Details on the Intel 710 "Lyndonville" Enterprise SSD
Intel is expected to release the Intel 710 Enterprise SSD in mid to late September, as a replacement to its X25-E series.
The Intel 710, codenamed "Lyndonville", will come in three capacities (100 GB, 200 GB & 300 GB), a 2.5" form factor and will utilize the SATA II (3.0 Gb/s) interface. The new series is setup to succeed the previous generation X25-E series just as the Intel 320 series replaced the X25-M series. The "Lyndonville" is design to give the enterprise segment a SSD with a lower price per gigabyte cost and endurance comparable to the X25-E.
To address the price per gigabyte concerns with single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash memory SSDs, Intel introduces the High Endurance Technology Multi-Level Cell (HET-MLC) NAND flash memory chips built on the 25-nanometer fabrication process. You get the write endurance comparable to a SLC SSD, while getting the capacity advantage that MLC offers to users.
The 710's performance stays on par with many of the other MLC SATA II SSDs on the market but with the write endurance needed for server based drives. The 4K random read is 38,500 IOPS for all three models. The 8K random reads is 26,000 IOPS on the 100 GB and 27,000 IOPS for both 200 GB and 300 GB. Over-provision on these drives effect both the 4K random write speeds and 4K random write endurance, as seen in the charts below.
With a 20 percent over-provision on the 100 GB model, the 4K random writes jump from 2400 IOPS to 4000 IOPS and 4K write endurance goes from 600 TB to 900 TB. The 200 GB model sees similar performance increase through a 20 percent over-provision with 4K random writes jump from 2400 IOPS to 3300 IOPS (less than the 100 GB model) and 4K write endurance goes from 1000 TB to 1300 TB. The 300 GB sees 4K random writes jump from 2000 IOPS to 2400 IOPS and 4K write endurance goes from 1300 TB to 1500 TB.
In terms of sustained sequential speeds, all three models offer up to 270 MB/s read speeds. The 100 GB model has sequential write speeds up to 170 MB/s, while the 200 GB and 300 GB drives have sequential write speeds up to 210 MB/s.
Read more about the Intel 710 Enterprise SSD at VR-Zone.
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dormantreign I clicked this thinking it was something about star trek....sigh....When we going to get a new freaking series anyways?Reply -
beenthere Well we'll see how this MLC approach works for reliability and compatibility. I suspect Intel is trying to sell ocean front property in AZ.Reply -
sseyler So, I'm assuming HET-MLC is slower than desktop-class MLC due to write durability requirements of the server market, hence the utilization of the SATA II interface?Reply -
snotling beenthereWell we'll see how this MLC approach works for reliability and compatibility. I suspect Intel is trying to sell ocean front property in AZ.Won't people ever get it MLC IS the way to go... (sigh)Reply -
snotling sseylerSo, I'm assuming HET-MLC is slower than desktop-class MLC due to write durability requirements of the server market, hence the utilization of the SATA II interface?I wouldn't assume that much, overprovisionning makes it faster, whatever other enterprise otpimization would have slowed down is marginal compared to that.Reply -
stuckintexas snotlingWon't people ever get it MLC IS the way to go... (sigh)Reply
Unless write endurance is your thing, then MLC will only ever get there with massive overprovisioning. -
stuckintexas For write endurance, the X25-E is still the winner. The 710 only achieves 20% of the X25-E. The X25-E is 2000TB @64GB, while the 710 is 600TB @100GB. The HET-MLC gets ~30-35K write cycles, while I have seen the SLC drive hit ~150K write cycles. Too bad Intel killed the X25-E for those of us that need it.Reply