DELL ST12000NM009GProduct 12 TB 3.5" 7200 rpm 256 MB SAS internal hard drive

12 TB SAS drive for storage arrays

The Dell EMC ST12000NM009G is a 12 TB 3.5" internal hard drive built for storage systems. It spins at 7200 rpm with a 256 MB buffer and connects through a 12Gb/s SAS interface. The 512e disk format supports legacy sector-size expectations while delivering high capacity. It is designed for new deployments in compatible Dell EMC PowerVault ME4 series enclosures.

Upgrade from lower-capacity SAS drives

This drive replaces smaller 3.5" SAS units when raw capacity per bay must increase without changing the host interface. The jump is worth it when the array controller and backplane already support 12Gb/s SAS and the workload can use the larger buffer for sustained writes. Systems limited to 6Gb/s SAS or without 512e support will not gain the full throughput or compatibility.

12 TB capacity with 256 MB cache headroom

The 12 TB capacity comfortably holds large sequential datasets, backup targets and archival workloads that stream at near line rate. The 256 MB buffer absorbs burst I/O and helps maintain performance during rebuilds or scrub operations. Random, small-block workloads with low queue depth will run out of IOPS headroom before the capacity fills. Heavy multi-tenant databases or virtualisation clusters needing consistent low latency should evaluate flash tiers instead.