HGST NVMe PCIe SSDs Up to 3.2TB

HGST, Inc., a Western Digital company (WDC), announced its series of NVMe-compliant Ultrastar SN100 PCIe SSDs.

Integrating Toshiba Corp.‘s current MLC NAND flash, it will drive the next wave of application acceleration with simplified PCIe SSD system integration paired with reliability. The standardized NVMe protocol for PCIe SSDs enables broad system interoperability and ease of deployment, resulting in lower cost of ownership.

Targeting application and database acceleration, virtualization and big data analytics, the Ultrastar SN100 series will be offered as a half-height, half-length add-in card, as well as in a 2.5-inch drive form factor, with capacities up to 3.2TB.

For added NAND flash endurance and reliability, it will deploy HGST’s CellCare NAND management technology optimized for Toshiba MLC NAND flash.

To further accelerate innovation for server-side flash solutions, HGST will be implementing NVMe-compatible extensions aimed at delivering new levels of application integration by enabling value-add software layers to interface with the PCIe SSD’s NAND flash management. Utilizing these HGST extensions, software can interact with the SSDs in a more comprehensive way and realize data management optimizations that deliver two times higher performance and two times better endurance compared to solutions without this capability.

“We expect to see significant growth in PCIe-based SSD demand, especially as businesses implement server-side Flash in conjunction with Flash-optimized software and applications,” said Mike Gustafson, SVP and GM, HGST flash platforms group. “As a strategic addition to our broad portfolio of SATA, SAS and PCIe SSDs, we expect the new Ultrastar SN100 series to raise the bar by delivering industry-leading performance, including consistent low access latency, as well as enterprise endurance. We are also delighted about our partnership with Toshiba and look forward to strengthening our relationship in the years to come.”

HGST is sampling the Ultrastar SN100 SSD series.