WUS721212BLE600 Western Digital Ultrastar DC HA340 12TB 7.2K RPM SATA-6Gbps HDD

Overview of Western Digital WUS721212BLE600 12TB HDD

The Western Digital Ultrastar DC HA340 12TB enterprise hard disk drive is engineered for data-intensive environments that demand consistent performance, high reliability, and scalable storage capacity. Designed as an internal 3.5-inch HDD, this model is purpose-built for modern data centers, enterprise servers, and business-critical storage infrastructures where uptime and durability are essential.

General Information

• Brand: Western Digital
• Model Number: WUS721212BLE600
• Product Series: Ultrastar DC HA340
• Product Type: Hard Disk Drive

Technical Specifications

• Storage Capacity : 12TB
• Interface Type: SATA (6Gbps)
• Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
• Interface Transfer Rate: Up to 6 Gb/s
• Sustained Data Transfer Rate: 267 MB/s
• Average Latency: 4.16 ms
• Cache / Buffer: 256 MB

Physical Specifications

• Form Factor: 3.5-inch internal HDD
• Z-Height: 26.1 mm
• Dimensions (W x D): 101.6 x 147 mm
• Weight: 660 g

The Western Digital WUS721212BLE600 12TB 7.2K RPM HDD

The Western Digital Ultrastar DC HA340 series belongs to the enterprise-capacity SATA hard disk drive category designed to meet the demanding requirements of modern data centers, cloud infrastructures, and enterprise storage environments. This category focuses on delivering high-capacity storage with consistent performance, long-term reliability, and optimized cost per terabyte for organizations that manage large volumes of structured and unstructured data. Drives in this segment are engineered for 24x7 operation, supporting workloads such as bulk data storage, backup and archival systems, content repositories, and scalable storage arrays.With a 3.5-inch form factor and a Serial ATA interface, this category provides broad compatibility with existing enterprise servers, JBOD enclosures, and storage systems while maintaining ease of integration and predictable performance characteristics. The Ultrastar DC HA340 12TB model exemplifies this class by combining proven mechanical design, high areal density, and firmware optimizations that align with enterprise workload patterns.

12TB High-Capacity Storage

Enterprise SATA hard drives in the 12TB capacity range are purpose-built for environments where data growth is continuous and storage efficiency is critical. The Ultrastar DC HA340 series leverages advanced recording technologies and precision manufacturing to deliver multi-terabyte capacity within a standard 3.5-inch enclosure. This allows organizations to maximize storage density per rack unit, reducing physical footprint, power consumption, and cooling requirements across large-scale deployments.The category addresses the needs of data centers managing petabyte-scale storage pools, where scalability and predictability are essential. By offering consistent performance across the full capacity of the drive, these hard disk drives ensure stable throughput for applications that rely on sequential data access, such as media streaming, data lakes, and large-scale analytics platforms.

Advanced Interface and Connectivity

The Ultrastar DC HA340 utilizes a SATA 6Gb/s interface, providing reliable connectivity and compatibility with a wide range of enterprise servers and storage arrays. This interface ensures efficient data transfers and seamless integration into existing infrastructures.

7.2K RPM Performance

The 7,200 RPM spindle speed defines a core performance attribute of this hard drive category. This rotational speed provides a practical equilibrium between throughput, latency, power efficiency, and mechanical longevity. Enterprise 7.2K RPM drives are optimized for sustained sequential workloads and moderate random access patterns commonly found in data center environments.For applications such as backup, replication, and content distribution, the consistent rotational speed ensures predictable read and write behavior. This predictability is crucial in enterprise systems where performance planning and workload balancing depend on stable storage characteristics across hundreds or thousands of drives.

Balanced Latency

While not intended to replace high-performance SSDs, enterprise 7.2K RPM SATA hard drives provide balanced latency that meets the needs of many business-critical applications. Their performance profile supports shared storage environments, file servers, and network-attached storage systems where multiple users or processes access large datasets concurrently.

SATA 6Gbps Interface

The Serial ATA 6Gbps interface remains a cornerstone of enterprise storage connectivity due to its widespread adoption and compatibility. This category of hard disk drives is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing SATA backplanes, controllers, and storage arrays, reducing deployment complexity and upgrade costs.SATA 6Gbps provides sufficient bandwidth to support the sustained throughput of high-capacity 7.2K RPM drives, ensuring that interface limitations do not bottleneck performance during sequential operations. This makes the category a reliable choice for organizations standardizing on SATA-based storage architectures.

Broad System Integration

Enterprise SATA hard drives are compatible with a wide range of servers, storage enclosures, and RAID controllers. This flexibility allows IT teams to deploy the Ultrastar DC HA340 series across diverse environments, from single-node servers to large-scale storage clusters. The standardized interface simplifies maintenance, replacement, and scalability planning.

256MB Buffer Cache

A substantial onboard buffer cache is a defining feature of enterprise hard disk drives in this category. The 256MB cache enables efficient handling of read and write operations by temporarily storing frequently accessed data and optimizing command execution. This improves overall responsiveness and throughput, particularly in workloads involving large sequential transfers.The cache works in conjunction with advanced firmware algorithms to prefetch data, manage write operations, and reduce mechanical latency. This intelligent caching behavior enhances performance consistency across diverse workload patterns.

Improved Read-Ahead and Write Optimization

By leveraging a large buffer cache, enterprise SATA drives can anticipate sequential read requests and preload data into memory, reducing access times. Similarly, write caching helps smooth bursty write workloads, ensuring stable performance even during peak activity periods.

512e Sector Format

The 512e sector format is a critical compatibility feature in this category of hard disk drives. By presenting 512-byte logical sectors while using larger physical sectors internally, these drives maintain compatibility with legacy operating systems and applications while benefiting from improved storage efficiency and error correction.This hybrid sector approach allows organizations to transition to higher-capacity drives without rearchitecting existing software stacks. It ensures seamless integration into mixed environments where both legacy and modern systems coexist.

3.5-Inch Form Factor

The 3.5-inch form factor remains the standard for high-capacity enterprise hard disk drives due to its ability to accommodate multiple platters and deliver greater storage density. This category leverages the form factor to maximize capacity while maintaining mechanical stability and thermal efficiency.The physical dimensions are optimized for rack-mounted servers and storage enclosures, ensuring efficient airflow and ease of installation. This consistency simplifies infrastructure planning and supports large-scale deployments.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is an increasingly important consideration in modern data centers. The Ultrastar DC HA340 category incorporates power management features that help reduce overall energy consumption without compromising performance. Efficient spindle motors and intelligent power states contribute to lower operating costs.