Micron Launches Worlds First 60TB PCIe Gen 5 SSD

Micron has unveiled a new ultra-high-performance SSD for data centers. Called the 6550 ION E3.S, it is said to be the world’s first PCIe Gen 5 SSD offering up to 60TB of storage. It is the successor to the 6500 ION and promises faster performance, better energy efficiency, and more improvements for those who need to handle the high-intensity demands of data centers.

The Micron 6550 ION operates at a maximum speed of 12GB/s while consuming just 20W of power (4W when in L1 state standby). In addition to claiming to be the first 60TB E3.S SSD on the market, Micron also boasts 20% better power efficiency than its competitors.

While SSDs with capacities up to 60TB for the data center are nothing new, the adoption of the PCIe Gen 5 interface is a highlight, allowing for significant performance gains during workload processing. Micron promises the following improvements over its competitors in the market:

• 179% faster sequential read speeds and 179% higher read bandwidth per watt
• 150% faster sequential write speeds and 213% higher write bandwidth per watt
• 80% faster random reads and 99% higher read IOPS per watt

In real-world testing, the 6550 ION delivers 147% higher performance for Nvidia Magnum IO GPUDirect Storage, and 30% higher 4KB transfer speeds in the Unet3D deep learning IO test.

Micron will offer the 6550 ION in E3.S, U.2, and E1.L formats. Twenty E3.S drives in a 1U server rack will provide a total of 44.2 petabytes of data, improving storage density by 67%. Additionally, the manufacturer promises 42% better endurance than other 60TB SSDs on the market.

The Micron 6550 ION SSD is available for review now. The manufacturer hasn’t revealed pricing, but it’s safe to assume that a 60TB PCIe Gen 5 drive won’t be cheap. It’s also unlikely that Micron will sell the 6550 ION to the average consumer. If you need a high-capacity SSD for your computer, your best options are currently limited to 8TB models, like the WD_Black SN850X or the more affordable SATA-based Samsung 870 QVO.