Micron introduces the 'World’s Fastest' Data Center SSD

Micron Technology, on Thursday, introduced the Micron 9550 NVM SSD, claiming it to be the world’s fastest data center SSD, known for its exceptional performance in artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and power efficiency. This advanced SSD integrates Micron’s own controller, commodity memory semiconductor components NAND and DRAM, and firmware into one product, ensuring top-notch performance, power efficiency, and security for data centers.

Solid-state drives, commonly known as SSDs, are storage devices utilised in computers to store data on electronic circuits through solid-state flash memory. SSDs are typically smaller, quicker, and less noisy compared to traditional hard disk drives (HDDs).

The significant enhancement in speed and productivity offered by SSDs in corporate data centres stands out as an obvious advantage. These components in SSDs reduce search times and nearly eliminate latency. Also, data can be accessed or stored much faster compared to traditional HDDs.

The new product offers impressive speeds, with 14.0 GB per second (GB/s) sequential reads and 10.0 GB/s sequential writes, providing up to 67% better performance compared to similar SSDs. It also features 35% better read speed with 33% better random write speeds than competitors. These features make it ideal for demanding AI applications.

AI workloads, like large language models (LLMs) and graph neural networks (GNNs), require high-performance storage. The disk meets these needs, delivering up to 33% faster completion times for AI tasks and up to 60% faster feature aggregation in GNN training. It also provides up to 34% higher throughput for NVIDIA Magnum IO GPUDirect Storage.

Alvaro Toledo, Micron’s VP and GM of Data Center Storage, said, “The Micron 9550 SSD is a major advancement for data center storage, offering 3.3 million IOPS while using up to 43% less power than similar SSDs in AI tasks. This performance and efficiency set a new standard for AI storage solutions and show Micron’s commitment to leading the AI revolution.”

Rob Davis, VP of Storage Technology at NVIDIA, said, “Improving data center efficiency and performance for AI tasks is crucial for reducing costs and ensuring reliable operations. The Micron 9550 SSD, with NVIDIA technologies, offers powerful storage for AI.”

Available in capacities from 3.2TB to 30.72TB, the 9550 SSD offers a range of options for today’s PCIe Gen5 server designs. It is designed to meet the needs of top original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and hyperscalers and is currently available globally.