[Koralatov]

I came across this photoset of the Time Capsule being torn open on my travels, and it raised some serious questions about the truth of Apple's claim that it uses a "server grade" hard-disk in it. Specifically this photo of the hard-disk used inside it. I'm no expert on hard-disks, but I'm reasonably certain that a Hitachi (née IBM) Deskstars aren't "server grade" hard-disks—I think they're just standard desktop HDs.

Now, granted the term "server grade" is slightly vague to begin with, but I took it to mean it was somehow a toughened drive rather than an off-the-shelf desktop drive. Am I totally off the beaten path here, or is Apple's use of "server grade" hard disks a bit of marketing speak?

[ghporter]

I do think the use of the term "server grade" is intentionally vague, but then what is "server grade" hardware anyway? Parts with a very high Mean Time Before Failure? Deskstars have that. Low power consumption and thus low heat production? Deskstars have that too.

In other words, while there seems to be some hyperbole here, what drives would YOU select for a server (that runs SATA drives)?

[mduell]

If they're going to call it server grade, I'd expect something like a Hitachi Ultrastar or Seagate ES2. Drives designed with higher MTBF, enhanced vibration tolerance, and longer warranties.

The price difference between the Deskstar and the Ultrastar has really opened up lately (was $280 vs $320, now $240 vs $320), so perhaps margin expansion explains their motivation.

edit: Hitachi's Ultrastar data sheet says:
Applications/Environments
>RAID arrays
>Tiered storage
>Nearline storage
>Disk-to-disk back up
>Network Attached Storage (NAS)
>Data warehousing

While the Deskstar data sheet says:
Applications
>Internal and external storage for consumer computers
>Networked storage servers
>Extreme gaming machines
>Video editing arrays

So I guess it's the drive OEMs fault for devaluing the term server grade by including NSS in the Deskstar application list.

[mduell]

Apple has clarified their statement that "server grade" means 1m hour MTBF, but Hitachi doesn't list an MTBF for the 7K1000 Deskstars.

[flopticalcube]

The ES2 is used in the 500GB TimeCapsule so that is certainly "server grade". Apple uses the Hitachi in the XServe so they think its server grade but I'm not sure if its any better than any other 1TB disk out there.

[ghporter]

Is it typical for Apple-labeled drives to be identical to off-the-shelf drives? Perhaps Hitachi has a deal with Apple that includes passing their expected MTBF numbers, even though they aren't published?

[Wiskedjak]

What's the warranty on the Time Capsule? I would expect a "server grade" storage device to have a warranty of 3-5 years. Does Apple back up their 1,000,000 hour MTBF claim with a warranty to match?

[mduell]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Is it typical for Apple-labeled drives to be identical to off-the-shelf drives? Perhaps Hitachi has a deal with Apple that includes passing their expected MTBF numbers, even though they aren't published?

I don't seen any Apple labels on that drive. Looks like a generic HGST OEM part to me.

The E7K500 and A7K1000 have 1-1.2m hour MTBFs, but they also have 5 year warranties, which the Time Capsule does not.

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak 

What's the warranty on the Time Capsule? I would expect a "server grade" storage device to have a warranty of 3-5 years. Does Apple back up their 1,000,000 hour MTBF claim with a warranty to match?

Nope, same 1 year warranty (extendable to 3 but not 5) as new Macs: The AppleCare Protection Plan for your computer covers Time Capsule.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Nope, same 1 year warranty (extendable to 3 but not 5) as new Macs: The AppleCare Protection Plan for your computer covers Time Capsule.

Then the "server gradeness" of the drive is only 8,760 hours on a standard warranty and 26,280 hours on an extended warranty. Anything beyond that, and Apple doesn't back up the claim.

If the AppleCare Protection Plan for your computer covers Time Capsule, is the Time Capsule warranty less if my computer is almost out of it's warranty period?

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Wiskedjak 

If the AppleCare Protection Plan for your computer covers Time Capsule, is the Time Capsule warranty less if my computer is almost out of it's warranty period?

I suppose that's true; buy it for a Mac out of warranty and it has no warranty? I wonder if that will run afoul of Magnuson-Moss since it's tied to another product.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by mduell 

I don't seen any Apple labels on that drive. Looks like a generic HGST OEM part to me.

There's an Apple logo on it, just to the left of the barcode.

[mduell]

D'oh!

[tridentinecanon]

(A comment on that Flickr page linked to this.)

[Koralatov]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

In other words, while there seems to be some hyperbole here, what drives would YOU select for a server (that runs SATA drives)?

As I said, I’m no expert on hard-drives, but I would have said “server grade” was a separate class of product from standard desktop drives, due to the differing demands placed on a hard-disk in each circumstance. “Server-grade”, to my mind, would imply a significantly more rugged drive than a standard, off-the-shelf desktop drive would embody. Whilst I have no experience with Hitachi Deskstars—and I am not calling their quality into question—I doubt Hitachi over-engineers them to the extent that they could be used without worry in a high-demand environment; if they did, why would they have the Ultrastar line of drives?

Originally Posted by mduell 

So I guess it's the drive OEMs fault for devaluing the term server grade by including NSS in the Deskstar application list.

That may be a part of it, but if so, shame on Apple for falling for it. I suspect that a bigger part of it will be margin expansion, as you mentioned. What’s most worrying, however, is that it comes with a 12 month warranty as standard—if Apple truly had faith in their “server grade” hard-disks, surely the warranty would be longer?

It would appear that the Register has also picked up on the question of the whether the drives used are “server grade” or not.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Koralatov 

That may be a part of it, but if so, shame on Apple for falling for it. I suspect that a bigger part of it will be margin expansion, as you mentioned. What’s most worrying, however, is that it comes with a 12 month warranty as standard—if Apple truly had faith in their “server grade” hard-disks, surely the warranty would be longer?

It comes with no warranty; it depends on you having AppleCare for your Mac.