Micron's RealSSD P400e: Affordable SSD Storage For The Enterprise?

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Enterprise-class SSDs use costly SLC NAND or, more frequently, eMLC flash. But Micron's RealSSD P400e raises eyebrows by using low-cost MLC memory. Does this make sense on an SSD fighting for the affections of data center managers with read-heavy apps?

Test Setup And Benchmarks

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Test Hardware
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2400 (Sandy Bridge), 32 nm, 3.1 GHz, LGA 1155, 6 MB Shared L3, Turbo Boost Enabled
MotherboardGigabyte GA-Z68X-UD7-B3
MemoryKingston Hyper-X 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1333 @ DDR3-1333, 1.5 V
System DriveOCZ Vertex 3 240 GB SATA 6Gb/s
Tested DrivesIntel SSD 710 200 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: -
Row 5 - Cell 0 Intel SSD 320 300 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: -
Row 6 - Cell 0 Intel SSD 520 240 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: -
Row 7 - Cell 0 Micron RealSSD P400e 200 GB SAS 6Gb/s, Firmware: 0142
GraphicsPalit GeForce GTX 460 1 GB
Power SupplySeasonic 760 W, 80 PLUS Gold
System Software and Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 x64 Ultimate
DirectXDirectX 11
DriverGraphics: Nvidia 270.61 RST: 10.6.0.1002 Virtu: 1.1.101
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Benchmarks
Iometer 1.1.0# Workers = 4, 4 KB Random: LBA= Full Span varying Queue Depths, 128 KB And 2 MB Sequential
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Enterprise Testing: Iometer WorkloadsReadRandomTransfer Size
Database67%100%8 KB - 100%
File server80%100%512 Bytes – 10%1 KB – 5%2 KB – 5%4 KB – 60%8 KB – 2%16 KB – 4%32 KB – 4%64 KB – 10%
Web server100%100%512 Bytes – 22%1 KB – 15%2 KB – 8%4 KB – 23%8 KB – 15%16 KB – 2%32 KB - 6%64 KB – 7%128 KB – 1%512 KB – 1%
Andrew Ku
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bawss
    Cool
    Reply
  • ethanolson
    I wonder if the poor performance is part of some mechanism that ensure higher reliability. Maybe lower read and write voltage increase endurance but take longer to populate the cell with the appropriate charge level.

    Just sayin'.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    Release Date: 04/11/2012

    Firmware for the m4 SSD is being updated from version 0309 to 000F. The m4 is updatable to this new firmware starting from versions 0001, 0002, 0009, or 0309 in a single step. If updating from an early version directly to 000F, all interim improvements will also be include.
    Changes between version 0309 and 000F include the following changes:

    Improved compatibility with certain SAS expanders and peripheral RAID cards.
    Improved throughput stability under extremely heavy workloads.
    Improved data protection in the event of unexpected, asynchronous power loss.
    This firmware update is recommended for all drives currently in the field if the end user is experiencing any of these symptoms.

    m4 firmware updated to a newer version.
    Reply
  • jaquith
    Seems like the perfect SSD for a third-rate data center and not mine.

    If SoftLayer (f/k/a ThePlanet) wants to lower their standards then good for them, and perhaps they need yet another law suit or reevaluate their published up-time with some more asterix *.
    Reply
  • lutel
    The only thing that is important for me is full disk encryption in desktop environment. Unfortunately Intel completly forgot and since Q66 chipset there is no mainboard supporting FDE with SSDs. Q77 probably could support it, but there is no BIOS that has "hard disk / ATA password" option. Intel, wake up!!!
    Reply
  • cknobman
    Not impressed at all. I dont really see one redeeming feature this drive has that would get it chosen over many other SSD's on the market.
    Reply
  • Is it just me or do I notice that we really need to SAVE SLC from extinction? I mean, naturally high performance (compression or none), better temperature control, and higher longevity are the greatest features of SLC - good for the environment, pocketbooks, and peace of mind long term. Anyone?
    Reply