Seagate Exos Enterprise Hard Drives in Oman
Helium-sealed enterprise drives for servers, scale-out storage and data centres. 12 TB to 24 TB in SATA and SAS, with self-encrypting variants.
At rack scale, the number that governs your operating cost is annualised failure rate
Not capacity, not price per terabyte. Failures.
Exos X24 is rated at 0.35% AFR under full 24×7 operation. In a 60-drive array that predicts fewer than one failure per year, and every failure you avoid is a rebuild window you never have to survive.
Elite Infotech supplies the Exos X24 range in Oman for servers, virtualisation hosts, backup targets and scale-out storage — in SATA and dual-port SAS, with Instant Secure Erase, self-encrypting and FIPS-validated variants available for government and financial deployments.
Why Exos is specified over a NAS drive
Six behaviours separate Exos from a NAS-tier drive at the same capacity. Each one addresses a failure class that appears at rack scale but not in a four-bay appliance.
Dual-port SAS for redundant paths
The SAS variants present two independent interface ports, so a controller or cable failure does not take the drive offline. This is the reason enterprise arrays specify SAS despite SATA being cheaper per drive.
Super Parity and end-to-end protection
Additional parity protection across the data path, which reduces the risk of silent corruption reaching the host — the failure class that backups quietly propagate.
Seagate Secure with encryption options
Instant Secure Erase on standard models makes drive retirement a cryptographic operation rather than a physical one. Self-encrypting and FIPS 140-3 validated models are available where the compliance requirement demands it.
FastFormat between 512e and 4Kn
Reformat the sector size to match the storage architecture. Note that switching format erases the drive, so this is a commissioning decision rather than a live one.
PowerBalance and PowerChoice
Tunable power-versus-performance profiles. At rack density in Oman’s climate, watts saved per terabyte translate directly into cooling load.
Helium-sealed with hot-plug support
Lower power and lower weight than air-filled drives at the same capacity, with side-sealed weld construction for leak protection. Hot-plug is supported per SATA Revision 3.5.
Exos X24 models available in Oman
Two tables below — SATA single-port and SAS dual-port. Both are helium-sealed.
| Capacity | Instant Secure Erase | Self-Encrypting (SED) |
|---|---|---|
| 24 TB | ST24000NM002H | ST24000NM001H |
| 20 TB | ST20000NM002H | ST20000NM001H |
| 16 TB | ST16000NM002H | ST16000NM001H |
| 12 TB | ST12000NM002H | ST12000NM001H |
| Capacity | Instant Secure Erase | Self-Encrypting (SED) | SED-FIPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 TB | ST24000NM007H | ST24000NM005H | ST24000NM006H |
| 20 TB | ST20000NM007H | ST20000NM005H | ST20000NM006H |
| 16 TB | ST16000NM007H | ST16000NM005H | ST16000NM006H |
| 12 TB | ST12000NM007H | ST12000NM005H | ST12000NM009H |
SED and FIPS-validated drives are supplied through franchised authorised distribution and may require TCG-compliant host or controller support. Confirm host compatibility before ordering.
Specifications common to the range
Full specifications shared across the range. Capacity-specific figures are in the table above.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Spindle speed | 7,200 RPM |
| Cache | 512 MB multisegmented |
| Recording technology | CMR, helium-sealed |
| MTBF | 2,500,000 hours |
| Annualised failure rate at full 24×7 | 0.35% |
| Power-on hours | 8,760 per year |
| Max sustained transfer rate (OD) | 285 MB/s |
| Random read/write 4K QD16 WCD | 168 / 550 IOPS |
| Sector size | 512e (512 bytes) or 4Kn (4096 bytes) via FastFormat |
| Nonrecoverable read errors | Less than 1 in 10E15 bits read |
| Rotational vibration tolerance | 12.5 rad/s² at 20–1500 Hz |
| Operating temperature | 5°C ambient / 60°C drive reported |
| Firmware verification | RSA 3072 signed |
| Limited warranty | 5 years |
| Form factor | 3.5-inch, 26.1 mm height, 685 g |
Where Exos is specified in Oman
- Virtualisation hosts and hyperconverged nodes requiring predictable IOPS at capacity
- Scale-out and distributed file systems including Ceph and Hadoop deployments
- Enterprise backup and restore targets, disk-to-disk and virtual tape
- Government and banking storage where FIPS-validated self-encrypting drives are a compliance requirement
- Oil and gas seismic and sensor data archives
- Centralised long-term archive tiers behind surveillance recorders on multi-site deployments
Host compatibility and integration
SATA Exos models work with any standard SATA controller. SAS variants require SAS 12 Gb/s host bus adapters or storage controllers.
SED and FIPS 140-3 validated drives require TCG-compliant host or storage controller support. Confirm your controller’s TCG capability before ordering FIPS variants, as they cannot be reformatted to non-FIPS operation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Exos and IronWolf Pro?
IronWolf Pro is built for multi-bay NAS with RAID-aware firmware. Exos is built for server and data centre infrastructure — it adds dual-port SAS options, Super Parity, hardware encryption variants, hot-plug support and a 0.35% annualised failure rate rating. Specify Exos when the drive sits behind a server or storage controller rather than a NAS appliance.
Should I choose SATA or SAS?
SATA for single-controller servers and cost-sensitive capacity tiers. SAS for redundant-path enterprise arrays where a controller failure must not take drives offline. SAS also supports the FIPS-validated encryption variants.
What does Instant Secure Erase do?
It destroys the drive’s internal encryption key, rendering the data unrecoverable in seconds rather than requiring a multi-pass overwrite or physical destruction. It makes drive retirement and RMA return practical for organisations with data handling obligations.
Are FIPS-validated Exos drives available in Oman?
FIPS 140-3 validated models are available in the SAS range through franchised authorised distribution. Lead times are longer than standard models and the host or controller must support TCG. Contact us with your compliance requirement.
Can Exos drives be used in a NAS?
SATA Exos drives will run in most NAS appliances, though you lose IronWolf Health Management integration and the acoustic profile is louder. For appliance-based NAS, IronWolf Pro is the better fit.
What warranty applies?
A five-year limited manufacturer warranty. Note that Rescue Data Recovery Services is not included with Exos as it is with SkyHawk AI and IronWolf Pro — enterprise deployments are expected to carry their own redundancy.
Request Exos Stock and Pricing
Send your capacity requirement, interface (SATA or SAS) and any encryption or compliance need. We confirm model numbers, stock and lead time — typically within 24 hours.