Performance: 35 out of 40
The SkyHAWK AI 24TB certainly will not be the fastest variant of the Seagate Enterprise 24TB generation in all scenarios. Its firmware is just too optimized for that. Instead what it is… is fantastic at handling the very specific, very demanding requirements of large surveillance systems. Put another way, just like any uber optimized model, it is a master craftsman not a jack of all trades model. If your needs fall within its optimization you will not find a better model, if they do not. It will not.
Technological Innovation: 20 out of 20
It may not sound like much but the very idea of a “spinning rust” storage device being optimized for 32 to 38 queue depths would be a foolish claim a few years ago… and yet here we are. As that is what the SkyHawk AI 24TB was built to not only survive but thrive in. That is insanely impressive and how they did it is even more so. As such, this is pretty much the epitome of innovation.
Build Quality & Warranty: 19 out of 20
Online storage is all about TCO, and this goes double when dealing with storage surveillance systems. Seagate knows this. Any system architect knows this. We know this. Yet somehow Seagate still consistently set the bar higher than the competition when it comes to reliability and robustness in this highly demanding niche… and why Seagate is still number one and everyone else is an ‘also ran’ in the Enterprise market. Color us impressed.
Value: 18 out of 20
Can you get cheaper 24TB models than the SkyHAWK AI? Of course you can. Seagate’s very own Exos and IronWolf Pro are typically cheaper… and the other guys offer models which are even cheaper still. With that said, the upfront cost of a given drive is a mere drop in the bucket when dealing with the demands the modern large scale surveillance system places upon them. Put bluntly, the SkyHAWK AI 24TB may cost a bit more, but in return you get more per drive. Typically so much more that you really would have to add in a second non-SKYHAWK AI drive to compensate for the relaitve lack of optimization. Just understand that outside its niche, the bevy of better options make the SkyHAWK AI series rather difficult to justify.
Final Score: 92 out of 100
While the surveillance storage corner of the marketplace is rarely talked about by anyone outside the industry it really is a great litmus test for how far hard drive technology has advanced. Put bluntly, the SkyHAWK AI 24TB has been designed to handle I/O demands that are pretty much insane. So insane, the rule of thumb would be to stick a stack of NAND based devices in there and have the data backed up to a near-line storage array on a daily bassis. With the SkyHAWK AI that all changes and that means major overall savings for buyers of these niche models. Just understand that it is a niche drive, that while it can whistle the general purpose storage tune fairly well… using them outside their niche is pretty much the same as using a Maserati to go pick up a quart of milk from the corner store. So understand what it can and cannot do optimally and the choice is clear for when they are the right choice… and when a Exos X24 would probably be a more optimal use of your money.
