Western Digital launches massive 26TB drives for pros & NAS users

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in General Discussion edited March 11

The demand for storage just got a major upgrade as Western Digital unveiled new high-capacity HDDs built for creative professionals and NAS environments.

Rectangular, black SanDisk Professional enclosure with ribbed front design, angled sides, and subtle lighting on white background.
SanDisk drive from Western Digital



Western Digital announced its latest expansion in storage solutions, introducing new 26TB HDDs across its professional and NAS product lines. These include the enterprise-class Ultrastar 7200 RPM HDDs integrated into the G-DRIVE and G-RAID portfolios, along with the highest-capacity WD Red Pro hard drive yet.

A sleek, black external hard drive is on a desk beside a computer monitor stand and a keyboard with a large knob.
Western Digital hard drive



The announcement comes as AI, video production, and media workflows drive the need for larger, more efficient storage options.

Bigger storage for creative workflows



Western Digital's new lineup includes several high-capacity solutions designed to support video production, photography, and professional content creation. The company has integrated enterprise-grade drives across its external storage lineup, offering high-speed performance and durability.


  • 208TB G-RAID Shuttle 8 ($8,199.99) - An eight-bay RAID solution for massive storage consolidation, offering speeds up to 1,700MB/s.

  • 104TB G-RAID Shuttle 4 ($4,499.99) - A four-bay RAID system optimized for multi-stream 4K and 8K workflows.

  • 52TB G-RAID Project 2 ($1,699.99) - A two-bay RAID storage with Thunderbolt 3 & USB-C for fast data transfers.

  • 26TB G-Drive Project ($999.99) - A high-capacity external drive with modular SSD expansion via SanDisk Pro-Blade.

  • 26TB G-Drive ($649.99) - A stackable, durable drive designed for professional backups with speeds up to 270MB/s.



Each of these products is designed to handle high-intensity workloads, making them ideal for video editors, photographers, and media professionals who require fast and reliable storage.

26TB WD Red Pro boosts NAS performance



For businesses and home users relying on NAS systems, Western Digital introduced the 26TB WD Red Pro HDD ($569.99). It's not the first 26TB (terabyte) drive on the market. However, this drive is reportedly build for 24/7 multi-user environments, supporting up to 550TB of workloads per year.

With a 2.5 million-hour MTBF rating and RAID optimization, it provides the durability needed for demanding NAS setups.

Red and silver Western Digital 3.5-inch NAS hard drive labeled 26TB with OptiNAND technology.
26TB WD Red Pro



Western Digital's OptiNAND technology enhances efficiency, ensuring better data tracking and longevity. The increased capacity makes it a strong choice for small businesses, IT professionals, and creative teams that need scalable storage without sacrificing performance.

Where to see the new lineup



Western Digital will showcase these new products at the NAB Show in Las Vegas from April 6-9 at booth SL3916. The event will give professionals a closer look at the latest storage innovations for media and entertainment.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 6
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,992member
    The bigger the drive, the more you can lose if the drive fails. I would never consider having a massive storage device unless it was configured for RAID 1 at the very least. 
    watto_cobra
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  • Reply 2 of 6
    indiekidukindiekiduk Posts: 392member
    dewme said:
    The bigger the drive, the more you can lose if the drive fails. I would never consider having a massive storage device unless it was configured for RAID 1 at the very least. 
    Use the massive drive as the backup disk then
    watto_cobra
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 6
    AnObserveranobserver Posts: 12member
    dewme said:
    The bigger the drive, the more you can lose if the drive fails. I would never consider having a massive storage device unless it was configured for RAID 1 at the very least. 
    Yep.  Or in a NAS
    watto_cobrafaiqharris
     2Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 6
    m4m40m4m40 Posts: 39member
    Lmao 8 drive RAID 0. What could go wrong.
    williamlondonAlex_Vwatto_cobra
     2Likes 1Dislike 0Informatives
  • Reply 5 of 6
    stevemarkovickstevemarkovick Posts: 2member
    A 26TB drive sounds incredible for creative pros and NAS users who deal with huge media libraries. But yeah, the points raised about redundancy are spot-on — with that much data on a single drive, having solid backup strategies like RAID 1 or proper NAS setups is absolutely critical. Still, it’s amazing how much capacity you can get into such a small physical footprint these days. Can’t wait to see how the prices evolve over the next year or so!
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 6 of 6
    Marvinmarvin Posts: 15,554moderator
    A 26TB drive sounds incredible for creative pros and NAS users who deal with huge media libraries. But yeah, the points raised about redundancy are spot-on — with that much data on a single drive, having solid backup strategies like RAID 1 or proper NAS setups is absolutely critical. Still, it’s amazing how much capacity you can get into such a small physical footprint these days. Can’t wait to see how the prices evolve over the next year or so!
    There are NVMe NAS systems now that are very small.

    https://www.amazon.com/GMKtec-G9-Desktop-Computer-Attached/dp/B0DRYL8J7N ($260, this is a mini PC with multiple storage bays)
    https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN850X-Internal-Gaming-Solid/dp/B0D9WT512W (8TB SSD = $600)

    This will support 4x 8TB = 32TB and cost $2660.
    The 26TB HDD WD system is $999.

    It doesn't go as high capacity as the HDD NAS systems and is still more expensive but this has the advantage of faster speed without using RAID-0, probably more reliable, quiet operation and very compact. It can also connect to USB storage to make it work as a NAS drive and has UI options for management, either full Windows OS or a dedicated NAS OS with web UI:



    Apple could make something like this, similar to Apple TV but with NVMe slots. A family could use it to backup iOS and Mac devices and it could sync to iCloud in the background.

    Most families could probably get by with 8TB for backups. This would cost around $250 for the base unit and $500-600 for the drive. They can add more drives if they need more storage over time. They used to sell this kind of product but they must not have been popular enough:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort_Time_Capsule

    I think a lot of this was down to lack of marketing. A lot of people still don't know that they should keep backups of data regularly. If they had messages on iPhones telling people about the advantages of backups (secure data in case a device is lost or stolen), they'd be able to sell more units and they can make them compatible with Windows backups. They aren't expensive products when they help secure a lifetime of important photos and data. They can also market them to video editors.
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