Mozaic 3+: Where the Future Is Read and Written

Thanks to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and machine learning, data storage requirements have grown exponentially; the insatiable demand for data storage capacity is an ever-escalating challenge, and Seagate has risen to the occasion with Mozaic 3+™. In this blog, we will be taking a closer look at the potential benefits and implications that come with upgrading to Mozaic-enabled hard drives.

What is Mozaic 3+? 

Seagate's Mozaic 3+ platform represents a significant advancement in hard drive technology that exemplifies advanced atomic engineering. This innovation enables data storage at previously unimaginable densities, all while maintaining the same material efficiency and the reliable 3.5-inch form factor of Seagate's most popular hard drives. Utilising heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), the Mozaic 3+ platform achieves unprecedented areal densities, enabling greater scalability, lower total cost of ownership (TCO), and improved sustainability. 

Why Does Areal Density Matter?

Simply put, data has been growing exponentially and has reached a point where that growth has outpaced our ability to store it. More data means richer customer insights and new revenue opportunities, but without the ability to store it effectively, users are limited in how much value they can extricate from it. Building, operating, and expanding data centres is a viable solution for enterprises, but this can be costly and comes with its own set of challenges. The exact costs vary, but as of 2024, the annual expenses for a 7kW rack in a data centre are approximately £18,200 and a 20kW rack can reach around £52,600¹. While the cost is a challenging factor to deal with, businesses face additional resource scarcity in the form of space and electricity.  

To mitigate the impact of these challenges, enterprises and data centres must quickly increase storage capacity while reducing resource impact. This is where advanced areal density technology comes into play. As a platform, Mozaic 3+ heralds unparalleled areal densities currently reaching over 3TB per platter with future goals of 4TB and 5TB per platter². This innovation delivers significantly more capacity without using additional power and resources, helping bypass more inefficient approaches to boosting capacity such as adding more platters, heads, and electronics (which tend to increase material costs, operating costs, power consumption, resource usage, and greenhouse gas emissions).  

Enterprises aren't the only ones who stand to benefit from increases in areal density and operational efficiency. From archiving important documents on a NAS system to analysing CCTV surveillance footage on an NVR, there are plenty of use cases where Mozaic 3+ will be a godsend. The larger capacities offered by HAMR drives mean that installers can offer more storage to their customers without breaking the bank, while the increases in operational efficiency lets Mozaic 3+ drives demanding 24/7 environments. 

How Does it Work?

Through a combination of HAMR and other technological innovations, the Mozaic 3+ platform packs data bits tighter than ever, while keeping things magnetically and thermally steady. This makes Mozaic-enabled drives, “a composite of the most complex nanoscale recording technologies and material science breakthroughs on the planet”³. 

• Superlattice Platinum-Alloy Media - For HAMR technology, where data must be stored in the form of magnetic bits that are closer together than is possible with conventional PMR hard drives, the recording media had to be rethought from the ground up. 
  
  
  
  To develop a storage layer that offers higher magnetic coercivity, Seagate crafted a superlattice structure where the precise arrangement of each atom plays a critical role. 
  
  
• Plasmonic Writer - At the core of the writer's operation is the ability to precisely heat the superlattice platinum-alloy media to over 427º Celsius, which then cools again in less than two nanoseconds.  
   
  
  
  The writing process uses 3 core components: the nanophotonic laser, which is a precise light beam that momentarily heats the recording media; the photonic funnel, which channels the laser light from its source to the quantum antenna; and the quantum antenna, which then converts the laser’s photonic energy into a plasmonic state to enable recording. 
  
  
• Gen 7 Spintronic Reader - Able to discern minute changes in magnetisation, the Gen 7 spintronic reader ensures data is read accurately and swiftly at ultra-high areal densities. 
   
  
  
  Leveraging the phenomenon of tunnelling magnetoresistance⁴ for high-resolution magnetic readback,  allows Mozaic-enabled drives to accurately read smaller, densely packed bits. This precise readback from the superlattice platinum-alloy media is achieved through the use of specialised magnetic sensors that detect changes in the magnetic field as the read head passes over recorded bits.
  
