The race for the largest SSD heats up as Western Digital beats Solidigm’s 61.44TB monster and joins Samsung in announcing a 64TB SSD by the end of 2024
Western Digital has highlighted the importance of high-capacity storage in the AI era, unveiling a comprehensive AI Data Cycle framework at Computex 2024 designed to optimize storage and reduce TCO for AI workflows.
“Data is the fuel of AI. As AI technologies become embedded in virtually every industry sector, storage has become an increasingly important and dynamic part of AI technology,” said Rob Soderbery, executive vice president and general manager of Western Digital’s Flash Business Unit. “The new AI Data Cycle framework will enable our customers to build a storage infrastructure that impacts the performance, scalability and deployment of AI applications, underscoring our commitment to delivering unparalleled value to our customers.”
The centerpiece of Western Digital’s announcement is a 64TB SSD, which is intended for data storage for AI applications. This new SSD is part of the extensive enterprise-class Ultrastar DC SN655 range, tailor-made for storage-intensive applications.
Additional AI storage solutions
Western Digital says the 64TB drive, expected later this year, will offer higher performance and the ability to house larger AI data lakes, meeting the growing demands of data preparation and processing in AI environments.
In addition to the upcoming 64TB SSD, Western Digital also introduced the Ultrastar DC SN861, the first enterprise-class PCIe Gen 5.0 SSD. This device is said to offer up to 3x more random read performance than the previous generation, with capacities up to 16TB, making it ideal for LLM training and AI services deployment. Volume shipments are expected in the third quarter of 2024.
Western Digital also samples the industry’s highest capacity, the 32TB ePMR UltraSMR HDD, designed for large-scale cloud and enterprise data centers.
“Each phase of the AI data cycle is unique, with different infrastructure and computing requirements. By understanding the dynamic interplay between AI and data storage, Western Digital delivers solutions that not only deliver higher capacities, but are also tailored to support the extreme performance and endurance of next-generation AI workloads,” said Soderbery. “With our growing portfolio, long-term roadmap and constant innovation, our goal is to help customers unlock the transformative possibilities of AI.”