The WD Ultrastar Transporter supports up to 368 terabytes of storage in a 30-pound form factor

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The big picture: Western Digital offers storage solutions for a wide range of use cases, including some of the most niche scenarios. This includes situations like conducting seismic exploration in remote areas or working in locations with slow internet connections. For individuals facing these challenges, WD has introduced the Ultrastar Transporter. Weighing 30 pounds and equipped with its own carrying case, this device aims to provide reliable storage solutions in challenging environments.

The Ultrastar Transporter boasts support for 368 TB of NVMe flash storage and is equipped with a 12-core CPU. Additionally, it's portable, weighing approximately 30 pounds and comes with a carrying case. According to the company, the server is ideally placed in a data center rack, whether in a remote or centralized location, and its custom rail kits are designed to facilitate easy installation in racks.

While it might appear cumbersome to transport 30 pounds of technology, WD highlights the significant time savings in physically moving large volumes of data compared to online transfer alternatives. It's essential to recognize the scale of data that Western Digital had in mind when designing this device: the Ultrastar Transporter is capable of facilitating data transfers between edge and data center locations, making it ideal for scenarios where large volumes of data need to be captured in one location and then processed in another.

The Ultrastar Transporter made its debut at this year's NAB Show in Las Vegas alongside several other storage solutions by the company. It unveiled several new memory cards that push speed and capacity to new levels, joining Samsung in introducing commercially available ultra-portable SD Express storage in 2024.

For instance, the upcoming WD/SanDisk SD Express and SanDisk microSD Express memory offer up to 4.4 times faster transfer speeds than their current fastest SD UHS-I card. This makes them excellent options for data-intensive workflows, high-performance cameras, and other compatible devices, according to the company. Their performance levels rival SSD speeds and are compatible with current SD UHS-I and UHS-II devices.

WD/SanDisk SD and microSD Express cards are expected to be available at retailers and the Western Digital store this summer.

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The WD Ultrastar Transporter supports up to 368 terabytes of storage in a 30-pound form factor

 

[The Talking Tech]

That's just ridiculous and dangerous.....not even the government would need to physically move data in such a way....unless you are a super spy.

 

[redgarl]

368 TB? That's far from a lot from the save of this thing.

That's about 16 X 24 TB drives...

 

[Squid Surprise]

368 TB? That's far from a lot from the save of this thing.

That's about 16 X 24 TB drives...

Well, it’s NVMe… that’s a lot for that medium…

But if you need data to “move” and it doesn’t have to be via file-transfer… why does it have to NVMe in the first place?

Get a NAS - Synology or some other company - and fill it with HDDs…

A rack-mounted NAS can hold 16 X 24tb HDDs and would be just as portable.

 

[NumberNine]

GPS tracker on every smart phone but not a 368TB data carrier. Priorities.

 

[yRaz]

Well, it’s NVMe… that’s a lot for that medium…

But if you need data to “move” and it doesn’t have to be via file-transfer… why does it have to NVMe in the first place?

Get a NAS - Synology or some other company - and fill it with HDDs…

A rack-mounted NAS can hold 16 X 24tb HDDs and would be just as portable.

This would weigh a lot more than 30 pounds if it was HDDs. I've been on jobs where cell service wasn't available or allowed so we had to house all the data we needed on site and a few times a week, someone would come buy and pick up idk how much data. But the "portable cloud" as I've heard it called is fairly common on construction sites. And, oddly enough, cell service isn't allowed on more of these job sites than you'd expect.

 

[Squid Surprise]

This would weigh a lot more than 30 pounds if it was HDDs. I've been on jobs where cell service wasn't available or allowed so we had to house all the data we needed on site and a few times a week, someone would come buy and pick up idk how much data. But the "portable cloud" as I've heard it called is fairly common on construction sites. And, oddly enough, cell service isn't allowed on more of these job sites than you'd expect.

Good point - NVMe is definitely lighter… still, size-wise, it wouldn’t be too different and it’s not like you’d be moving this that often…

It WOULD be pretty cool to have all that storage in a briefcase though!

 

[yRaz]

Good point - NVMe is definitely lighter… still, size-wise, it wouldn’t be too different and it’s not like you’d be moving this that often…

It WOULD be pretty cool to have all that storage in a briefcase though!

So when I see this server racks setup in trailers in the middle of nowhere, the people who switch it are usually tiny. So they might not need to move it far, but moving a large rack of HDDs 30-40 feet is a big deal. They can weigh over 200pounds and the trailer these mobile servers are setup in always have atleast 4 steps going up to the door. Although I have seen one setup in a Unimog before.

 

[EdmondRC]

Yes, but does it beam you to space?

 

[kiwigraeme]

Double up as a farmers carry. One sided carries are good for the core , as muscles on far side need to work to keep you straight.

Still that's a lot of photos/videos of digital girlfriends for an incel to lose if it got stolen out of the back of their Ram Jeep

 

[yesnt]

That's just ridiculous and dangerous.....not even the government would need to physically move data in such a way....unless you are a super spy.

Government? You have no idea who actually has a lot of data. Governments have nothing on several branches of science.

 

[yesnt]

Well, it’s NVMe… that’s a lot for that medium…

But if you need data to “move” and it doesn’t have to be via file-transfer… why does it have to NVMe in the first place?

Get a NAS - Synology or some other company - and fill it with HDDs…

A rack-mounted NAS can hold 16 X 24tb HDDs and would be just as portable.

1) NVMe is much faster, 2) NVMe drives are more durable than HDDs, 3) they are also much lighter (16 HDDs is technically portable, sure, but you don't want to carry that many)...

Do you actually THINK about you arguments before posting?

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

30 years from now this peice of “vintage” storage will be as laughable as the Compaq Portable which was the size of a suitcase.

 

[mgilbert]

How long before there is a flash drive that will hold that much? I remember when 64 MB of RAM was all but unimaginable, and cost over two-thousand dollars. That's MB, not GB...

 

[Squid Surprise]

1) NVMe is much faster, 2) NVMe drives are more durable than HDDs, 3) they are also much lighter (16 HDDs is technically portable, sure, but you don't want to carry that many)...

Do you actually THINK about you arguments before posting?

But if you are physically moving your data, the speed isn’t as relevant… and NVMe is VASTLY more expensive.

Agree with the lighter part - but you can still physically move a server rack without too many issues… one generally wouldn’t be moving it THAT often… I’d equate it to a MacBook Air vs Alienware m18….

 

[trgz]

368 TB? That's far from a lot from the save of this thing.

That's about 16 X 24 TB drives...

184 x 2TB microSD cards in a plastic bag would weigh a lot less (< 100g)

 

[yRaz]

But if you are physically moving your data, the speed isn’t as relevant… and NVMe is VASTLY more expensive.

Agree with the lighter part - but you can still physically move a server rack without too many issues… one generally wouldn’t be moving it THAT often… I’d equate it to a MacBook Air vs Alienware m18….

So what I see this stuff used for is taking 3D scans of buildings and comparing the scans to the CAD drawings. These scans can generate close to a hundred terabytes a day and you also need fast read speeds. They have found that this is more reliable than inspectors to find issues because they are essentially using self driving car tech, those spinny scanners you see on top of cars, but it has to be accurate to 1/4"@ 25 feet so it creates A TON more data.

 

[Uncle Al]

Impressive .........