The below information taken from https://www.production-expert.com/production-expert-1/ssds-and-storage-drives-for-your-studio-everything-you-need-to-know
All computers / devices need to have a place to store information – whether that be the operating system or data – AND they need to be able to shuttle data outside themselves.
While the article linked above is from a website focused on recording studios, it has a TON of useful information about storage media [Hard Drives vs. SSDs] and various types of computer connections {USB and Thunderbolt].
So if you have ever wondered what USB-C is or what kind of Drive you should get… read on.
By the way: DAW = “Digital Audio Workstation” – a computer equipped with software and hardware to do audio recording.
The article has several sections – MDS Tech has left short summaries below. Use these links is you’d like to read the original:
- Types of Drives
- Solid State Drives (SSDs)
- Hard Disk Drives (HDDs)
- Hybrid Drives
- SSD Or HDD – Which Is Better?
- Long Term Reliability Of HDDs
- Connections From Drive To My Computer
- USB4, USB3.1 & USB-C
- Thunderbolt
- eSATA
- To RAID Or Not RAID?
- Bare Drives Or Drives In Enclosures?
- Avid System Requirements For Audio Drives
Boot Or System Drive
The Boot drive is nearly always a drive inside your computer, often called an internal drive. This drive has your operating system, either Mac or Windows, as well as all your applications. It’s the drive that your computer starts up from or ‘boots’ from hence its name.
Media Drives
Most DAWs will allow you to put your projects and sessions on the same drive as your operating system and applications, but it is always better to use separate drives for your projects and sessions and leave the internal drive in your computer to handle the operating system (Mac or Windows) and all your applications.
If you are using a lot of virtual instruments then you are likely to have significant sample libraries. If this is the case, we recommend that you have a separate drive, or drives, just for your sample libraries.
Types Of Drives
Solid State Drives (SSDs) – SSDs rely on electronic storage in what is called ‘non-volatile’ memory, which means that your data won’t disappear when the computer is turned off. NAND, the technology in most SSDs, is a kind of flash memory.
When the drive is not doing anything, a process called Garbage Collection goes through the blocks and makes sure that data in any old block is erased so that the block is free to be used again.
There are effectively two types of SSDs. Both what we call SSDs and NVMe (non-volatile memory express) drives are solid-state drives in that the data is stored on chips. The key difference isn’t the form factor but how they interface with your computer, and it is this that gives NVME drives their improved performance.
However, NVMe drives use a lot more power than SSDs and are more expensive than SSDs. [The article has a lot more technical information about these drives, including why NVMe is so much faster than SSD.
SSDs are cost effective and convenient to use. NVMe drives are much faster but more involved to implement.
Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) – These drives are made up of spinning disks, called platters, coated with magnetic particles with a head for each platter that floats on a cushion of air as it moves around accessing and writing the data onto the magnetic coating. Mike often describes it “as like flying a jumbo jet a zero altitude trying to find a needle in a haystack”.
The drive has a way of knowing where each piece of data is on the hard drive. However, each head can only be in one place at any one time, so to pull multiple files off the drives simultaneously, the heads have to dart around the platters very quickly and there is a limit to how fast they can do that and so that limits how data you can get off an HDD at the same time.
As the platters are usually made of glass, we all know what happens when you drop a glass, it smashes. Correspondingly, when you drop an HDD, the same thing happens and just as it isn’t possible to reassemble a glass once it has smashed – the same thing applies to HDDs. The data is gone with no way of recovering it.
They don’t store well on the shelf not spinning. The bearing can become sticky and the drive may not spin up when you plug it back in to access it to retrieve an old project.
One way of improving the performance of an HDD is to spin the platters at a higher speed. This is what the RPM number in drive specs is referring to.
SSD Or HDD – Which Is Better?
