Micron's groundbreaking PCI 6.0 SSD offers sequential reading speeds of up to 28,000 MB/s, while a massive 245 TB SSD is in the works for those prioritizing capacity over top-tier speed.
Micron Technology, Inc., a leading manufacturer of semiconductor solutions, has announced the launch of its 9650 and 6600 ION SSD families. These new SSD offerings cater to different data center needs, each with distinct features and performance profiles.
Micron 9650 SSD Family: Ultra-High Performance
The Micron 9650 SSD family, the industry's first solid-state drive with a PCIe 6.0 x4 host interface, promises ultra-high performance. The SSD is based on a proprietary controller designed in-house and Micron's 9th Generation 276-layer 3D TLC NAND.
Key features of the 9650 SSD family include:
- Performance: With a sequential read speed of up to 28 GB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 14 GB/s, the 9650 SSD delivers impressive speeds. It is also speced for up to 5.5M read IOPS, a record for random performance.
- Capacity: The 9650 SSD is available in capacities ranging from 6.4 TB to 30.72 TB, depending on variant and form factor (E1.S and E3.S).
- Variants: The 9650 family includes two variants: the 9650 Pro, a read-optimized SSD with higher capacities and an option for liquid cooling in some sizes, and the 9650 Max, a mixed-use SSD.
- Power Consumption: The 9650 SSD consumes 5W idle and draws up to 25W under heavy loads, making it 37% more power-efficient than HDDs.
- Security: The 9650 SSD comes with a host of security features, including power loss protection, end-to-end data path integrity, FIPS 140-3 Level 2 compliance, CNSA 2.0 firmware download verification, and dual-signed firmware updates.
- Additional: The 9650 SSD features six-plane NAND architecture for parallel I/O, liquid cooling options, and OCP 2.6 compliance.
- Target Use Case: The 9650 SSD is primarily positioned for AI servers that need extreme performance for sequential reads and random reads.
Micron 6600 ION SSD Family: High Capacity and Cost Efficiency
The Micron 6600 ION SSD family, on the other hand, is optimized for high capacity and cost efficiency. Based on a PCIe 5.0 x4 host interface and Micron's 276-layer G9 3D QLC NAND, the 6600 ION SSD offers a very high maximum capacity of up to 122.88 TB.
Key features of the 6600 ION SSD family include:
- Capacity: With a maximum capacity of up to 122.88 TB, the 6600 ION SSD offers massive storage potential.
- Performance: While the 6600 ION SSD offers lower performance compared to the 9650 SSD due to the use of QLC NAND, it still provides good sequential and random performance suitable for data centers needing large storage pools with good performance.
- Security: The 6600 ION SSD shares many security features with the 9650 SSD, although specific details have not been provided.
- Target Use Case: The 6600 ION SSD is designed for data centers needing large storage pools with good performance but not at the highest PCIe 6 speeds.
In summary, the 9650 SSD family emphasizes ultra-high performance with PCIe Gen 6 speeds, targeting demanding AI/ML and data center acceleration workloads, while the 6600 ION family prioritizes very high capacity with PCIe Gen 5 QLC NAND for volume-centric, cost-effective storage.
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Technology plays a crucial role in the design and operation of both the Micron 9650 SSD family and the 6600 ION SSD family, as they both utilize advanced data-and-cloud-computing technology for their respective applications. The Micron 9650 SSD family leverages technology such as a proprietary controller, 9th Generation 276-layer 3D TLC NAND, PCIe 6.0 x4 host interface, six-plane NAND architecture, and various security features to deliver ultra-high performance. On the other hand, the 6600 ION SSD family employs PCIe 5.0 x4 host interface, 276-layer G9 3D QLC NAND, and other technology for high capacity and cost efficiency.
