disk. This vertical bit alignment and the changes to the disk recording media allow for increased storage capacity on a disk to pack more data. 

Toshiba was the first HDD supplier to announce and in 2005 commercialize Perpendicular Magnetic Recording technology, therefore, removing the capacity limits hard disk drives faced at that time. With PMR, storage manufacturers can get up to 10 times more capacity on an HDD, giving consumer electronics companies open road for continued convergence and innovation in portable digital devices.

Learn more about how PMR works:

 The information on a hard disk drive is often more precious than the device itself.  A company’s data is one of it’s most valuable assets. Unauthorized data exposure can occur anywhere – from the one-man IT “department” to the nest-managed data centre. In case your notebook gets stolen or just lost, any information stored on a standard hard disk can be relatively easily compromised. Software-based solutions cannot provide the security required for a totally reliable protection without introducing additional software operations and associated processing overheads. A new hardware-based solution called SED, is used to establish a strong digital identity for both notebook systems and users, taking security to a higher level.

 The Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) - technology standards outlined by the Trusted Computing Group organization - disables unauthorized access to the hard disk drive, therefore, making the data impossible to read.  SED technology ensures that the data is encrypted in the hard drive itself, automatically, with an extremely high level of encryption. Only when the authorised user credentials are registered, the encrypting and decrypting process is completely transparent to the user.

Automatic Data Invalidation Technology - A Step Forward in Data Security

Built-in hardware encryption within the hard disk drives (HDD) controller electronics offers performance, lower overall cost and security benefits beyond those available with software encryption. Toshiba's unique and strong, government-grade AES-256 encryption is an evolution of the Self-Encrypting Drive Technology and is certified by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) through its Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program (CAVP). Due to the encryption process happening inside the HDD, stored data remains safe from all kinds of attacks used to compromise software encryption with the benefit that the encryption process adds no additional time to data processing and is completely seamless to the user.’ The world’s first “Automatic Data Invalidation Technology” (ADIT) from Toshiba takes full advantage of the encryption system. Toshiba’s ADIT HDDs can store data in a ‘self-erase’ area, where the data is instantly erased when the host system is switched off, the drive is powered off or if the drive is removed and connected to an unauthorized system. The ADIT drive, when used with appropriate host system, will also support a challenge response feature in which after prescribed number of attempts to enter a password/PIN fail, the encryption key is erased effectively instantly deleting all data in the ‘self-erase’ area. The use of the self-erase function alongside the standard encryption on the same HDD allows for different types of data to be managed independently, depending on its type and security level. This flexibility and reliability is important for corporations where many employees need access to the same system. This AutomaticData Invalidation Technology is applied to shared storage devices and one time session data storage. For example, a Multi-Functional Printer (MPF), where sensitive data is stored on the MFP must be erased when the unit is returned to the lease company. In this example, all the confidential data, faxes and print jobs are securely deleted instantly and automatically erased from the self-erase area but less sensitive material is protected by the AES256 encryption and retained on the SED.

As one of the pioneers in storage devices, Toshiba offers a full range of hard disk drives with the right specifications for individual storage demands beyond the traditional PC and consumer electronic environment.

With more than 10 years experience, over 14 million drives delivered and a worldwide market share of 75%, Toshiba Storage Device Division has a proven track record of providing maximum performance in demanding markets.

The drives used in the automotive business, called Wide Temperature Drives, are made to perform with optimised temperature resistance. The Toshiba Automotive range has an extended operating range from -30°C to +85°C (working) and -40°C to +95°C (non-working). Currently the maximum storage capacity is 200GB.

Toshiba's Wide Temperature Drives can be used in all environments where an extended temperature range is required, such as industrial PC or other industrial applications.