- Micron 6550 Ion SSD comes in 30.72 TB and 61.44 TB capacities
- PCIe Gen5 G8 TLC NAND improves performance and efficiency
- Sequential read-write speeds are over 12 GB and 5 GB respectively
Modern data centers require energy-efficient, high-capacity SSD storage solutions to support data-intensive applications such as AI and machine learning.
To meet these needs, Micron has introduced the 6550 Ion SSD, available in 30.72 TB and 61.44 TB capacities.
The 6550 Ion SSD, which Micron positions as the “world’s fastest, most power-efficient 60TB data center SSD,” is available in several form factors including E1.L and U.2, but it’s the E3.S model that really shines, with its 61.44 TB TLC NAND.
Better performance than expected
Previously, manufacturers had to use QLC NAND to deliver 61.44 TB capacity, but by moving to the Gen5 interface G8 TLC NAND, Micron can deliver faster write performance, endurance and what data centers are increasingly turning to . desire – energy efficiency.
Storage assessment tested the new drive and was impressed, as reviewer Brian Beeler notes: “The Micron 6550 Ion offers huge performance and capacity advantages over the 6500 Ion, its predecessor. It complies with PCIe Gen5 standards and includes future-proof capabilities via OCP 2.5. Micron has prioritized the security of the 6550 Ion, ensuring TAA and FIPS 140-3 L2 certifiability and a comprehensive security package.”
In terms of performance, Micron says the 6550 Ion delivers sequential read speeds of 12 GB/s and write speeds of 5 GB/s, while maintaining maximum power consumption of 20W. Storage assessmentThe test recorded read speeds of 12.7 GB/s and write speeds of 8.2 GB/s, better than expected.
The review compared the 6550 Ion to the Solidigm P5336, the only 61.44TB SSD currently widely sold, and while we acknowledged it wasn’t an even match, we said, “We noticed many areas where the newer Gen5 interface on the Micron 6550 Ion excelled the Gen4 interface in the P5336, which is expected. The difference between Gen4 and Gen5 drives relates on the amount of bandwidth each drive can push over the wire. The Gen4 PCIe interface with four lines of connectivity is capable of around 7 GB/s, while the newer Gen5 PCI interface doubles that at 14 GB/s NAND gives it another design advantage over QLC-based competitors.
Energy efficiency is another key selling point of the 6550 Ion. It consumes up to 20% less power than competing SSDs and supports multiple operational power states. For example, Power State 1 (PS1) limits power consumption to 20W, compared to the maximum 25W. It also consumes ≤5W when not in use.
The 6550 Ion’s 61.44 TB capacity is impressive, but it will be dwarfed when the PCIe Gen5 Phison Pascari D205V (offered in U.2 and E3.L formats) arrives in Q2 2025. In addition to a 61.44 TB model, there will also be one with double the capacity, 122.88 TB, and it will be interesting to see how that compares in terms of performance.