New 400GB SSDs from Toshiba Target the Enterprise Segment

Without a doubt, the enterprise segment has some pretty specific computing needs (often, very different from the ones of the mainstream consumer market), and for this reason, it should come as no surprise that Toshiba has rolled out a new solid-state drive lineup, designed specifically in order to meet the aforementioned requirements.

The new MKx001GRZB series comprises 2.5-inch small form factor SSDs that use the latest 32 nanometer (nm) enterprise grade single-level cell (eSLC) NAND flash memory from Toshiba and 6Gb/sec Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface.

Available in capacities of 100GB, 200GB, and 400GB, the new Toshiba SSD enables fast and easy integration into new or existing tier-0 enterprise storage systems and designs, including servers, direct-attached storage, and network-attached storage.

The drives deliver a very impressive level of performance, with random sustained 90,000 read and 17,000 write IOPS2 and sequential sustained 510MB/sec read and 230MB/sec write throughput.

Combined with a low power requirement of only 6.5 Watts at operation, the Toshiba SSD family also delivers an industry-leading power efficiency rating of 13,800 IOPS/Watt.

“Toshiba offers the industry’s most comprehensive range of storage technologies and the resulting synergies distinguish us as a world-class total storage provider,” said Joel Hagberg, vice president of enterprise marketing at Toshiba Storage Device Division.

“Toshiba stands alone in the market as the only SSD supplier that is vertically integrated for NAND flash and has deep enterprise HDD expertise. We possess one of the world’s largest and most advanced NAND flash fabs, our own controller and firmware design teams, critical interface technologies, and established relationships with every major enterprise server and storage OEM.”

“As a result, Toshiba is uniquely positioned to engineer solid state drives that deliver the performance, endurance, and reliability required for business critical applications,” concluded Mr. Hagberg.

As for the launch roadmap, Toshiba informs us that samples of the new enterprise-bound SSDs will be available for customer qualification in the first quarter of 2011 and volume production will begin in the first half of 2011 (no pricing details have been provided for these storage solutions, unfortunately).