Abstracts of Magazine FUJITSU 1999-1 (VOL.50, NO.1)

Special Issue : Hard Disk Drives

• Disk Array Systems

In a network computing environment, the storage system must offer services to regular users and to unspecified non-regular users. Also, it must handle conventional text and numeric data and multimedia data such as movie and voice data. This increases the demands for improvements in storage capacity and performance beyond previous forecasts. To satisfy these needs in the network computing age, Fujitsu has offered highly reliable and high-performance storage subsystems. In addition to the F6495 disk array system for global servers, Fujitsu has now released three models of the GR700 open system disk array and three models of the NR1000 network disk array. The GR700 has a maximum storage capacity of 1,440 gigabytes. The NR1000 has a maximum processing capability of SPECsfs97 7,500 ops/sec and a maximum storage capacity of 464 gigabytes.
This paper introduces Fujitsu's development policy for storage systems and describes the main functions and features of the GR700, NR1000, and F6495 disk array systems. It also introduces some storage-related software products that can be used with these new systems to provide advanced management and operation facilities.

• New Technologies for Hard Disk Drives

Fujitsu has started using giant-magneto-resistive （G-MR） heads in all of its magnetic disk drives, ranging from server drives to drives for mobile PCs; Fujitsu is the first manufacturer to do this. The high-end 3.5-inch drive has a maximum storage capacity of 38 gigabytes. This large capacity has been achieved by using the G-MR head, a newly developed low-noise recording medium, a head disk interface technology that assures high reliability in the head flying system which is indispensable for a high recording density. Also, many element technologies such as an improved head positioning servo system and a sophisticated signal processing circuit are used. This paper describes these new technologies and the future outlook for high-density recording.

• High-performance Hard Disk Drives for Servers

Fujitsu has developed the Allegro series of 3.5-inch high-performance hard disk drives. These drives are suitable for use in high-performance, high-reliability enterprise servers and workstations. In 1994, Fujitsu shipped the Allegro-1 （AL-1）, which was the first drive in the world to have a magneto resistive （MR） head. Fujitsu then developed three series of larger-capacity and higher-performance products: the AL-2, AL-3, and AL-4. Now, Fujitsu has finished development of the AL-5 series of products.
This paper introduces AL-5 series products AL-5E and AL-5LE. The 10,000 rpm rotational speed of these drives is achieved by using 3-inch disks in a 3.5-inch form factor. The AL-5E is 41 mm thick and accommodates 10 disks for a capacity of as high as 36 gigabytes. The AL-5LE is 25 mm thick and uses five disks to provide a capacity of 18 gigabytes. The performance of these products is achieved by using a high-performance Giant-MR （G-MR） head and the EPR4ML high-speed read channel. For the interfaces, high-speed transfer at 80 megabytes per second using the ULTRA-2 SCSI and high-speed serial transfer at 100 megabytes per second using a fiber channel are supported.

• Hard Disk Drives for Desktop Personal Computers

The development of desktop personal computers and their hard disk drives has been proceeding at a remarkable pace. This paper introduces Fujitsu's PicoBird （PB）-13 and PicoBird （PB）-13H high-performance, high-capacity hard disk drives （HDDs） for desktop personal computers.
The PicoBird （PB）-13 is 25.4 mm thick and accommodates four 3.5-inch magnetic disks for a capacity of as high as 17.3 gigabytes. The PicoBird （PB）-13H （H indicates a 7,200 rpm product） has a capacity of 18.2 gigabytes and a latency time that has been significantly reduced by increasing the disk rotational speed to 7,200 rpm. The performance of these products is achieved by using a Giant-MR （G-MR） head and the EPR4ML high-speed read channel. For the interface, the new Ultra DMA protocol is used, and high-speed data transfer at up to 66.7 megabytes per second is supported.

• 2.5-inch Hard Disk Drives for Mobile Equipment

This paper introduces Hornet-11 series products HN-11 and HN-11L. These products are 2.5-inch high-performance hard disk drives （HDDs） that satisfy the needs for compact and large-capacity mobile equipment such as notebook personal computers. The Hornet-11 series products offer an areal recording density of 5.1 gigabits/sq.inch, which is currently the highest level achieved worldwide. The HN-11 is 12.5 mm thick and accommodates three 2.5-inch disks for a storage capacity of 10 gigabytes. The HN-11L is 9.5 mm thick and accommodates two disks for a storage capacity of 6.4 gigabytes. The performance of these products is achieved using Fujitsu's high-density recording technologies, for example, a high-performance Giant-MR （G-MR） head. To make these products suitable for mobile applications, they have been designed to resist shocks of up to 700 G.

• Global Production System for Hard Disk Drives

Faced with rapidly changing environments in the hard disk drive industry in the early 1990s and a severe price war in the industry, in 1993 Fujitsu decided to participate in the Commodity HDD Business newly. In line with this decision, Fujitsu reorganized its plants in Japan, clarified its own responsibilities, and decided to start mass production of HDDs at overseas plants.
In 1994, mass production of HDDs was started at FTC in Thailand. The production volume at this plant reached 10 million units in fiscal 1998. Also, Fujitsu established FCPP to produce the high-end Allegro and MR heads in the Philippines. Because FTC and FCPP form the nucleus of the procurement system for Fujitsu's global production, they are constantly expanding their production capabilities to keep up with world demand, Fujitsu is also establishing new production lines for magnetic disk media; these facilities are scheduled to start in 1999.
Concurrent with the expansions at FTC and FCPP, in 1995, Fujitsu established the Technical Center at FIPOS in Singapore. Then, in 1996, Fujitsu established FCV in Vietnam to start mass production of PCBAs, which are important parts of HDDs.

• Information System that Supports Production Operation of Hard Disk Drives

Monthly production of Fujitsu hard disk drives （HDDs） has reached 2 million units. Most of the drives are manufactured in the overseas production offices and subsidiaries in Thailand and the Philippines. The finished products are shipped to North America, Europe, Japan, and other countries worldwide. The parts are procured from a wide range of areas in Asia, including Japan and Korea. The operations for this global requirement management, mass production, and mass parts procurement have become more and more complex and must be executed swiftly.
To perform global operations such as production planning, production, parts procurement, and physical distribution of hard disk drives, it is an urgent necessity to prepare and enhance the information systems in the related departments （offices and subsidiaries） within the supply chain. Linkage of information between departments is also indispensable.
This paper gives an overview of the installation status and future development of the information system that will support these operations.

• New Document Proofreading Method in Proofreading Support System for Journalist

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories Limited have jointly developed a new type of proofreading support system that supports article creation tasks in newspaper companies.
In conventional proofreading support systems, a database of proofreading examples and incorrect phrases was constructed manually and errors were detected by referencing the database. However, this method can produce useful results only for specific mistakes. Also, even if much time is spent developing the system, it is not possible to accumulate sufficient information to achieve a satisfactory level of detection for common errors.
To solve these problems, a new proofreading technique was developed to improve the proofreading accuracy by extracting information that is useful for proofreading processing from the large amount of electronic text data that has recently become accessible.

• Fujitsu Network Computing: SOLUTIONVISION

The corporate environment is changing rapidly to cope with the financial big-bang, promote global marketing, create new business, improve the customer satisfaction level, and foster new strategic business tie-ups.
To help our customers respond to the enormous changes that are occurring and prepare for the 21st century, in November of 1997, Fujitsu released SolutionVision. This is a system which integrates a wide range of applications using network computing technology and global services and support.
This paper describes the concept and future development policy of SolutionVision.