- Micron 6550 Ion SSD is available in 30.72TB and 61.44TB capacities
- PCIe Gen5 G8 TLC NAND improves efficiency and effectivity
- Sequential learn write speeds are over 12GBs and 5GBs respectively
Fashionable knowledge facilities require high-capacity, energy-efficient SSD storage options to help data-intensive functions like AI and machine studying.
Addressing these wants, Micron has launched the 6550 Ion SSD, out there in 30.72TB and 61.44TB capacities.
The 6550 Ion SSD, which Micron is positioning because the “world’s quickest, most energy-efficient 60TB knowledge heart SSD,” is out there in varied type elements, together with E1.L and U.2, nevertheless it’s the E3.S mannequin which actually shines, with its 61.44TB of TLC NAND.
Higher efficiency than anticipated
Beforehand, to be able to ship a capability of 61.44TB, producers wanted to make use of QLC NAND, however by making the change to Gen5 interface G8 TLC NAND, Micron is ready to supply sooner write efficiency, endurance, and the factor that knowledge facilities are more and more craving – vitality effectivity.
StorageReview examined the brand new drive, and got here away impressed, as reviewer Brian Beeler notes: “The Micron 6550 Ion provides huge efficiency and capability advantages over the 6500 Ion, its predecessor. It adheres to PCIe Gen5 requirements and incorporates future-proofing capabilities by way of OCP 2.5. Micron has prioritized safety within the 6550 Ion, making certain TAA and FIPS 140-3 L2 certifiability and a complete safety suite.”
By way of efficiency, Micron says the 6550 Ion delivers sequential learn speeds of 12GB/s and write speeds of 5GB/s whereas sustaining a most energy consumption of 20W. StorageReview‘s take a look at recorded learn speeds of 12.7GB/s and writes of 8.2GB/s, higher than anticipated.
The assessment in contrast the 6550 Ion towards the Solidigm P5336, the one 61.44TB SSD broadly delivery at this time, and whereas acknowledging it wasn’t a fair match, stated, “We famous many areas the place the newer Gen5 interface on the Micron 6550 Ion excelled over the Gen4 interface within the P5336, which is anticipated. The distinction between Gen4 vs. Gen5 drives pertains to how a lot bandwidth every drive can push throughout the wire. The Gen4 PCIe interface with 4 lanes of connectivity is able to round 7GB/s, whereas the newer Gen5 PCI interface doubles that with 14GB/s. Micron’s use of TLC NAND provides it one other design benefit over QLC-based opponents.”
Power effectivity is one other key promoting level of the 6550 Ion. It makes use of as much as 20% much less energy than competing SSDs and helps a number of operational energy states. For instance, Energy State 1 (PS1) limits energy utilization to 20W, in comparison with the utmost 25W. It additionally consumes ≤5W when idle.
The 61.44TB capability of the 6550 Ion is spectacular, nevertheless it’s set to be dwarfed when the PCIe Gen5 Phison Pascari D205V (provided in U.2 and E3.L codecs) arrives in Q2 2025. In addition to a 61.44TB mannequin, there will even be one with double the capability, 122.88TB, and it is going to be attention-grabbing to see how that compares when it comes to efficiency.