Samsung aims new SSDs at high-end servers

Samsung has taken the wraps off a pair of performance-optimised solid state drives (SSDs) designed for high-end servers running intensive applications such as video on demand, web serving and online transaction processing.

The new Sata-based drives are available in 25GB and 50GB capacities, and are built using single-level cell (SLC) Flash memory, giving them sequential read and write speeds of 100MB/s and 80MB/s respectively.

However, while the use of SLC memory gives the drives increased performance, it also limits the capacity.

Samsung reckons that the drives are some of the greenest around, consuming 1.25W of power in active mode and 0.3W in idle mode, roughly a quarter of the power usage of a 2.5in 15K Serial-Attached SCSI hard drive.

"The Samsung SSDs give IT managers the best in high-performance, high-endurance storage for servers, with markedly less energy consumption," said Gerd Schauss, director of memory marketing at Samsung Semiconductor Europe.

"Now being considered by virtually all major PC OEMs, the proven technology of enterprise SSDs provides a compelling combination of price, performance and longevity for many medium-sized businesses as well as large corporations."

The drives are in mass production and are expected to ship before the end of the year.