UCS-HD1T7K12N Cisco 1TB 7.2K RPM SAS-12GBPS SFF HDD

Detailed Features of Cisco UCS-HD1T7K12N HDD

Core Attributes

• Manufacturer: Cisco
• Part Identifier: UCS-HD1T7K12N
• Drive Category: Swappable Storage Device

Technical Highlights

• Storage Volume: 1TB
• Disk Format: Small Form Factor (2.5-inch)
• Connection Protocol: Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) at 12Gbps
• Data Throughput: Up to 1.2 Gigabits per second externally
• Rotation Velocity: 7200 revolutions per minute
• Interface Count: Single SAS 12Gb/s port

Drive Bay Compatibility

• Designed for 2.5-inch slot configurations
• Optimized for enterprise-grade rack servers

Supported Cisco Server Models

UCS C-Series Integration

• C220 M5sn SFF
• C220 M5sx SFF
• C240 M5 Rack (SFF Disk Model)
• C480 M5 Base Chassis

SmartPlay Select Compatibility

C220 M5 Variants

• Standard 1 & 2
• Basic 1 (Tracer)
• Standard 1 (Tracer)
• M5sx Basic, Standard, Advanced, High Core

C240 M5 Series

• Advanced 2
• Standard 1
• High Frequency 1 & 2
• Standard 2
• M5sx Basic, Advanced, High Frequency, Tracer Editions

Performance and Reliability

• Engineered for high-speed data access and robust performance
• Ideal for mission-critical environments requiring consistent throughput
• Hot-swap capability ensures minimal downtime during maintenance

Use Case Scenarios

• Perfect for data centers and virtualized workloads
• Supports scalable storage architecture
• Compatible with high-density server deployments

Key Characteristics

The UCS-HD1T7K12N is a 2.5" small form factor (SFF) hard disk drive with a 1TB capacity and a spindle speed of 7,200 RPM. It communicates over the SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) interface at 12 Gbps (SAS-3), offering low-latency, high-throughput connectivity to enterprise servers and RAID controllers. The drive ships with a hot-swap tray (caddy) for quick, tool-less replacement in front-access drive bays. Typical enterprise attributes include multi-segmented cache buffering, error recovery controls suitable for RAID, and firmware optimized for server-class reliability. These characteristics make it a go-to option where predictable I/O and long-term serviceability are required.

Performance Specifications

Performance highlights include a 7.2K RPM spindle speed that provides consistent seek times and a balanced throughput profile, ideal for mixed read/write workloads. While not as IOPS-dense as enterprise SSDs, a 7.2K SAS HDD provides efficient sequential throughput and steady random performance at a significantly lower cost per gigabyte. The 12Gbps SAS interface prevents host-side bottlenecks and scales well across multi-lane controller architectures. In environments where sustained transfers are common—such as large dataset processing, backup archives, and media libraries—these drives deliver excellent value and predictable latency under load.

Use Cases

The UCS-HD1T7K12N and similar 1TB 7.2K SAS SFF drives are commonly deployed in tiered storage designs, where cost-effective capacity complements high-performance SSD tiers. Typical uses include:

• Primary and secondary storage for virtual machine (VM) hosts in VMware, Hyper-V, or KVM environments.
• Bulk storage for databases with moderate IOPS requirements, analytics nodes with frequent sequential reads, and log ingestion pipelines.
• RAID-protected arrays for backup targets, media repositories, and file servers where predictable throughput matters more than peak IOPS.
• Edge and branch office servers with limited space but enterprise-grade reliability and hot-swap capability.

Virtualization and Mixed Workloads

In virtualization clusters, these drives serve as dependable capacity for VM data stores, especially when combined with caching layers (NVMe or SAS SSD cache) to accelerate random reads and writes. Their 12Gbps interface ensures latency introduced by interface constraints is minimal; instead, the natural rotational characteristics of HDD media shape performance, which can be mitigated by RAID configurations, write-back cache, or tiering strategies.

Compatibility

Compatibility is a major selling point for Cisco-branded drives. The UCS-HD1T7K12N is tailored to fit Cisco UCS server trays and backplanes. The SFF 2.5" form factor allows dense storage arrays in blade and rack servers, while the included tray ensures proper mechanical fit and airflow management. It's essential to verify model compatibility against your Cisco UCS chassis (e.g., UCS C-series or B-series) or any third-party enclosures that accept Cisco caddies.

Deployment

For optimal performance and reliability, follow proven deployment strategies:

• Match drive firmware versions across the RAID group where possible to reduce behavioral inconsistencies and ease firmware management.
• Use RAID levels that align with workload tolerance to drive failure — RAID 6 or RAID 10 for critical production systems, RAID 5 for read-heavy or non-critical environments.
• Implement proactive monitoring via Cisco UCS Manager, SNMP traps, or third-party monitoring tools to catch SMART warnings and pre-failure indicators early.
• Plan for scheduled drive replacements with hot spares to minimize rebuild time and reduce RAID degradation exposure.

RAID and Controller Considerations

The SAS-12Gbps interface makes these drives optimal companions for modern SAS RAID controllers and HBAs capable of 12Gbps operation. When designing RAID arrays, factor in rebuild times and I/O impact during rebuilds—larger-capacity drives increase rebuild time, raising the importance of having hot spares and a resilient RAID level. Use controller features like patrol read, background parity checks, and prioritized rebuilds to improve long-term array resilience.

Comparing HDD vs SSD in the Same Category

While SSDs outperform in latency and IOPS, HDDs remain cost-efficient at scale. Use a tiered architecture—SSD for transactional hot data and 7.2K SAS HDDs for capacity and colder datasets—to balance cost and performance. Hybrid caching strategies and software-defined storage policies also enable administrators to extract maximum value from both media types.