New XG6-P vs. predecessors
The new Toshiba M.2 SSD delivers a 30% improvement in sequential and random-write performance and a 15% boost in random-read speed over its XG5-P predecessor and matches the performance of the XG6. The XG6-P and XG6 use the same controller, but the XG6-P has different firmware and full-range DRAM to balance and sustain performance, Van Patten said.
The XG6-P SSD supports ultrafast NVMe-based PCI Express (PCIe) Gen 3 technology for low-latency and consistent performance. Toshiba claimed the XG6-P could deliver up to 3.2 GBps for sequential reads and 2.9 GBps for sequential writes, and 355,000 IOPS for random reads and 365,000 IOPS for random writes.
In addition to boot drives in servers, the new Toshiba M.2 SSD could see enterprise use for operations such as logging and caching in servers, according to Van Patten. He said client SSDs tend to focus on background operations, where they're not under the same level of stress as data center and enterprise SSDs designed for round-the-clock use.
"They're not designed to replace enterprise drives or data center drives," Van Patten said.
Van Patten said the new Toshiba M.2 SSD could be a good fit in scenarios where the cost of flash is the primary concern. He noted they consume only about 5 watts of power in active mode and idle at a single watt or less, whereas an enterprise SSD might idle at 5 or 10 watts.
Toshiba sells the XG6-P through OEMs, so pricing was unavailable. The new Toshiba M.2 SSD began sampling last month in a single-sided 22-mm-by-80-mm form factor. Toshiba is hardly the only vendor to sell client M.2 SSDs for enterprise and data center boot purposes. Competitors include Samsung and Western Digital.
In the enterprise NVMe SSD space, Toshiba significantly trails Samsung and Intel, which combined for roughly two-thirds of the market in the first quarter of this year, according to Greg Wong, founder and principal analyst at Forward Insights.
News From:
