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https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/08/08/supermicros_1_pb_slimster/:
Supermicro has crammed 1PB of Intel flash rulers into the slimmest possible 1U rack storage server.
The two-socket server can hold up to 32 Intel EDSFF, NVMe-connected flash drives – giving a rack density of 1PB/U, the highest we have ever come across.
EDSFF stands for Chipzilla's Enterprise and Datacenter Storage Form Factor, which measures 325.35mm long, 9.5mm wide and 38.6mm high.
These front-mounted SSD DC P4500 Series drives are hot-swappable and each has a 32TB capacity, using 64-layer TLC (3bits/cell) 3D NAND. An Intel tech brief (PDF) provides the details.
We're told the drives are thermally optimised to require less airflow than a 2.5-inch U.2 SSD.
The performance numbers are heroic. Supermicro president and CEO Charles Liang said the product provides "13 million IOPS and 52GB/sec throughput in 1U" and claimed it outperforms any previous system available.
[...] Supermicro announced a 288TB 1U storage server in January using 8TB Samsung ruler SSDs. A 256TB version using previous 8TB Intel ruler SSDs was introduced in May. That has been well and truly exceeded with these 32TB drives.
Looking at this Samsung and Intel ruler data suggested to us a 64-layer Samsung flash ruler could exceed 32TB in capacity. And, we hasten to add, 96-layer flash is being developed, along with 4bits/cell QLC technology. That means we can realistically have an expectation of 64TB EDSFF drives in the 2019/2020 timeframe, meaning a 2PB/1U Supermicro product could emerge.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Wednesday August 08 2018, @11:58PM (5 children)
I was going to shit on this story until I saw it was the "ruler" form factor [soylentnews.org] and not standard 2.5" drives. Are these significantly more space-efficient than 2.5" SSDs in a rack, or just easier to maintain with better cooling?
I haven't found the dimensions of the form factor yet, but if it can hold more NAND chips than a 2.5" drive then I'm not impressed with the 32 TB capacity.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday August 09 2018, @01:20AM
Both maybe?
Besides, hot swapping may be easier when in a bind [youtu.be].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday August 09 2018, @03:06AM (3 children)
Read the article, it has a photo of the server and the area the "drives" or "rulers" occupy is evident. They get thirty two of the darned things lines up along the front but I don't even see a power button or indicator. And good luck drawing in enough air to keep a pair of processors cool under load. This thing is a showpiece, a "look what is possible!" item to display at trade shows and probably move a few units to select customers desperate for what this thing can offer and unconcerned about the price tag or whether it lasts long since they will be upgrading to the newest one as soon as it appears.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 09 2018, @03:29AM (2 children)
Ok, the other article says the ruler is 325.35mm long, 9.5mm wide and 38.6mm high. Compare to 2.5" drives [wikipedia.org], which are 146mm long, 101.6mm wide, and I'll pick 9.5mm for height. 141 cubic cm for the 2.5", 119 cubic cm for the ruler.
Both Intel and Samsung are supporting the ruler, so I'm not convinced it's just a showpiece (compare to some Intel-only stuff that ended up getting axed).
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 09 2018, @05:50PM (1 child)
Except for the height, the numbers you are using are 3.5″ form factor. A 2.5″ drive at 9.5mm thickness is about 66 cm³ (including the space occupied by the enclosure).
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 09 2018, @06:03PM
Damn, thanks. Now I'm back to not being impressed with 32 TB.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]