Toshiba XG6 NVMe SSD with Fourth-Generation BiCS TLC
Having NAND process technology is great, but the inevitable question is: “when will it be in a product?” Toshiba is using the 96-Layer 4th generation BiCS in a product immediately with the launch of the Toshiba XG6 client NVMe SSD. Here is the marketing overview slide Toshiba passed along to STH.
This is a standard M.2 2280 SSD that ranges in size from 256GB to 1TB with no overprovisioning. The TLC drives are sporting performance of around 3GB/s read/ write and use under 5W typical.
Toshiba is also positioning this drive in some of the low-cost embedded servers where space constraints and needs for the reliability of M.2 22110 form factor NVMe SSDs are not necessary. These are also positioned as lower cost server boot drives. Many servers we see in the STH lab these days have M.2 boot options. Furthermore, many of the mITX embedded platforms do not have space onboard for full M.2 22110 (110mm) NVMe SSDs. Instead, one must use the 2280 (80mm) stick form factor which the Toshiba XG6 NVMe SSD utilizes.
Final Words
Toshiba is pushing the death of SATA SSDs. Recently we covered how Toshiba RM5 Answers the Call of Replacing SATA with SAS3 in the data center (using BiCS Gen 3.) This is yet another segment where Toshiba sees the opportunity to push SATA from the conversation.
As we start seeing capacities rise with this generation of BiCS TLC and the next-generation QLC drives, systems with only 1-2 storage devices per machine are going to use NVMe. The benefits are there both for NVMe over SATA SSDs as well as new QLC drives over hard drives in most cases.
One will also note that in the portfolio shot above, the Toshiba XG5-P is the premium model designed for speed, but still carrying the “XG5” generation branding. We fully expect an XG6-P or similar drive in that higher-end segment.
