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As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform industries and drive innovation, data centers need storage solutions that can keep up with the pace. To meet this need, today I’m thrilled to announce our newest drive, the Micron 9550 NVMeTM SSD. This new state-of-the-art vertically integrated SSD is a PCIe® Gen5 solution based on Micron’s industry-leading 232-layer NAND. By combining these cutting-edge technologies, Micron is setting a new standard for performance and power efficiency. The Micron 9550 SSD is not just fast; it's the fastest PCIe Gen5x4 data center SSD in the market, offering unmatched performance and unparalleled power efficiency.
The Micron 9550 excels in speed and efficiency
The Micron 9550 SSD delivers an astonishing performance with PCIe Gen5 technology, offering speeds that are unmatched in the industry. The Micron 9550 offers:
- Up to 14GB/s in sequential read performance, a significant leap forward in data transfer speeds that leads the industry.
- Up to 10GB/s sequential write performance, boasting an advantage up to 67% over other PCIe Gen5 drives available today.
- Random read performance of up to 3.3 million IOPS, providing a boost of up to 35% compared to competitive offerings in the market.
- Random write performance of up to 400,000 IOPS, up to 33% better than competing solutions.
This exceptional performance makes the Micron 9550 SSD an unbeatable solution for data center customers seeking to accelerate their workloads.
AI: The killer PCIe Gen5 application
AI has emerged as the killer application for PCIe Gen5, driving the need for high-performance storage solutions. As AI model sizes continue to grow, so does the demand for efficient data processing. Traditional file access methods can't keep pace with these workloads, introducing significant latency and overhead. To address this challenge, innovative storage software solutions like Big Accelerator Memory (BaM) are being developed to leverage SSDs for direct, fine-grain access by GPU threads to vast datasets and large training models.
BaM's custom storage driver is optimized for parallel GPU processing, enabling direct storage device access without CPU intervention. This results in a significant reduction of training times and maximized IOPS for workloads like graph neural networks (GNN), which rely on small, random read operations over large datasets.
BaM has demonstrated its prowess by significantly cutting down GNN training times and maximizing input/output operations per second (IOPS). In our testing of BaM running on the Micron 9550, we demonstrated a new standard for efficiency and speed in AI data processing.
For details, see our Micron 9550 NVME SSD and Big Accelerator Memory (BaM) technical brief.
Sustainability meets performance
In the realm of sustainability, the Micron 9550 SSD stands out not only for its remarkable performance but also for its vastly superior energy efficiency, a critical factor in AI workloads. Data from our testing reveals that, in GNN training using BaM, the Micron 9550 outperforms its competitors by as much as 60% while consuming up to 43% less energy per SSD, which translates to an astounding 29% less system energy used to accomplish the same task.
For details, see our Micron 9550 NVME SSD and Big Accelerator Memory (BaM) technical brief.
Similarly, in large language model inference testing, our testing showed up to 15% higher performance using the Micron 9550 SSD, all while saving up to 37% energy per drive, which translates into system energy savings of up to 19%.
The future of data centers is here
The Micron 9550 is more than just a component; it’s a leap forward in data processing technology. Its unparalleled speed and efficiency empower AI applications to operate at their peak, driving innovation and progress across industries.
“Micron's 9550 Gen5 SSD accelerates storage innovation by adhering to hyperscale-driven industry standards like OCP Datacenter SSD v2.5, including advanced telemetry capabilities,” said Ross Stenfort, Systems Engineer at Meta. “These capabilities, along with the E1.S form factor and up to 16TB capacity, enable fleet sustaining at scale.”
I invite you to experience the power and efficiency of the Micron 9550 first-hand. For more information or to discuss how the Micron 9550 SSD can benefit your data center, contact us today.
