Intel Showcases First 32TB 'Ruler' SSD
Intel Showcases First 32TB 'Ruler' SSD
Intel has unveiled what it claims to be the “world’s densest, totally silent solid state drive”. Intel’s newest SSD is about the size of an old-fashioned 12-inch ruler. The device can store 32 terabytes using just 5% of the space that a regular hard disk would take up. The new SSD is built on Intel 3D NAND technology, which stacks memory cells atop each other in multiple extremely thin layers, instead of just one.
Intel’s ruler form factor was introduced last year. It has been developed with the aim of offering as much storage as possible while ensuring optimal thermal efficiency. This form factor is meant for servers. Currently, data centers mostly rely on hard drives. They’re cheaper than SSDs and provide more storage space per dollar, but rely on moving mechanical parts whereas SSDs do not. That means hard drives are less reliable and generate more heat, thus they require high amounts of air conditioning to keep them cool, unlike SSDs. According to Intel, this is one of the reasons some of the world’s biggest data companies are planning to use the new “ruler” SSD to support their cloud and data center operations.
The SSDs measure 12 inches long, 1.5 inches wide, and 0.33 inches thick. They’re designed to fit in a 1U server slot measuring 1.75 inches high and 19 inches long. In data centers, the no-moving-parts ruler-shaped SSDs can be lined up 32 side by side to hold up to a petabyte in a single server slot. Compared with a traditional SSD, the “ruler” requires half the airflow to keep cool. And compared with hard disk storage, the new QLC 3D NAND SSD sips one-tenth the power (when it is part of a 1PB solution) and requires just one-twentieth space.
Intel 32TB ‘ruler’ SSDs can be a good solution for data centers but, like all storage devices, they may fall victim to logical and physical failures. Data recovery from SSDs that use NAND flash memory can be very challenging because they have a very complex architecture. Every SSD recovery situation is unique and requires advanced technologies and highly specific tools for data recovery procedures. ACE Data Recovery is the market leader in data recovery technologies and has state-of-the-art facilities and innovative proprietary methods. ACEs are excited to take the challenge of recovering data from such high-capacity SSDs and are looking forward to it.