  
• 12nm Integrated Controller - Built for data mobility and data integrity, Seagate's 12nm integrated controller meets the increasing data demands from digital media, enterprise software and cloud systems. It operates at picosecond intervals, processing 4 billion bits per second to maintain actuator accuracy.
  
  
  
  Shrinking from 28nm to 12nm, Seagate's integrated controller does more with less. The reduced chip size allows for more transistors within the same area, reducing voltage and enhancing power efficiency. By consolidating multiple functions — such as read channels, disk management, and data exchange protocols — onto one silicon die, this controller manages spindle speeds, head movements, and read/write operations with unmatched precision. 

What are the Benefits of Mozaic 3+? 

The Mozaic 3+ platform is a boon for data centres, enterprises, and CCTV installers, particularly in 3 key areas: compatibility and reliability; TCO and scalability; and sustainability.  

• Compatibility & Reliability 
  Mozaic-enabled drives are fully compatible and surpass all customer expectations for performance, reliability, and durability. This allows for straightforward plug-and-play deployment, without needing host awareness or modifications to existing hardware and software. With this level of compatibility, it's easy to integrate the Mozaic 3+ platforms without disrupting existing infrastructure. This helps keep the TCO low while letting data centre operators take advantage of the newest technology.  
   
  With regards to reliability, Mozaic 3+ drives sport the same robust standards and assurances that the Exos hard drive line has become known for². That means they come with a 5-year warranty, 2.5 million hours mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) rating, and 550TB-per year workload rating.  
  
  
• TCO and Scalability 
  TCO is paramount, and thanks to HAMR and a significantly improved areal density, Seagate customers can store more data without using more space, power or natural resources. This makes Mozaic-enabled drives some of the most efficient hard drives in the world, capable of lowering acquisition and operational costs while increasing productivity.  
   
  The benefits of Seagate’s areal density innovations have significantly increased the capacity that can be offered. Seagate's implementation of HAMR substantially increases storage capacity to a staggering 30TB. With continued improvements in areal density, Seagate is already aiming for 50TB drives in the coming years. By maintaining the same profile and dimensions, enterprises don’t need to construct additional space to scale their operations.
  
  
• Sustainability 
  As we mentioned earlier, the Mozaic 3+ platform significantly lowers storage acquisition and operational costs. It does this by using the same material components as PMR hard drives while dramatically increasing capacity and improving per-terabyte power consumption by 40%².  
  
  By storing more data in a smaller physical space, Mozaic 3+ contributes to environmental sustainability. It reduces the need for additional data centre construction and associated energy consumption, allowing organisations to meet their storage needs while minimising their carbon footprint. 
  
  
  

Looking Forward with Mozaic 3+

Seagate's Mozaic 3+ platform is a groundbreaking development in the field of data storage. It is a labour of research and development that harnesses the potential of HAMR, and 2 decades of innovation, to achieve unprecedented areal density gains that can sustain the inexorable growth of the digital world.

While the initial rollout for Mozaic 3+ is on Seagate's Exos drives, these benefits will eventually make their way to Seagate's diverse range of storage solutions². The increases in efficiency and capacity will provide great benefit to the 24/7 operating environments and data-heavy applications that some of the other hard drive families also face, like the IronWolf Pro (NAS) and SkyHawk Pro (Surveillance) lineups. 

It's clear that with the introduction of Mozaic 3+ Seagate has no intention of keeping up with the rate of data creation, but is looking to exceed it and set the pace for the rest of the industry to follow. We will be waiting in eager anticipation for the next wave of innovations from this exciting platform. 

Call your account manager to learn more.

Sources:
1. Berber, S. (2023) ‘Data Centre Costs: How Much Does It Cost To Power One Rack?’, AssetSpire, 31 January. Available at: https://www.assetspire.co.uk/blog/post/data-centre-costs/ (Accessed: 02 June 2024). 

2. Seagate (2024) What Is Mozaic 3+, How Does It Work, and What Can It Do for My Data Centre? White Paper. Available at: https://www.seagate.com/gb/en/resources/what-is-mozaic-3plus-how-does-it-work-and-what-can-it-do-for-my-data-center/ (Accessed: 01 June 2024).