This week, Micron introduced two SSD series for the enterprise market. One of them is designed for unprecedented speed, the other for maximum capacity.The first line includes the Micron 9650 model, which supports PCIe 6.0 interface and is capable of reading sequential data at a record-breaking speed of up to 28,000 MB/s, with a maximum write speed of 14,000 MB/s. Random read speeds are also the highest to date at —5.5 million IOPS, while write speeds are claimed to be 0.9 million IOPS, which is high but not a record at this time
The SSD is built on Micron’s proprietary controller and is based on 276-layer ninth-generation 3D TLC NAND memory. The drives will reportedly come in E1.S and E3.S 1T form factors (for data centers), with some models being compatible with liquid cooling. Since AI processing requires high read speeds, the 9650 is a perfect fit for such tasks. Other important features of the new SSD include support for P2P data exchange (without CPU involvement) with Nvidia Blackwell graphics cards.
«With performance of up to 5.5 million random read IOPS, the Micron 9650 is well suited for high-bandwidth, low-latency AI servers. This product helps to provide direct data communication with the GPU, minimizing downtime and maximizing system efficiency. Combined with Dell’s advanced server architecture, the drives will enable companies to unlock new levels of performance and analytics,» said Arunkumar Narayanan, senior vice president of Compute and Networking at Dell Technologies.
The second line of drives, the Micron 6600 ION, includes several models. The first SSDs to hit the market will be 31 TB, 61 TB, and 123 TB, and in the first half of 2026, the following are due to be released 245 TB drive. The ION series is based on 276-layer G9 3D QLC NAND memory and features a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface. Sequential read speeds for these drives are claimed to be up to 14,000 MB/s, and random read speeds are up to 2 million IOPS.
As you might guess, the main purpose of the ION SSD is to store data in large data centers with high energy efficiency. The drives consume 5 watts in standby mode and up to 25 watts under load, which, according to the company, is 37% more efficient than magnetic disk drives. ION SSDs will be available in E3.S 1T and U.2 form factors. The Micron 9650 is currently available to customers. It is also known that Micron 6600 ION with a capacity of 123 TB is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2025, which is very soon.
Source: Tom’s Hardware
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