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Thermal Monitoring for Advanced Data Protection New Feature Helps Prevent Drive Failure Caused By Overheating OVERVIEW/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In its commitment to provide the highest quality, most reliable hard drives in the industry, Western Digital has added an important new feature to its advanced data protection package Thermal Monitoring. As a new property of the S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) interface, thermal monitoring specifically alerts the host to potential damage from the drive operating at too high a temperature. It provides information to the host whenever certain thresholds have been met for various conditions. S.M.A.R.T. is the industry standard reliability tool that monitors and controls hard drive operation to minimize the probability of drive failure. The new thermal monitoring feature has been implemented in the WD Enterprise WDE18300 and WDE9180 Ultra2 SCSI hard drives. This new technology focuses on system-level protection and monitors the temperature of the drive, providing pertinent information to the host and modifying drive behavior as needed to protect the drive from damage. BACKGROUND Data-intensive applications place very high demands on data storage devices. These devices are responsible for keeping critical data safe and providing fast, reliable access to that data. The effect of excessive heat, especially over long periods of time, is harmful to hard drives and could lead to permanent data loss. High temperatures can reduce drive reliability. The S.M.A.R.T. reliability monitor assists users in preventing possible system downtime by warning of an impending risk of data loss. Through S.M.A.R.T., the drive can communicate its predicted reliability status to the user, thereby providing protection against system downtime and possible loss of productivity and data. Western Digital uses advanced diagnostics to monitor the hard drive's internal operations and provide early warnings of potential problems. The new thermal monitoring feature expands S.M.A.R.T.'s capabilities for preventing hard drive failure by monitoring the drive's temperature and alerting the host when the temperature goes beyond the recommended level. It also monitors and predicts the hard drive's performance and reliability. S.M.A.R.T. notifications warn of impending drive failure so the user can take corrective action before data is lost or operations are affected. Thermal Monitoring Functions In a hard drive, both the electronic and mechanical components such as actuator bearings, spindle motor and voice coil motor can be affected by excessive temperatures. See Figure 1. There are many conditions that could contribute to a temperature increase, such as: a clogged cooling fan a failed room air conditioner a cooling system that is overextended by too many drives