HDD Pros
- Are a proven technology over time
- Are less expensive – the bigger they are, the cheaper they are compared to SSDs
- Available in larger storage sizes
HDD Cons
- Use mechanical parts used to read and write data
- Are slower to access data
- Are easily damaged by shock or dropping
- Consume more energy
- Heavier than SSDs
- Limited life span
- SSDs now can have higher capacities
SSD Pros
- Deliver faster load times for the OS, Apps and media
- Much less prone to shock and being dropped
- Lighter than HDDs, which helps to keep portable devices lighter
- Use less power than HDDs, which helps to keep things cool
- Will last longer than HDDs
- Can now get larger capacities than HDDs
SSD Cons
- Newer technology – we have less info about the long-term reliability of SSDs
- Larger capacity SSDs are harder to get
- Larger SSDs are much more expensive
Summary – SSDs v HHDs
| Drive | Cost | Performance | Durability | Max capacity | Energy Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDD | Cheaper | Slower | Less Durable | 32TB | Uses More |
| SSD | More Expensive | Faster | More Durable | 64TB | Uses Less |
There is no doubt that if you want to improve the performance of any computer, desktop or laptop, one of the best ways to do it is to change the boot drive from an HDD to an SSD. You will find that your computer boots up so much quickly and applications will load much quicker too.
- We would recommend that you get at least a 1 TB drive as a new boot drive. In our view 256 GB and 512 GB drives are just too small, and you will find yourself forever clearing stuff out to prevent the drive filling up.
- We recommend that if you can afford it, that buying SSDs for your media and sample drives is a ‘no-brainer’. The improvements in performance, which translates to how many tracks you can play at once, when it comes to digital audio workstations like Pro Tools, Logic Pro and Studio One, are well worth the extra expense.
- We recommend that you use small capacity drives for your sessions and projects, especially as they are relatively cheap to buy. See our article As A Pro Recording Studio Are You Using Hard Drives Like Tape? Perhaps You Should Start Doing It Now? for more on this.
Where HDDs still have a place is in your archive workflow: Check out Mike’s article What Type Of Storage Should I Use? to see how he uses high capacity 8 TB Archive HDDs in his archive and backup workflow.
- We recommend using small SSDs as described above and then back them up to high capacity HDDs.
Long Term Reliability Of HDDs
Backblaze offers cloud storage for businesses and consumers alike and has 3,917,543,542,273,120,000 bytes of data storage on 284,386 drives spread across four data centres on two continents. Very helpfully for everyone, they also publish data every 3 months showing how reliable, or not, the hard drives they use are and for the first time this year, their data includes SSDs, which makes for some interesting reading.
At the end of June 2024, Backblaze was monitoring 284,876 hard drives used to store data.
- Upward AFR: The AFR (annualised failure rates) for Q2 2024 was 1.71%. That’s up from Q1 2024 at 1.41%, but down from one year ago (Q2 2023) at 2.28%.
- Two good zeroes: In Q2 2024, two drive models had zero failures, a 14TB Seagate (model: ST14000NM000J) and a 16TB Seagate (model: ST16000NM002J). Both have a relatively small number of drives and drive days for the quarter, so their success is somewhat muted, but the 16TB Seagate drive model has a very respectable 0.57% lifetime failure rate.
- An HGST surprise: Over the years, the HGST drive models we have used performed very well. So, when the 12TB HGST (model: HUH721212ALN604) drive showed up with a 7.17% AFR for Q2, it’s news. Such uncharacteristic quarterly failure rates for this model actually go back about a year, although the 7.17% AFR is the largest quarterly value to date. As a result, the lifetime AFR has risen from 0.99% to 1.57% over the last year. While the lifetime AFR is not alarming, we are paying attention to this trend.
If you are interested, you can read the full report. Click on the button below to go to the Backblaze blog article…
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BACKBLAZE DATA
Connections From Drive To My Computer
USB4, USB3.1 & USB-C
Since USB 3 came out in the late 2000’s, we have seen further development in the format and now have USB3.1, which offers even better performance. Apple quickly adopted the Type-C connector, especially on the newer MacBook Pro laptop as well as other computers like the iMac but be aware you are likely to need adaptors as there are relatively few drives available with USB-C on them. Also, you will need adaptors to access older connection formats like USB 1 & 2, as well as Thunderbolt 1 & 2.
In March 2019, the USB Promoter Group announced the USB4 specification. Apart from the lack of a space between the B and the 4, the thing we noticed was a predictable and, given the history of USB, we might even say inevitable, convergence between standards, which looks like it will make things easier and simpler for all of us..
You may not be aware that not all USB-C cables carry Thunderbolt, and users don’t want, and shouldn’t need to, have to work out the difference; we just want to be able to plug things together and get blistering performance. Can we get that?
