The significant increase in solid-state drive (SSD) capacity will not only lead to changes in the SSD market but also in the hard disk drive (HDD) market.

Companies that prioritize cost-effective data storage tend to opt for hard disk drives (HDDs) over solid-state drives (SSDs), as long as SSDs and HDDs are competing in the larger capacities of 20TB and 30TB, this trend is unlikely to change dramatically. Interestingly, the capacity of SSDs is expected to far exceed this level. What will happen?

Will large-capacity SSDs make hard drives "disappear"?

In the SSD market, the current situation is that large-capacity products (such as 30 TB) are continuously being introduced. The scale of future development will be different. Storage system supplier Pure Storage has revealed plans to develop a 300 TB capacity SSD by 2026. This will have a significant impact on both the SSD and HDD storage markets.

Most storage system suppliers view storage devices such as SSDs and HDDs as commodity products, with storage system innovation being software-oriented. Pure Storage focuses on device-oriented innovation. The company aims to achieve a storage capacity of 300 TB using its own designed module DirectFlashModule (DFM), which is equivalent to an SSD. This approach is unique.

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Pure Storage's strategy will give it a competitive edge, and its strategy will bring a competitive advantage to the company.

The significant increase in SSD capacity will not only lead to changes in the SSD market but also in the HDD market. Generally speaking, the price per unit of capacity for SSDs is often higher than that for HDDs, and many companies choose HDDs because they are cheaper. However, the 300TB capacity is different and may prompt companies that previously chose HDDs to consider investing in SSDs, as SSDs have faster data read and write speeds than HDDs, even if the cost is higher.Some experts believe that investment in 300TB SSDs will not be as strong as anticipated. "We are unlikely to see enough adoption in the short term to convince companies that it's time to abandon HDDs," said Randy Kearns, Senior Strategist and Analyst at research firm Evaluator Group. Unless solid-state drives become mainstream, cost-conscious companies will always opt for cheaper storage devices.

The advent of ultra-high-capacity solid-state drives (SSDs) renders the advantages of hard disk drives (HDDs) virtually non-existent. HDDs are known for their large capacity and low cost, while SSDs are recognized for their speed. As SSD capacity far exceeds 100TB and is on the verge of surpassing HDDs in capacity, what impact will ultra-high-capacity SSDs have on the storage market?

Will ultra-high-capacity SSDs push HDDs to a tipping point? Pure Storage released the FlashBlade//E all-flash storage in March 2023. At that time, the company explained the roadmap for its own designed module, DirectFlash Module (DFM). It is expected that by the end of 2023, the capacity of each DFM will increase from the current 48TB to 100TB.

Pure Storage's plans do not stop at 100TB, as it has announced its intention to reach a DFM capacity of 300TB by 2026. Increasing the capacity to this scale will have a significant impact on both the SSD and HDD markets.

The potential impact factors are first related to the trend of SSD unit capacity prices gradually approaching those of HDDs: the rapid growth in SSD capacity may shorten the time it takes for SSD and HDD unit capacity prices to converge.

In addition to this, Evans also pointed out that Pure Storage's products may put other products at a disadvantage in terms of scalability. For example, using a 30TB SSD is completely different from using a 300TB SSD because the scale of expansion is entirely different. He said, "If other storage vendors insist on using 30TB products, they will not be able to compete in terms of scalability."

For enterprises, the increase in SSD capacity is a good thing. They must consider the configuration of storage systems on a larger scale. Equally important is that the capacity for data protection often needs to be larger.

By developing a 300TB SSD, Pure Storage has the potential to become a driving force in the storage market. More importantly, the company's characteristic of developing its own devices and software is not common among other storage vendors; competitors such as Dell Technologies essentially purchase SSDs from partners to provide storage systems.Pure Storage is not expected to release a 300TB SSD until 2026, which is still a long way off. In the meantime, it is unlikely that there will be another initiative that could revolutionize the storage market. In fact, there are already signs in this direction. For instance, Samsung Electronics showcased a 128TB solid-state drive at the Flash Memory Summit 2022. Details regarding pricing and availability have not been disclosed, and its impact remains to be seen.

What are the key points of ultra-high-capacity solid-state drives?

The increasing capacity of solid-state drives is good news for companies struggling with the growing volume of data. There are indications that the future capacity of SSDs will far exceed 100TB, and the prevalence of SSDs will only continue to rise. However, companies should not become complacent as a result.

The continuous increase in the capacity of SSDs in storage systems and the dense configuration of SSDs make it easier for companies to store larger amounts of data. On the other hand, it should be noted that the ability to read and write data more quickly depends on the storage interface.

As an interface standard, the current trend is to increase speed, including the beginning of the use of PCle 5.0 and PCle 6.0. The data transfer rate of PCle essentially doubles with each generation. The performance limitations of solid-state drives are mitigated.

Pure Storage aims to increase the capacity of its DirectFlash modules (DFM) to 300TB, which are proprietary modules housed within storage systems. Pure Storage is developing the DirectFlash module (DFM), a self-designed module that will be installed in a storage system with a capacity of 300TB. It is anticipated that by 2026, interface evolution will be achieved with PCle 6.0 and PCle 7.0.

Another consideration with the increase in storage capacity is the potential to extend rebuild times. Scott Sinclair, Practice Director at TechTarget's U.S. Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) Research, believes there is room for addressing this issue. Solid-state drives that adopt the PCle standard in the interface can leverage the high speed of the interface to reduce rebuild times, while drives using a different interface from PCle are less likely to reap the same benefits.