Intel Further Delivers on Storage Transformation with New SSD Form Factor and Innovative Designs

Today, Intel announces major data center storage advances, reiterating Intel’s memory technology leadership. The new technologies advance data center storage and deliver innovative solutions to meet the challenges presented by the growing reliance on data. They include:

• “Ruler” form factor for Intel® SSDs, an all-new solid state drive form factor enabling up to 1PB of storage in a 1U server rack in the future.
• The world’s most advanced dual port portfolio¹: Intel® Optane™ technology dual port SSDs and Intel® 3D NAND dual port SSDs for mission-critical applications.
• An updated SATA family of SSDs for data center, targeted at HDD replacement.

“We are in the midst of an era of major data center transformation, driven by Intel. These new “ruler” form factor SSDs and dual port SSDs are the latest in a long line of innovations we’ve brought to market to make storing and accessing data easier and faster, while delivering more value to customers,” said Bill Leszinske, Intel vice president, Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group (NSG), and director, strategic planning, marketing and business development. “Data drives everything we do – from financial decisions to virtual reality gaming, and from autonomous driving to machine learning – and Intel storage innovations like these ensure incredibly quick, reliable access to that data.”

‘Ruler’ Form Factor for Intel SSDs

The new “ruler” form factor, so-called for its long, skinny shape, shifts storage from the legacy 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factors that follow traditional hard disk drives, and the add-in card form factor, which takes advantage of PCIe card slots, and delivers on the promise of non-volatile storage technologies to eliminate constraints on shape and size. The new form factor delivers the most storage capacity for a server, with the lowest required cooling and power needs. The next-generation “ruler” form factor SSDs using Intel® 3D NAND technology will enable up to 1PB in a 1U server – enough storage for 300,000 HD movies, or about 70 years of nonstop entertainment. Both Intel Optane SSDs and Intel® 3D NAND SSDs in the “ruler” form factor will come to market in the near future.

Dual Port SSDs

Dual port Intel Optane SSDs and Intel® 3D NAND SSDs offer critical redundancy and failover, protecting against multiple paths to failure for mission-critical and high-availability applications. Dual port SSDs replace SAS SSDs and HDDs and, with new storage technologies, deliver more IOPS, more bandwidth and lower latency than SAS SSDs. Dual port Intel® SSD DC D4500, D4502 and D4600 Series will be available starting in 2017’s third quarter.

SATA SSDs for Data Centers

The Intel® SSD DC S4500 and S4600 Series combine a new Intel-developed SATA controller, innovative SATA firmware and the industry’s highest density 32-layer 3D NAND. These storage-inspired SSDs preserve legacy infrastructure, ensuring a simple transition from hard disk drives to SSDs, while enabling data centers to reduce storage cost, increase server efficiency and minimize service disruptions. The new members of the second-generation Intel®3D NAND SSD family are available now.

Intel Optane Technology Webcast

An earlier webcast, hosted by Leszinske and Laura Crone, Intel vice president and director of NSG End-User Solutions Marketing, featured customers outlining how Intel Optane technology is driving advancements in health care, transforming how transactions occur, enabling real-time analytics and capitalizing on the performance of Intel® Xeon® CPUs. The webcast is available for replay.

Leszinske will also share additional details on these products during a keynote address at Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, California, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, The Intel booths, #839 and #745, will feature demos of the new SSDs.

Top Image: The Intel SSD DC S4600 and DC S4500 Series are targeted at HDD replacement in the data center. (Credit: Intel Corporation)