Solidigm Launches First Post-Intel Enterprise SSDs: D7-P5620 and D7-P5520

Again in late 2021, Intel and SK hynix accomplished the primary stage of their long-awaited switch of Intel’s NAND (and NAND-based SSD) enterprise to SK hynix. That firm, in flip, took Intel’s NAND SSD property and put them below their very own subsidiary, Solidigm, who took over gross sales of Intel’s present SSD portfolio. Now, just a few months later, Solidigm is gearing as much as launch its first post-Intel SSDs, the enterprise-focused D7-P5520 and D7-P5620.

Diving proper into issues, Solidigm is actually choosing up proper the place Intel left off, each with regard to product design and product naming. Intel was already seeing strong market penetration with its D-series branding, so there’s little cause to surrender factor for the brand new Solidigm. In any case, the brand new drives are designed and marketed to fit proper in because the next-generation elements within the D7 lineup, which is Solidigm’s highest efficiency drives for the enterprise and server market.

From a pure specification standpoint, the massive information with the newest technology of drives is that Solidigm has doubled their capacities. The D7-P5620 will likely be out there in capacities from 1.6TB to 12.8TB, whereas the D7-P5520 will go as much as 15.36TB for its bigger type issue drives. As you would possibly count on, Solidigm can be utilizing their very own NAND right here. The corporate’s present tech continues to be their 144L TLC NAND, which suggests the P5620 has acquired a NAND improve (Intel by no means launched a 144L P5600 sequence drive), whereas it is the identical NAND as earlier than for the P5520.

As with earlier iterations of the D7 household, each drives are constructed from the identical platform – codename Arbordale Plus Refresh Refresh – that means the identical controller, NAND, and firmware. The one configuration distinction between the drives is the quantity of overprovisioning, with the P5600 drives utilizing 20% overprovisioning to make sure sooner efficiency, whereas the P5500 drives use simply 4% overprovisioning to maximise capability. Consequently, the P5620 is being pitched by the corporate as a combined workload (combined learn/write) drive that may maintain as much as 3 DWPD, whereas the P5520 is geared toward workloads with extra reads than writes, with a 1 DWPD endurance.

Replace: Solidigm has despatched over revised write IOPS figures for the P5620; their preliminary figures had been a typo

Given the distinction in overprovisioning, the 2 D7 drives carry completely different write efficiency rankings. Whereas each drives are rated for 4.2GB/second for giant sequential writes, the a lot bigger spare space on the P5620 means it is rated to maintain 390K 4K write IOPS, which is a 50% enchancment over its predecessor. Although it’s fascinating to notice that the perfect performing SKU, in response to Solidigm’s specs, is just not the very best capability 12.8TB mannequin, however relatively the 6.4TB mannequin, which is the place the quoted figures come from. The 12.8TB mannequin really rated for barely decrease sustained write efficiency and write IOPS.

As for write efficiency on the P5520, that drive brings that right down to 220K 4K write IOPS. Although even that may be a 16% enchancment over the P5510.

In the meantime learn speeds are up barely throughout the board, with each drives topping out at 1.1M learn IOPS, or 7.1GB/second sequential.

We don’t have any extra info from the corporate on the controller used, nonetheless primarily based on the specs, at this juncture there’s nothing to point it’s considerably completely different from the present Arbordale Plus controller. Although it seems like Solidigm could also be tweaking issues in firmware barely otherwise than Intel did, as Solidigm is specializing in learn latency (particularly reads below write strain) greater than Intel. Within the case of the P5500 sequence, they’ve knocked 4K learn latency down from 84μs to 75μs for the P5520; in the meantime write latency has seen a smaller drop, saving off 1μs to convey it right down to 15μs.

The launch of the P5520 additionally marks the considerably overdue introduction of EDSFF type components for a number of the D7 sequence drives. Together with the basic U.2 type issue that the drives have used for the previous few generations, the P5520 will even be out there within the E1.L and E1.S type components. The latter is new territory for Solidigm, as even within the firm’s lower-ender/higher-density D5 product lineup, they’ve solely used E1.L beforehand. The P5520 E1.S drives, in flip, will really are available two sizes: E1.S 9.5mm and E1.S 15mm. Each will provide the identical lowered capacities – 7.68TB max versus double that for U2/E1.L – nonetheless the 15mm drive will use that house for a heatsink that the 9.5mm drive lacks the room to suit. In any other case, the P5620 stays unchanged, and can solely come within the U.2 type issue.

Wrapping issues up, in response to Solidigm the drives are already in mass manufacturing, and are even deployed with some OEMs and cloud suppliers.