WD has expanded its WD Red Pro hard drive line with the release of 5TB and 6TB capacities. The WD Red Pro family is designed for NAS (network attached storage) systems having up to 16 drive bays and serving businesses with more expansive storage needs than the standard WD Red drives.

Shipping now, WD Red Pro 5 and 6 TB drives leverage an enhanced design and 128 MB cache to deliver data transfer rates of 214 megabytes per second (MB/s). WD's NASware 3.0 features technology promoting data protection, high NAS performance and integration, says Cindi Grace, senior vice president of the WD storage technology group.

Equipped with a multi- axis shock sensor, the drive automatically detects subtle shock events and, along with dynamic fly height technology, adjusts each read-write function to compensate and protect the data, further protecting the drive in large 1- to 16-bay NAS environments. Firmware enables integration, data protection and optimal performance for systems operating in the NAS environment.

Hardware vibration compensation technology monitors the drive to correct both linear and rotational vibration in real time, further increasing drive reliability and enabling high performance in higher vibration systems caused from drive to drive vibration as well as from the high speed fans used to cool the larger systems.

Available now at select U.S. retailers and distributors, the WD Red Pro drive has a five-year limited regional warranty, respectively. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the WD Red Pro 5TB drive is US$269 and $299 for 6TB. More information about WD Red Pro hard drives including terms of the limited warranty may be found on the company website (http://tinyurl.com/q2egopd).