Nearline SAS (NL-SAS) 7.2K Hard Drives
NL-SAS hard drives, also called nearline SAS, pair a 7,200 RPM spindle with a 6Gb/s or 12Gb/s SAS interface, and they are the capacity tier of enterprise server storage. The class is mostly 3.5-inch LFF, with 2.5-inch models at smaller capacities, built in 512n, 512e or 4Kn sector formats and with self-encrypting (SED) or instant secure erase (ISE) options; check the listing for both before you order. Our lab tests every NL-SAS drive on intake and once more before dispatch.
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Seagate 2TB 7.2K NL SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard Drive | Seagate ST2000NM0023Availability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock - Seagate 4TB 7.2K NL SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard Drive | Seagate ST4000NM0023Availability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate 9ZM273-003 1TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate 9ZM273-004 1TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST1000NM0001 1TB 7.2K NL SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST1000NM0023 1TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST1000NM0045 1TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 12Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST2000NM0043 2TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 6Gbps SED Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST2000NM0045 2TB 7.2K NL SAS 3.5" 12Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST2000NM0135 2TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 12Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST3000NM0023 3TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
- Seagate ST3000NM0043 3TB 7.2K SAS 3.5" 6Gbps Hard DriveAvailability: Available by QuoteManufacturer: Seagate Condition: Refurbished 1 Year WarrantyRequest PricingOut of stock
What nearline SAS is
Nearline SAS (NL-SAS) is a capacity hard drive built on a 7,200 RPM mechanism with a dual-port SAS interface instead of SATA. The two ports are the point: Seagate describes SAS drives as having two independent ports with their own SAS addresses, which lets a drive in a shared enclosure stay reachable over a second path if one link or controller fails. That is why disk shelves and arrays built for multipath use NL-SAS rather than SATA.
Where nearline SAS sits between SATA and 10K SAS
Nearline SAS keeps the 7,200 RPM speed of an enterprise SATA drive and moves it onto a dual-port SAS interface. Seagate sells some of its enterprise capacity models both ways, with two interface ports on the 12Gb/s SAS versions and one on the SATA versions, in 512n, 512e and 4Kn formats and with a 550TB-per-year workload rating. Seagate aims those drives at bulk data such as backup and restore, Hadoop and Ceph storage, and surveillance.
| Option | What to check on an NL-SAS drive |
|---|---|
| Form factor | 3.5-inch LFF is the norm; 2.5-inch NL-SAS stops at smaller capacities |
| SAS link rate | 6Gb/s or 12Gb/s; a 12Gb/s drive also runs on a 6Gb/s controller |
| Sector format | 512n, 512e or 4Kn, matched to the controller and operating system |
| Encryption | Standard, SED or ISE build; Seagate notes that SED models may need TCG-compliant controller support |
Seagate's data sheets place the class between enterprise SATA and 10K SAS:
| Seagate figure | NL-SAS | Enterprise SATA | 10K SAS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spindle speed | 7,200 RPM | 7,200 RPM | 10,000 RPM |
| Interface | 12Gb/s SAS, two ports | 6Gb/s SATA, one port | 12Gb/s SAS, two ports |
| Average latency | 4.16 ms | 4.16 ms | 2.9 ms |
| Rated workload | 550TB/yr | 550TB/yr | Not given in Seagate's sheet |
| Usual size | 3.5-inch | 3.5-inch | 2.5-inch |
| Role | Capacity behind dual paths | Capacity on a single path | Random I/O performance |
Dual-ported drives pay off only when the enclosure and the hosts use both paths, as in a JBOD cabled to a pair of HBAs; our guide to JBOD and disk shelves covers those layouts, and the cards for them are on SAS HBAs and server RAID controllers.
Fitting NL-SAS drives to PowerEdge servers
Dell names Nearline SAS among the drive types for the PowerEdge R740 and R740xd, and its R750 and R760 spec sheets list up to twelve 3.5-inch SAS/SATA drive bays. Plan the backplane first: Dell's PowerEdge R640 manual says 2.5-inch 10K or 15K SAS drives are not supported on the same backplane as 2.5-inch 7.2K SATA or nearline SAS drives, although SSDs and hard drives can share one. Our SAS vs SATA guide covers the interface differences in depth.
Compare the full range of refurbished SAS hard drives, including 15K RPM SAS drives and 10K RPM SAS drives, or browse SATA hard drives and all 3.5-inch hard drives. Servers that take them include the PowerEdge R740xd and R760, under Dell PowerEdge servers. Each drive carries an Enterasource warranty with the term on its listing.
