Enterprise and Data Center Standard Form Factor solid-state drives (EDSFF SSDs) are quickly becoming a critical component for data centers as they move toward higher storage density, faster interfaces, and AI-based workloads. These SSDs are designed to provide more storage in less space while improving airflow and thermal management. Here are five of the latest EDSFF SSDs designed to drive modern data centers.

KIOXIA NX1 Series

KIOXIA's NX1 Series is the company's newest E1.S data center SSD that’s designed for AI servers and hyperscale cloud infrastructure, and the first to support direct liquid cooling. It provides up to 38% higher sequential write performance and up to 20% higher random write performance. The drive also complies with the OCP Datacenter NVMe SSD 2.6 specification and supports NVMe Flexible Data Placement (FDP).

Micron 9650 SSD

The Micron 9650 is another great PCIe Gen6 EDSFF SSD that’s designed for AI infrastructure, HPC, and hyperscale cloud deployments. The drive, which comes in both E1.S and E3.S form factors, is built with the company’s G9 TLC NAND and supports both air-cooled and liquid-cooled server platforms. The drive comes in Pro and Max endurance versions, allowing system builders to select models that are optimized for either read-intensive or mixed workloads.

Phison Pascari X201

The Pascari X201 is Phison's flagship enterprise SSD that’s also designed for AI infrastructure and hyperscale storage. The drive comes in both U.2 and E3.S form factors and offers PCIe Gen5 performance while maintaining low latency and quality of service (QoS) under sustained workloads. The drive also incorporates enterprise security features and dual-port support for storage platforms.

DapuStor R6 Series

The DapuStor R6 Series_V1.2.pdf) is the latest PCIe Gen5 enterprise SSD family designed using the company’s in-house DP800 controller. The drives, available in a compact E1.S form factor, are built to drive cloud computing, AI servers, and enterprise storage arrays. The drives are touted for their low latency, QoS, and efficient thermal performance. The E1.S design also allows for higher storage density over traditional 2.5-in. SSDs.

SK hynix PS1101

The SK hynix PS1101 is another next-gen PCIe Gen5 enterprise SSD platform designed for hyperscale data centers, AI infrastructure, and cloud storage. The drive, which comes in E1.S and E3.S form factors, takes advantage of the company’s in-house NAND and controller technologies to increase bandwidth, reduce latency, and improve power efficiency. It also supports enterprise management and security features for data center deployments.

Final Thought

As data center workloads continue to grow, EDSFF SSDs provide a way to increase storage density while keeping performance and thermal efficiency under control. The move to PCIe Gen5 and Gen6 also gives these drives the larger bandwidth required for today’s demanding AI, cloud, and HPC workloads. It’s likely that EDSFF will ultimately become a larger part of next-gen data center storage.