In a nutshell: A mysterious Microsoft storage drive has surfaced on X that could possibly be utilized in information facilities and servers. The Z1000 SSD in query makes use of a CNEX Labs controller mated to 4 256 GB Toshiba Bit-Value Scalable Era 4 96-layer 3D eTLC NAND flash modules for a complete capability of 960 GB. There’s additionally a gigabyte of Micron-made DDR4 used as cache.
Assuming the drive makes use of PCIe 4.0, it could possibly be decently quick. Then once more, whether it is meant for information facilities and servers, pure velocity in all probability just isn’t a prime precedence.
Apparently sufficient, a label affixed to the drive identifies it as an engineering similar with a date of 5/18/2020 hooked up. If that’s certainly the drive’s manufacturing date, it means the pattern is almost 4 years outdated at this level. This probably guidelines out the opportunity of it being a PCIe 5.0 drive as such tech was in its very early states in mid-2020.
SSDï¼Â Microsoft Z1000 960GB M.2 22110 NVMe 1.2
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Tom’s {Hardware} additionally pointed out the additional BGA mounting factors in a few of the leaked images, the place a further chip could possibly be added. There are additionally a number of unused solder factors on each side of the SSD, suggesting increased capability fashions are certainly potential and sure exist, maybe in 2 TB or 4 TB variants.
The publication factors to a number of clues suggesting this could possibly be a knowledge middle half. For starters, you’ve the CNEX Labs controller itself. This privately-held firm was based in 2013 and has beforehand been linked to 3D XPoint and Optane drives. Tom’s additionally notes the drive is a 22100 mannequin, that means it’s 100mm in size. That could be a bit longer than drives generally present in abnormal PCs like 2280s which measure 80mm lengthy.
The principle cause why we have now not heard a lot about this drive up so far is probably going because of the easy incontrovertible fact that it’s not a retail half. It’d reside completely in Microsoft servers, therefore the rationale to not promote it.
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