Samsung PM1633a (16TB)
If you know the basic differences between magnetic storage (HDDs) and solid-state storage (SSDs), you’ll know that SSDs are generally smaller than HDDs (or cost more per GB, at least). So, you’d expect the largest drive in the world to be an HDD, but surprisingly, it’s a solid-state drive. The 16 TB PM1633a was first announced in mid-2015 at the Flash Memory Summit in California, and even a couple years after, it still remains the largest storage drive in the world. Not only can it hold 16TB of data, all of that capacity has been packed into a small 2.5″ form factor SAS drive, using 3D NAND technology. 3D NAND basically means that rows of transistors used to store information are stacked vertically like files in a cabinet, rather than laying beside one another on a flat surface
Performance doesn’t disappoint either, with 1200MB/s read and 900MB/s write speeds reaching close to the limits of the 12Gbps SAS port. Needless to say, such a massive SSD is targetted at enterprise data centers, where capacity per physical space is an important concern.
The PM1663a’s price is accordingly too high for any normal consumer, with most industry technology retailers selling it at around $10’000 (around 60 cents per GB, which isn’t actually that bad). Not that anyone would really need 16 TB of super-fast data storage for personal needs anytime soon. Still, it’s reassuring to know that the tech industry is pushing forward in all fields of computing, not just performance.
Adrian Gates
Sr. System Admin - Apps4Rent