NVM SSD extreme high wearout

[Dunuin]

A good SSD should have:
- power-loss protection (if it has one, the manufacturer will advertise it)
- high TBW/DWPD (part of every datasheet)
- quality NAND so SLC>eMLC>MLC>TLC>QLC (not all manufacturers will tell you this and often the same model is available with TLC and QLC NAND so you can't even trust reviews as the production might be changed from TLC to QLC later)
- big DRAM cache (usually manufacturers won't tell you the size)
- fast interface, so NVMe 4x PCIe 5.0>NVMe 4x PCIe 4.0>NVMe 4x PCIe 3.0>SAS>SATA/mSATA>USB)

Maybe other stuff like:
- proper documentation
- monitoring that not only updates offline
- encryption
- long warranty
- tools to configure and flash the SSD from linux or bootable device
- sufficient cooling (M.2 SSDs re terrible at that and might thermal throttle)

 

[beisser]

all enterprise ssds have dram cache with powerloss protection.
easiest way to spot enterprise ssds is by their usually much larger TBW-numbers plus the datasheet usually mentions power loss protection as a feature.
what are you looking for? m.2 enterprise ssds, which fit 2280 standard?
those are available but usually in smaller capacities up to 960 gb.
the bigger ones usually come in 22110 formfactor.

alternatively you can use m.2 to u.2 adapters and connect u.2 drives (there are no u.2 consumer drives, so those are always enterprise).

 

[xlemassacre]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I would prefer 2280, but using and adapter would also be no problem.

Due to the high prices at the moment, I will probably wait a little longer. The current SSD is working fine for now and I hope the wear is also under control. But if prices come down again soon, I'll go for an Enterprise SSD.

 

[beisser]

i just checked. i found 2280 drives with up to 960 gb and up to 1.1PBW or 0.6 DWPD.
an example would be the kingston dc1000b or the micron 7450 pro/max
you can look around for the older micron pro/max series m.2 drives as well.
they might be cheap second hand.
i see at the moment older intel p4510 or p4610 (1.6 or 2 TB) on aliexpress for around 150-170 euros per piece.
those might be alternatives from the u.2 formfactor.
but a warning. u.2 drives get HOT, like seriously. those things can burn 15-20 watts each.
they ned some serious cooling when used in a non-server-case.

 

[beisser]

some additional info.
some enterprise drives (especially older ones) may have pretty low TBW values.
the intel s3510 1.6TB (released in 2015) for example only has a TBW-Value of 880TB.
Dont let that turn you away from those drives.
Due to the PLP-Funtionality and the working Cache the SSD can optimize its writes and still last much much longer than consumer drives.

So if you find an extremely good offer for an enterprise drive with a seemingly low TBW-Value it might still be worth it if the price is right.
i regularily hunt the local second hand makets/sites for good offers and buy drives if there is one.
only buying when you need drives makes it unnecessarily expensive.

 

[xlemassacre]

Thanks for all the information. Heat could be a problem in my "server" case, so I guess it's better to go with 2280.

I would have never thought about buying second hand disks for my server due to reliability, but sounds like an option now.

Btw I could improve my disk writes from almost 2TB a day down to about 250GB a day