The significant increase in the capacity of solid-state drives (SSDs) will not only lead to changes in the SSD market but also in the hard drive market.
Companies that prioritize cheap data storage tend to choose hard disk drives (HDDs) over solid-state drives (SSDs), as long as SSDs and HDDs are still competing for larger capacities like 20TB and 30TB. This trend is unlikely to change significantly. Interestingly, the capacity of solid-state drives is expected to far exceed these levels. What will happen then?
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Will large-capacity solid-state drives make hard drives “disappear”?
In the solid-state drive market, the current situation is that large-capacity products (such as 30 TB) are continually being introduced. The scale of future developments will differ. Storage system supplier Pure Storage has revealed plans to develop a 300 TB capacity solid-state drive by 2026. This will have a significant impact on both the SSD and HDD storage markets.
Most storage system suppliers view storage devices such as SSDs and HDDs as commodity products, with innovation driven by software. Pure Storage, however, focuses on device-oriented innovation. The company aims to achieve a 300 TB storage capacity using its own designed module, DirectFlashModule (DFM), which is equivalent to a solid-state drive. This approach is unique.
Pure Storage’s strategy will provide it with a competitive advantage.
The significant increase in SSD capacity will not only lead to changes in the SSD market but also in the HDD market. Generally, the cost per unit of storage for SSDs tends to be higher than that for HDDs, and many companies choose HDDs because they are cheaper. However, a 300 TB capacity could be different, potentially prompting companies that previously chose HDDs to consider investing in SSDs, as SSDs offer faster data read and write speeds, even if the cost is higher.
Some experts believe that investment in 300TB SSDs will not be as robust as expected. “We are unlikely to see enough adoption in the short term to convince companies it’s time to abandon HDDs,” said Randy Kearns, a senior strategist and analyst at research firm Evaluator Group. Unless SSDs become mainstream, cost-conscious companies will always opt for cheaper storage options.
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Ultra-large-capacity solid-state drives eliminate the advantages of hard drives
Hard drives have large capacities and low costs, while solid-state drives are fast. As the capacity of SSDs far exceeds 100 TB and is about to surpass HDDs in capacity, what impact will ultra-large-capacity SSDs have on the storage market?
Will ultra-large-capacity SSDs bring hard drives to a tipping point? In March 2023, Pure Storage released the FlashBlade//E all-flash storage. At that time, the company explained the roadmap for its self-designed DirectFlash Module (DFM). By the end of 2023, the capacity of each DFM is expected to increase from the current 48TB to 100 TB.
Pure Storage’s plans do not stop at 100 TB, as it has announced plans to reach a 300 TB DFM capacity by 2026. Increasing capacity to this scale will have a significant impact on the SSD and HDD markets.
The potential impact primarily relates to the trend of SSDs’ cost per unit of capacity gradually approaching that of HDDs: the rapid growth in SSD capacity might shorten the time until the costs per unit of capacity between SSDs and HDDs converge.
In addition, Evans also pointed out that Pure Storage’s products might put other products at a disadvantage in terms of scalability. For example, using a 30TB SSD is completely different from using a 300TB SSD because the scale of expansion is entirely different. He said, “If other storage manufacturers stick to 30TB products, then they will not be able to compete in terms of scalability.
For enterprises, an increase in SSD capacity is a good thing. They must consider configuring storage systems on a larger scale. Equally important is that the capacity for data protection tends to be larger.
By developing a 300TB SSD, Pure Storage has the potential to become a driving force in the storage market. More importantly, the company’s characteristic of developing both the device and software in-house is not common among other storage manufacturers, who typically procure SSDs from partners like Dell Technologies to provide storage systems.
Pure Storage will not launch the 300TB SSD until 2026, which is still far off. In the meantime, it is unlikely that another initiative that could change the storage market will appear. There are already signs of this. For example, Samsung Electronics showcased a 128TB SSD at the Flash Memory Summit 2022. Details regarding pricing and market release were not disclosed, and its impact remains to be seen.
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What are the key points about ultra-large-capacity solid-state drives?
The increasing capacity of solid-state drives (SSDs) is good news for companies struggling to cope with the growing volume of data. It is reported that the future capacity of SSDs will far exceed 100 TB, and the presence of SSDs will only increase. However, enterprises should not become complacent.
The continuous increase in SSD capacity and dense configuration in storage systems make it easier for companies to store larger amounts of data. On the other hand, it should be noted that the ability to read and write data faster depends on the storage interface.
As an interface standard, the current trend is to increase speed, including the start of using PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 6.0. The data transfer rate of PCIe essentially doubles with each generation, alleviating the performance limitations of SSDs.
Pure Storage aims to increase the capacity of its DirectFlash Module (DFM) to 300 TB, which is a proprietary module installed in storage systems. Pure Storage is developing the DirectFlash Module (DFM), a self-designed module that will be installed in a storage system with a capacity of 300TB. By 2026, PCIe 6.0 and PCIe 7.0 are expected to achieve interface evolution.
Another consideration with increased storage capacity is that it may extend reconstruction times. Scott Sinclair, the Practice Director of Research at TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) in the United States, believes there is still room to solve this issue. SSDs that adopt the PCIe standard in the interface can use the high speed of the interface to shorten reconstruction times, while drives using interfaces other than PCIe are unlikely to achieve the same benefits.
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