Seagate ST4000NM0175 4TB SAS 12GBPS 7.2K LFF 512e DS HDD

Seagate ST4000NM0175 4TB SAS 12Gb/s 7.2K LFF 512e DS HDD

The Seagate ST4000NM0175 4TB is a high-capacity enterprise-class hard disk drive engineered to deliver a balance of storage density, sustained throughput and long-term reliability. Built for data centers, rack-mount servers and storage enclosures, this 4TB SAS 12Gb/s drive uses a 7,200 RPM spindle speed and Large Form Factor (3.5" / LFF) packaging to provide economical cost-per-gigabyte while maintaining the operational characteristics expected in business-critical deployments. The drive uses 512e sector emulation (512 bytes per sector presented, with 4096-byte physical sectors) and is commonly referred to by its model designation ST4000NM0175.

Performance characteristics

The ST4000NM0175 targets workloads that require moderate random I/O performance combined with substantial sequential throughput. With a 12Gb/s SAS interface, the drive supports high-bandwidth transfers when used in modern SAS backplanes and controllers. Although the spindle speed is 7,200 RPM — not the highest available in enterprise hot-plug drives — it offers an economical performance profile well suited for: Performance metrics are influenced by array configuration (RAID level, cache settings), controller capabilities and workload characteristics. In RAID arrays, multiple ST4000NM0175 drives combined in parallel provide improved aggregate throughput for both reads and writes. For latency-sensitive OLTP or high-frequency random read environments, consider complementing the HDD tier with NVMe or SAS SSDs.

Reliability and enterprise features

Reliability is a core consideration for any enterprise HDD. The Seagate ST4000NM0175 is built with components and firmware tuned for continuous operation under 24/7 workloads found in datacenter environments. Enterprise-minded features typically associated with drives in this class include: For mission-critical installations, include drive health monitoring as part of your storage management strategy. Leverage SMART attributes, vendor diagnostic utilities and array-level health checks to plan proactive replacements rather than reactive swaps.

Hot-swap and hot-spare usage

In hot-plug environments, follow enclosure guidelines for safe drive insertion and removal. Configure hot-spares to shorten mean-time-to-recovery (MTTR) and automate rebuilds to minimize exposure time in degraded arrays.

Practical examples

For a 24-bay enclosure populated with 4TB ST4000NM0175 drives, use manufacturer power-per-drive figures to estimate total wattage under load and during spin-up. Account for in-rack PDUs, backup UPS capacity and cooling capacity — facilities planning should treat mass-deployed HDD cabinets as significant electrical and thermal consumers.

Inventory and spares strategy

Keep a small pool of identical-model spares to speed replacements and maintain RAID rebuild health. Consider stocking drives from the same manufacturing batch where possible to reduce subtle performance variability during rebuilds.

Refurbished vs. new drives

Refurbished drives can be cost-effective but introduce uncertainty in remaining useful life and failure risk. For production arrays holding critical data, prefer new drives with a clear warranty. Use refurbished units for test labs or non-critical secondary storage where budget constraints dominate.

Intermittent recognition

If a drive intermittently fails to appear, check backplane connections, SAS cabling and controller firmware versions. Swap the drive into a known-good slot or controller to isolate failures.

High SMART reallocated sector count

A rising reallocated sector count is a common precursor to drive replacement. Plan an immediate backup, schedule an orderly replacement and avoid rebuilding critical arrays onto drives showing progressive SMART deterioration.

The Seagate ST4000NM0175 is a 4TB enterprise hard disk drive with a 12Gb/s SAS interface, designed for large-scale storage arrays and data center use where cost-effective capacity is required alongside reliable operation.

The ST4000NM0175 suitable for RAID arrays

Yes — it is commonly used in RAID configurations for capacity tiers. For rebuild resilience and performance, pair with appropriate RAID levels (e.g., RAID-6) and ensure controller support for enterprise features.

This drive be used in Seagate servers

The 3.5" SAS interface and LFF form factor make it compatible with many Seagate ProLiant server models and HPE storage chassis. Always confirm exact model and firmware compatibility with your server or storage vendor documentation before purchase.

Comparing the ST4000NM0175 to alternatives

When evaluating alternatives, buyers typically compare capacity, Seagate interface speed, rotational speed and cost-per-GB. The ST4000NM0175’s 12Gb/s SAS interface and 7.2K RPM spin rate position it as an economical, high-capacity option compared to higher-RPM or SSD alternatives that trade lower latency for higher cost. Consider: Opt for this model when your priority is a proven balance of enterprise reliability, moderate performance and favorable cost per terabyte — especially in environments where sequential throughput and bulk capacity are more important than the lowest possible latency.

Content elements for technical audiences

Seagate Recommend integrating HDD telemetry into centralized monitoring platforms (SNMP, REST endpoints via storage managers) to allow easy tracking of SMART attributes, temperature and performance trends for the ST4000NM0175 drives across the fleet.

Environmental and regulatory considerations

Enterprise HDDs are subject to environmental regulations and end-of-life protocols. Include tags and documentation that address:

End-of-life and decommissioning recommendations

When decommissioning drives, follow secure data erasure practices (DoD 5220.22-M style wipes, cryptographic erase if supported by drive or controller) and physical destruction policies as required by data-sensitive industries.

The exact model and firmware

The drive label contains the model number (ST4000NM0175), serial number and firmware revision. Use vendor utilities or controller reporting to confirm the firmware level before deployment.

What RAID level is recommended

For large-capacity HDDs, RAID-6 or distributed erasure coding are common recommendations because they tolerate multiple simultaneous disk failures during lengthy rebuild windows.

Content wrap  internal linking and schema suggestions

Seagate Consider adding structured data snippets (Product schema, Offer schema) to surface price and availability in search results and FAQ schema for the Q&A blocks to increase the chance of rich results. 512e is an emulation that allows 4K-sector drives to appear as 512-byte sectors to legacy software. Performance is typically unaffected when partitions are aligned properly; misalignment can cause additional read-modify-write cycles, so verify alignment tools or modern OS installers handle this automatically.