SanDisk announces 4TB enterprise SAS SSD

Optimus MAX
SanDisk takes SSDs to the max

SanDisk has announced the world's first 4TB SAS Solid State Drive (SSD) for the enterprise market.

The 2.5-inch Optimus MAX comes in only a 4TB model, with a SAS 6Gb/s interface, up to 400MB sequential read and write speeds, up to 75K IOPS random read speeds, and up to 15K IOPS random write speeds.

The drive uses 19nm eMLC NAND flash and promises 2.5 million hours of reliability and a five year warranty if that level is not reached.

It also comes with the Guardian Technology Platform, which includes FlashGuard, DataGuard and EverGuard, providing error correction, data path protection, and data fail recovery.

The switch to SSD

The large capacity, which easily trumps the 2TB limit of SanDisk's other SAS SSD range, makes the Optimus MAX a viable replacement for legacy mission-critical data centre SAS HDDs.

SanDisk also touts the new drive as a way for businesses to make cost-effective upgrades, since fewer racks, power suppliers and other equipment are needed to reach high capacities and performance levels.

"Customers have been looking for a way to transition their data centers from HDDs to NAND flash, but have been forced to decide between cost and performance, or give up important functionality," said John Scaramuzzo, SVP and GM of Enterprise Storage Solutions at SanDisk.

"The Optimus MAX eliminates the need for compromises. We believe that the Optimus MAX will be a disruptive force within the storage industry, catalyzing many organizations to make the switch from their HDD-prominent data center infrastructures to SSDs."

The new drive will release in the third quarter of 2014.