The abbreviation TBW stands for drive time between failures, expressed in terabytes. In other words, this is the total amount of information that is guaranteed to be written (rewritten) to this module. This metric measures the overall reliability and lifespan of a drive—the higher the TBW, the longer the device will last, all other things being equal.
Note that knowing the TBW and the warranty period, you can calculate the number of rewrites per day (DWPD, see the relevant paragraph), if the manufacturer did not specify these data. To do this, use the formula: DWPD = TBW / (V * T * 365), where V is the drive capacity in terabytes, T is the warranty period (years). As for specific numbers, there are a lot of drives on the market with a relatively low TBW —
up to 100 TB ; even these values are often sufficient for everyday use for a considerable amount of time. However, models with TBW at the level
of 100 – 500 TB are more common. Values of
500 – 1000 TB can be classified as "above average", and in the most reliable solutions this figure
is even higher.
The number of full overwrites per day allowed by the design of the drive, in other words, how many times a day the entire drive can be guaranteed to be overwritten without fear of failures.
This parameter describes the overall reliability and durability of the drive. It is similar in meaning to TBW (see the relevant paragraph), one value can even be converted to another, knowing the warranty period: TBW = DWPD*V*T*365, where V is the drive capacity in terabytes, and T is the warranty period in years . However, DWPD is somewhat more specific: it describes not only the total time between failures, but also the limit on the number of rewrites per day; if this limit is exceeded, the drive may fail earlier than specified in the warranty. However, even small DWPD values —
0.5 – 1 time per day, or even
less than 0.5 times a day — often turn out to be sufficient not only for simple everyday use, but even for professional tasks. Higher rates —
1 – 2 times a day or
more — are rare; at the same time, it can be both high-end and low-cost SSD modules.
