As artificial intelligence (AI) datasets scale in size and significance, a new sense of urgency has emerged around a classic data center problem: How do we store more and do more per rack?
Until now, the most popular approach was to double SSD densities to keep up with peta-level builds and the next generation of GPUs. As we've seen throughout 2024, to meet the insatiable demand for more than 30TB high-capacity SSDs, just doubling isn't enough.
World’s first E3.S 60TB SSD revolutionizes PCIe® Gen5 rack density
Designed from its inception to optimize performance per terabyte (TB) per watt per rack for the world’s leading data centers, the new Micron 6550 ION is the next breakthrough in exascale storage innovation. As the world’s first E3.S-1T 60TB data center SSD1, the Micron 6550 ION has a z-height of just 7.5mm versus previous 15mm U.2 60TB SSDs. This feature enables up to 40 drives per 2U (~2.5 petabytes [PB]). Compare this to the typical 24 drives per 2U that most previous 60TB U.2 SSDs supported (~1.5PB) and you can quickly see the value of what’s expected to be the most prominent PCIe Gen5 form factor. Across a rack, this millimeter-level revolution in E3.S storage density enables you to store up to 67% more TB per rack.2 What’s more, 60TB E3.S SSDs deliver added flexibility compared to 120TB U.2 SSDs, since E3.S allows you to store a similar amount of data per 2U (~2.5PB on 60TB E3.S vs ~2.9PB on 120TB U.2), with likely up to 3x better performance per TB at the chassis level.3
World’s fastest and most energy-efficient 60TB SSD revolutionizes Gen5 scaling
But of course, there’s more. As the PCIe Gen5 successor to the world’s bestselling PCIe Gen4 30TB NVMe SSD4 by unit volume, the new Micron 6550 ION continues to push the bounds of what’s possible in energy efficiency. One of the reasons for the original Micron 6500 ION’s enduring popularity has been its ability to deliver leading value by effortlessly outperforming competing 30TB QLC SSDs using 20% to 50% less power.5
This breakthrough design explains why the product won many of the world’s highest innovation honors, including the 2023 International Innovation Award and the 2024 Edison Award for improving global AI scaling and sustainability. The new Micron 6550 ION proudly advances this legacy by using the same 20W power profile on a higher-performing interface to deliver best-in-class PCIe Gen5 read and write bandwidth relative to all competing 60TB SSDs.6 The goal of our innovation is simple: Use less power — get more performance. That’s how you improve performance per TB per watt per rack.
It's faster, denser and greener
What’s more, we’ve raised the sustainability bar. Not only does the Micron 6550 ION deliver more performance per watt than its 60TB competitors, but when compared to its direct PCIe Gen4 predecessor, this new member of the ION family delivers 76% more read bandwidth per watt (12 GB/s vs. 6.8 GB/s) and 60% more 4KB random read input/output operations per second (IOPS) per watt (1.6 million vs. 1 million).7
On its own merits, AI is not a technology that’s normally associated with sustainability since it’s expected that data center power demand will grow 160% by 2030, per Goldman Sachs Research.8 But by enabling full-scale data centers with 100,000 servers to save just 5W per drive (20W vs. 25W), the Micron 6550 ION delivers environmental benefits comparable to 1.8 million mature trees absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.9
Where and how you store your data matters
Micron is proud to lead the industry across all major data center memory and storage categories. This includes the leading energy-efficient HBM3E, the top energy-efficient, high-capacity DDR5 server DRAM, superior performance SSDs for AI and now the most energy-efficient 60TB SSDs for networked AI data lakes. At every level of memory and storage in AI servers, Micron prioritizes efficiency, meaning lower annual power and cooling operating expenses and more carbon-friendly ways to unlock the value of your data.
Thanks to our history of NAND technology leadership, the Micron 6550 ION uses innovative Micron G8 TLC NAND that’s one to three generations ahead10 of competing 60TB SSDs, resulting in a drive that’s inherently faster, denser and greener. You don’t have to settle for anything less.
Top 5 benefits of the Micron 6550 ION SSD:
- Best-in-class 60TB SSD performance6
- Improved energy efficiency, using 20% less power for lower annual operating costs6
- Industry-leading endurance so the drive lasts longer6
- Industry-leading 60TB security to protect your data6
- The world’s first 60TB E3.S form factor so you can store up to 67% more per rack2
When you need to get more from your IT budget without having to compromise, the Micron 6550 ION is the answer.
Recommended resources
- Micron 6550 ION product brief
- Real-world workload results tech brief: How to maximize exascale AI efficiency with the Micron 6550 ION
- Real-world workload results tech brief: How to maximize 60TB GPUDirect® Storage (GDS) with the Micron 6550 ION
- Security tech brief: How the Micron 6550 ION delivers best-in-class security
1 At the time of Micron 6550 ION announcement no other competitor has 60TB E3.S form factor SSD per publicly available information.
2 Improvement calculated by comparing 60TB Micron 6550 ION SSD E3.S-1T in a 1U server with 20 E3.S bays (60TB x 20 = 1.2PB per U) against competitors’ 60TB U.2 form factor in a 2U 24-bay server (60TB x 24 = 1.5PB in 2U server = 0.75PB per U), expressed as a percentage.
3 Based on a comparison between 61.44TB Micron 6550 ION SSD E3.S 1T in two 1U servers with 20 E3.S bays (61.44TB x 40 = 2.5PB in 2Us of server space) against competitors’ announced 122.88TB U.2 form factor SSDs in a 2U 24-bay server (122.88TB x 24 = 2.9PB in a 2U server). Performance assumptions for potential competing 122.88TB U.2 SSDs are based on public information available at the time of this document’s publication.
4 Based on Forward Insights reported unit shipment volumes for the second quarter of 2024 across all global SSD vendors.
5 Based on testing by the Micron data center workload engineering team in Austin, Texas. The competing product tested was the 30.72TB Solidigm® D5-P5316 (highest-performing QLC SSD on the market as of July 2024, based on read/write bandwidth datasheet specs, which are important AI storage workload metrics. For ease of conceptual comparison, all competitor values were rounded up to the nearest whole number, and all Micron values were rounded down to give competing product the benefit of the doubt.
6 Performance and other comparison statements based on public information available as of the date of this document’s publication and Micron engineering testing. Power efficiency refers to units of work done divided by power consumed in doing that work. Examples of units of work include, but are not limited to, IOPS, MB/s, operations per second, sample rates, and similar data center storage-related activities. The Micron 6550 ION SSD outperforms competing 61.44TB QLC SSDs using 20% less power (20W vs. 25W) based on public datasheet performance specifications relative to the Solidigm® D5-P5336 and Samsung® BM1743, the only comparable 61.44TB QLC SSDs available from NAND manufacturers when the Micron 6550 ION launched in November 2024.
7 Based on public datasheet comparisons between the Micron 6550 ION and Micron 6500 ION as of November 2024.
8 AI is poised to drive 160% increase in data center power demand | Goldman Sachs - May 2024: AI is poised to drive 160% increase in data center power demand | Goldman Sachs
9 See Micron video on the sustainability benefits of the Micron 6550 ION for more information and details on how this saving is calculated.
10 NAND generation refers to equivalent NAND industry generation number. The Micron 6550 ION SSD uses Micron G8 (232-layer) NAND; Solidigm D5-P5336 uses 192-layer QLC NAND (one generation older), Samsung BM1743 uses 176-layer NAND (one generation older), and Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN655 uses BiCS5 (three generations older). Comparisons based on public information available at the time of this document’s publication.