What Is The Point Of USB4?
Brad Saunders, USB Promoter Group Chairman, put it this way…
“The primary goal of USB is to deliver the best user experience combining data, display and power delivery over a user-friendly and robust cable and connector solution, The USB4 solution specifically tailors bus operation to further enhance this experience by optimizing the blend of data and display over a single connection and enabling the further doubling of performance.”
This means, in practice, that the connection scales to the best mutual capability of the devices being connected. USB4 introduces Thunderbolt compatibility with existing USB 3.2 and USB 2.0 standards. With added simplicity, the available bandwidth can be deployed efficiently without breaking compatibility with USB or Thunderbolt devices.
Thunderbolt
Intel developed Thunderbolt to offer lightning-fast connection for a whole host of computer peripherals, from audio and video interfaces to Ultra HD 4K monitors to external hard drives. Thunderbolt data transfer rates can be at least double those of USB, so if you need very high speed, then Thunderbolt is well worth considering. Intel and Apple worked closely to make Thunderbolt a standard across the entire spectrum of Apple computers from 2012 onwards. That said, a growing number of Windows-based computers come with Thunderbolt connectivity, or you can add a Thunderbolt card if your Windows computer has PCI-e slots.
With the introduction of Thunderbolt 3, Intel changed the connection by dropping the mini-DisplayPort style 6-sided shape used on Thunderbolt 1 and 2 and adopting the USB Type-C reversible connector. This move brings us closer to having a universal connection for multiple technologies on Windows and Macs, which is great news. The downside is that it increases the number of adapters we need to keep legacy equipment connected to our new computers.
Thunderbolt 4 builds on the innovation of Thunderbolt 3 for a truly universal cable connectivity experience. Thunderbolt 4 certification requirements include:
- Double the minimum video and data requirements of Thunderbolt 3.
- Video: Support for two 4K displays or one 8K display.
- Data: PCIe at 32 Gbps for storage speeds up to 3,000 MBps.
- Support for docks with up to four Thunderbolt 4 ports.
- PC charging on at least one computer port2.
- When connected to a Thunderbolt dock, wake your computer from sleep by touching the keyboard or mouse.
- Intel VT-d-based direct memory access (DMA) protection is required to help prevent physical DMA attacks. (Read more in the Thunderbolt Security Brief.)
How Do I Know If It Is Thunderbolt And/Or USB-C?
Because USB-C and Thunderbolt 4 share the same connector, you must be careful – Thunderbolt 4 ports can handle both Thunderbolt and USB devices. However, computers with USB-C only will not be compatible with Thunderbolt devices.
To help, identify if your USB-C connector will support Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt-enabled ports should be identifiable because of the Thunderbolt lightning bolt icon.
To RAID Or Not RAID?
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is simply a way of combining multiple hard drives to achieve a specific aim. For example, you can set up a RAID for added security, increased performance or both. Alternatively, you can set a RAID up to increase read and write speeds. RAID arrays require a minimum of two disks, and you should always check the specs before buying a hardware RAID to ensure that certain RAID modes are possible. For a detailed look at the different RAID configurations and modes, check out our article Everything You Need To Know About RAID Drives.
We do not recommend using RAID drives for general audio work. You can use hardware RAID arrays, but with the performance of drives today, there is little to be gained from using RAIDs.
- We recommend using multiple drives if you have huge track counts rather than using a RAID array to get higher-performing storage.
- We recommend a robust backup and archiving workflow rather than using a redundant RAID array.
Bare Drives Or Drives In Enclosures?
You can buy ‘bare’ or ‘internal’ SSD or HDD drives and then put them into enclosures yourself or buy them already on enclosures. If you aren’t too tech-savvy, you are probably best sticking to drives already in enclosures. But if you feel competent enough to integrate the drives into enclosures yourself, you will find that you have a much wider range, and you will be able first to choose the enclosure that best suits your needs and then populate it with the drives that best suit your requirements.
Regarding enclosures, the range becomes enormous, and providing specific recommendations is not practical.
- We recommend that you first consider what you want the enclosure to do. Factors like how many drives you want to go in it. What connection format do you want to use, like USB3 eSATA or Thunderbolt? Then, stick to reputable brands like MacSales or Icy Box rather than buy cheap, unknown brands likely to use sub-standard components.
