Feed: AnandTech
Feed Link: https://www.anandtech.com
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Title: SK hynix to Enter 60 TB SSD Club Next Quarter

Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2024 17:00:00 EDT
Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/21490/sk-hynix...

SK hynix this week reported its financial results for the second quarter, as
well as offering a glimpse at its plans for the coming quarters. Notably
among the company's plans for the year is the release of a SK hynix-branded
60 TB SSD, which will mark the firm's entry into the ultra-premium enterprise
SSD league.

"SK hynix plans to expand sales of high-capacity eSSD and lead the market in
the second half with 60TB products, expecting eSSD sales to be more than
quadrupled compared to last year," a statement by SK hynix reads.

Currently there are only two standard form-factor 61.44 TB SSDs on the
market: the Solidigm D5-P5336 (U.2/15mm and E1.L), and the Samsung BM1743
(U.2/15mm and E3.S). Both are built from a proprietary controller (Solidigm's
controller still carries an Intel logotype) with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface and
use QLC NAND for storage.

SK hynix's brief mention of the drive means that tere aren't any formal
specifications or capabilities to discuss just yet. But it is reasonable to
assume that the company will use its own QLC memory for their ultra-high-
capacity drives. What's more intriguing are which controller the company
plans to use and how it is going to position its 60 TB-class SSD.

Internally, SK hynix has access to multiple controller teams, both of which
have the expertise to develop an enterprise-grade controller suitable for a
60 TB drive. SK hynix technically owns Solidigm, the former Intel SSD and
NAND unit, giving SK hynix the option of using Solidigm's controller, or even
reselling a rebadged D5-P5336 outright. Alternatively, SK hynix has their own
(original) internal SSD team, who is responsible for building their well-
received Aries SSD controller, among other works.

Ultra-high-capacity SSDs for performance demanding read-intensive storage
applications, such as AI inference on the edge or content delivery networks,
is a promising premium market. So SK hynix is finding itself highly
incentivized to enter it with a compelling offering.

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