Cisco UCS-HD10T7K4KAM= High-Density Storage Module: Architecture, Performance, and Deployment Use Cases

​​Hardware Specifications and Design Innovations​​

The ​​UCS-HD10T7K4KAM=​​ is a Cisco-certified 10TB 7.2K RPM Nearline SAS storage module optimized for data-intensive workloads in UCS C-Series rack servers. Key technical parameters include:

• ​​Capacity​​: ​​10TB​​ per drive with ​​4Kn (4096-byte) Advanced Format​​ sector alignment.
• ​​Performance​​: ​​7,200 RPM​​ spindle speed with ​​256MB cache​​, delivering ​​220MB/s sustained throughput​​.
• ​​Interface​​: ​​12Gb/s SAS​​ dual-port connectivity with ​​Cisco Multipath I/O (MPIO)​​ failover support.
• ​​Reliability​​: ​​2.5M hours MTBF​​ with ​​T10 Protection Information (PI)​​ for end-to-end data integrity.
• ​​Power efficiency​​: ​​6W idle/9.5W active​​ per drive with ​​Cisco UCS Dynamic Power Management (DPM)​​.

​​Advanced features​​:

• ​​Cisco FlexStorage​​: Hot-swappable trays compatible with ​​UCS C220/C240 M7​​ servers.
• ​​Self-Encrypting Drive (SED)​​: ​​FIPS 140-2​​ compliant ​​256-bit AES​​ hardware encryption.

​​Compatibility with Cisco UCS Ecosystem​​

Validated for deployment in:

• ​​High-density storage servers​​:
  • ​​UCS C480 ML M7​​: Supports 24x drives in ​​Cisco 4U Storage Expander​​ with ​​RAID 6/60/ADM​​.
  • ​​UCS C240 M7​​: 12x LFF bays with ​​Cisco 12G SAS Modular Raid Controller (MR-SAS12G)​​.
• ​​Hyperconverged infrastructure​​:
  • ​​HyperFlex HX240c M7​​: Hybrid storage pools with ​​1.6PB raw capacity​​ per 4-node cluster.
• ​​Backup/archive solutions​​:
  • ​​Cisco UCS S3260 Storage Server​​: 60-drive configurations for ​​60PB+​​ scalable archives.

​​Firmware requirements​​:

• ​​Cisco UCS Manager 5.0(1a)+​​ for ​​SED key management​​ and ​​T10 PI validation​​.
• ​​CIMC 4.5(3c)+​​ for drive health monitoring via ​​IPMI 2.0​​.

​​Workload-Specific Performance Characteristics​​

​​Big Data Analytics​​

• ​​Hadoop HDFS​​: Sustains ​​2.1GB/s​​ per node throughput with ​​RAID ADM​​ erasure coding.
• ​​Splunk Indexing​​: Handles ​​35,000 events/sec​​ with ​​90% compression ratio​​ via ​​Cisco Accelerator Pack​​.

​​Video Surveillance​​

• ​​Genetec Security Center​​: Stores ​​4K H.265​​ streams at ​​18fps/drive​​ with ​​256MB cache​​ write buffering.
• ​​Milestone XProtect​​: Supports ​​120+ concurrent streams​​ per UCS C240 M7 chassis.

​​Installation and Maintenance Best Practices​​

1. ​​RAID configuration​​:
   • For video surveillance: ​​RAID 50​​ (6+2) with ​​512KB strip size​​ for sequential writes.
   • For databases: ​​RAID 10​​ with ​​256KB strip size​​ and ​​70% read/30% write​​ cache ratio.
2. ​​Encryption setup​​:

   scope storage-local-key  
     create self-encrypting-drive key-id 001  
     set key "A3F9B2C8D7E6..."  
   commit-buffer  

3. ​​Health monitoring​​:
   • Configure ​​SNMP traps​​ for ​​predictive failure analysis (PFA)​​ thresholds:

     threshold temperature 55  
     threshold reallocated-sectors 50  

​​Troubleshooting Common Operational Issues​​

​​Symptom: Slow Write Performance​​

• ​​Root cause​​: ​​4Kn misalignment​​ in legacy OS partitions.
• ​​Solution​​: Reformat with ​​4096-byte alignment​​ using parted --align=optimal.

​​Symptom: SAS Link Degradation​​

• ​​Root cause​​: ​​Signal integrity​​ issues in >2m SAS cables.
• ​​Solution​​: Replace with ​​Cisco CAB-SAS12G-1.5M​​ shielded cables and enable ​​CRC retransmission​​.

​​Security and Data Protection​​

The UCS-HD10T7K4KAM= addresses critical security requirements through:

• ​​Instant Secure Erase (ISE)​​: Cryptographic wipe in ​​<2 minutes​​ via SED ​​PSID revert​​.
• ​​T10 PI​​: ​​DIF/DIX​​ protection against silent data corruption with ​​3.6×10^-20​​ UBER rate.
• ​​FIPS 140-2 Level 2​​: Validated for ​​Class B​​ government data classification.

​​Procurement and Lifecycle Management​​

For optimal compatibility, ​​UCS-HD10T7K4KAM= drives​​ must be sourced through Cisco-authorized channels. Critical verification steps:

• ​​Drive Authentication​​: Validate via sg_ses --page=0x1 /dev/sgX for Cisco-specific VPD.
• ​​Firmware Compliance​​: Ensure ​​Cisco DAR-12.15.0-0298+​​ firmware for SAS 12G interoperability.

​​Field Insights from Media & Entertainment Deployments​​

In a 4K video post-production cluster, the UCS-HD10T7K4KAM= reduced render farm latency by 38% compared to 7.2K SATA drives—though achieving this required custom ​​RAID ADM​​ stripe sizes tuned for ProRes 4444 workflows. While its 10TB capacity enables 1.2PB usable storage per rack, real-world media asset management systems showed optimal performance at 85% capacity utilization to maintain ​​>200MB/s​​ throughput. The drives’ ​​T10 PI​​ feature prevented frame corruption in multi-petabyte archives but required disabling hardware acceleration in some legacy NLE software. Many teams underestimated ​​SAS zoning​​ requirements, causing path failover delays during 8K timeline scrubbing. As media workflows shift to 16K virtual production, this drive’s balance of capacity and 4Kn alignment will remain critical—if studios implement proper tiering between NVMe cache and nearline storage. Future UCS storage systems must integrate computational storage features to accelerate frame-based encryption/compression at the drive level.