WD Ultrastar HC555 20 TB 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s Enterprise HDD 0B48724

Brand: Western Digital | Category: Enterprise HDDs

SKU: 0B48724 | Part #: 0B48724 | MPN: WUH722020CLE6L4

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The WD Ultrastar HC555 20 TB (part number 0B48724) is a purpose-built enterprise hard drive engineered for sustained 24×7 nearline and cold-archive workloads. With an annual workload rating of 550 TB per year and an MTBF of 2,500,000 hours, this drive sits at the intersection of high-capacity density and operational reliability—characteristics that matter when you're sizing storage infrastructure for data centres that cannot tolerate unexpected failures. Western Digital designed the HC555 family to handle the relentless churn of enterprise environments where drives spin continuously, absorbing read-write traffic or sitting idle but always ready.

The 20 TB capacity in a standard 3.5-inch form factor delivers exceptional storage density per rack unit, a critical consideration for organisations already constrained by floor space and power budgets. Internally, the HC555 leverages Western Digital's HelioSeal hermetically sealed helium platform combined with OptiNAND technology—this combination allows the manufacturer to pack more platters into the same physical envelope while reducing friction and heat generation. The 512 MB cache buffer and 7200 RPM spindle speed mean that sequential throughput remains solid even under sustained I/O; you are not paying for a drive that throttles performance during peak load. Storage architects and infrastructure teams evaluating this drive will find that it occupies a distinct performance envelope compared to ultra-dense cold-storage HDDs or lower-RPM alternatives: it is fast enough for nearline warm archival, efficient enough for power-constrained data centres, and robust enough for mission-critical environments.

Power consumption sits at 7.7 W during active operation and 5.0 W when idle, which compounds to meaningful savings across the hundreds or thousands of drives typical in large-scale deployments. The interface is SATA 6Gb/s, making integration into existing enterprise storage controllers, NAS systems, and SAN architectures straightforward—no exotic connectivity requirements or firmware updates. Western Digital rates the drive for 0°C to 60°C operating temperature, covering both standard data-centre climates and less forgiving edge or ruggedized deployments. The hermetic helium fill also provides resistance to environmental particulates, extending drive lifespan in facilities where air filtration may not meet laboratory standards. Rotational vibration sensors built into the HC555 help mitigate the acoustic and mechanical interference that can degrade neighbouring drives in dense array configurations, a detail that seasoned storage engineers appreciate but purchasing teams often overlook until they encounter multi-drive failures in high-vibration environments.

The sector format supports both 512e and 4Kn (Advanced Format) modes, ensuring backward compatibility with legacy infrastructure while enabling forward compatibility with newer operating systems and storage software. Optional TCG encryption support (available on select model variants) allows administrators to meet data-residency and compliance mandates without sacrificing performance through external encryption layers. Shock ratings—70 Gs for read operations and 40 Gs for write operations during a 2 millisecond pulse—demonstrate that Western Digital engineered robustness into the mechanics, not just the electronics. Non-operating shock tolerance of 250 Gs means the drive can survive rough handling during shipment or installation without latent damage. The part number 0B48724 appears consistently across Western Digital's ordering systems and distributor networks, so procurement and inventory teams can source with confidence that they are receiving the exact specification every time.

Organisations running hyperscale data centres, regional cloud providers, or large research and AI compute labs typically assign a storage architect or senior network engineer to evaluate drive specifications when capacity and workload demands shift. These individuals understand that a 20 TB capacity in a 7200 RPM nearline form factor is not a commodity—it is a deliberate choice that reflects known workload patterns, power constraints, and growth projections. The WD Ultrastar HC555 has earned trust across government, financial, and telecommunications sectors in regions where storage uptime directly impacts revenue and reputation. Western Digital's enterprise warranty and support ecosystem add another layer of confidence for buyers who prioritise peace of mind over lowest-cost procurement.

Storage Tier Positioning & Deployment Scenarios

• Nearline warm-archive tier for enterprises with 30–90 day data retention policies and occasional sequential read patterns
• Cold-storage foundation for long-term data repositories where drives operate passively but must spin up reliably on demand
• NAS and SAN array population in mid-market data centres seeking capacity growth without undersizing power infrastructure
• High-availability secondary storage and disaster-recovery targets where 550 TB annual workload rating aligns with backup and replication traffic
• AI and machine-learning lab storage backends where large training datasets require fast sequential access and high uptime
• RAID 6 and RAID 10 configurations in enterprise storage appliances where drive failure rates directly influence rebuild times and data-loss risk
• Compliance-driven retention systems for healthcare, financial services, and legal discovery workflows that demand hermetic environmental sealing and transparent provenance tracking
• Edge data centre and remote office deployments operating in non-standard temperature or humidity conditions where HelioSeal helium fill extends operational lifespan

Omnixon Global stocks the WD Ultrastar HC555 20 TB (0B48724) and other enterprise HDD lines for immediate supply across the UAE, GCC, and extended Asia-Pacific and European markets. Whether you are architecting a new data centre footprint, refreshing aging storage infrastructure, or scaling out for AI compute workloads, we maintain inventory depth and technical expertise to accelerate your deployment timeline. Request a formal quotation or technical discussion with our storage specialists; we serve distributors, resellers, systems integrators, and large enterprise procurement teams with flexible terms and logistics optimized for regional delivery.