Three New NVMe SSD Solutions Unveiled
Supports data-centric architecture expansion


Western Digital (WD) announced that it will unveil three new NVMe SSD solutions at the 2020 Flash Memory Summit, held online from November 10 to 12 (Pacific Standard Time, GMT-8), and support the expansion of next-generation data-centric storage architectures.

The three new products being announced this time are the Ultrastar DC ZN540 ZNS NVMe SSD, Western Digital IX SN530 Industrial SSD, and WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD 2TB.

The three models were created based on Western Digital's unique vertical integration capabilities, encompassing everything from NAND flash design and production to the development of proprietary SSD controllers and firmware. With this announcement, WD plans to continue supporting new system architectures, applications, and use cases while accelerating storage innovation for customers worldwide, ranging from the cloud to OEM, enterprise, channel, and end-user sales markets.

The Ultrastar DC ZN540 ZNS NVMe SSD features an NVMe controller based on vertical integration in a standard U.2 form factor, supporting dual ports, high availability, and capacities up to 8TB. As a next-generation SSD utilizing the industry-standard ZNS specification, it is specialized for data-centric applications such as multi-tenancy environments or event streaming processes. By delivering up to four times the performance and 2.5 times improved QoS (Quality of Service) compared to existing SSDs, it supports superior efficiency, usability, and scalability while lowering the total cost of ownership for public and private cloud infrastructures.

The Western Digital IX SN530 Industrial SSD is an industrial-grade NVMe SSD designed to meet the extreme temperature, performance, high durability, and reliability requirements of automotive and industrial applications. Suitable for harsh edge environments such as factory automation, transportation, medical, robotics, drones, defense, and retail, it supports a wide operating temperature range from -40°C to +85°C and offers an operating vibration specification of 20G (20 times the force of gravity).

As a high-performance solution providing read performance of up to 2,400MB/s, it is available in compact M.2 2230 or M.2 2280 form factors with capacity points ranging from 85GB to 2TB. The TLC-based IX SN530 industrial SSD family is currently shipping samples, and the SLC version is scheduled for release in January 2021.

The WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD adds a large-capacity 2TB drive and provides a high-capacity NVMe solution for content creators. It delivers speeds more than four times faster than SATA drives when working on digital art or post-production using CAD. The WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD 2TB is currently available for purchase through designated retailers, including official domestic importers such as Dowoo Info and Daewon CTS, as well as online computer and electronics specialty store Compuzone.

Robert Soderbury, Senior Vice President of the Flash Business, stated, “Many companies are leveraging flash memory technology for business innovation,” adding, “The future of storage will be application-centric and optimized for business.”