Enterprise SSD: Choosing the Interface, Then Pricing What Is in Stock

Enterprise SSD or data center SSD: the interface is the first decision

Enterprise SSD, server SSD and data center SSD get searched as if they were separate products. Maker pages name the interface for each range or model. Kioxia lists a PM Series on SAS and a CM Series on PCIe/NVMe. Samsung's PM893 is a SATA drive and its PM1653 a SAS one. Micron describes its 9650 as a PCIe Gen6 data centre SSD.

So the search for data center SSD vs NVMe is not a true either-or. NVMe is one interface a data centre SSD can use. NVM Express describes it as the register interface and command set for PCI Express attached storage, designed for high bandwidth and low latency. The practical question is which of these your server, bay or controller takes, and only your own hardware documents can answer that.

What each interface looks like: a class example from one maker

The Samsung figures in this section are a class example only: an illustration of what each interface looks like on a maker's page, not a description of any row in our tables.

On those pages the SAS drive reads roughly eight times as fast as the SATA drive in a straight sequential test. The NVMe example, the PM9A3, is a PCIe 4.0 drive with sequential reads quoted at up to 6,800 MB/s, offered in E1.S, U.2 and M.2 form factors. A maker offering a form factor tells you what exists, not what you can buy here.

Enterprise SSD prices on Amazon.co.uk

The full table holds 35 in-stock server SSD rows, sorted by pounds per TB inc VAT, with the lowest at £134.89/TB. Prices are for whatever Amazon.co.uk lists at the time shown at the top of the page. The Condition column separates new from used, so read it before treating two rows as comparable.

Two choices shape this table. A filter removes Micron 2400 M.2 listings, which we do not class as enterprise drives. And a row with no stated interface can appear here without appearing in the interface tables below, so the NVMe and SATA counts need not add up to the total above.

NVMe server SSD drives in stock

The NVMe query returns 20 rows, starting at £185.00/TB, led by Intel 4TB SSD DC P4510 2.5 U.2 NVMe PCIe SSDPE2KX040T8 SSDPE2KX040T801 Solid... (used) at £739.99. We do not split this table by form factor, so any U.2, U.3 or M.2 rows sit together. Look at the title of each row before comparing, because a server bay and a motherboard slot are different purchases even when the interface name is the same. The PCIe generation also needs confirming from the listing or the maker's sheet.

Enterprise SSD SATA: data center SSD SATA rows

The SATA query returns 13 rows, from £134.89/TB. The class example above reaches up to 550 MB/s on sequential reads on its 6 Gb/s interface, well short of the SAS and NVMe examples. If you are choosing SATA, the question to settle is whether your bay or controller calls for it. As with every row here, the maker's sheet for that exact part number is what counts.

SAS enterprise SSDs: what this page can and cannot show

The query returns 0 SAS rows. We print no separate SAS table; any SAS row appears in the full table above. The class example prices nothing. If your server needs SAS, the decision between SAS vs NVMe depends on your backplane.

Kioxia data center SSD: maker facts, no price table

Kioxia lists its PM Series as dual-port 24G SAS SSDs in a 2.5-inch, 15 mm form factor, and gives the PM7 interface as SAS-4 at 22.5 Gbit/s. Its CM Series are PCIe/NVMe SSDs in E1.S, E3.S and 2.5-inch form factors. PM and CM both state PLP; the PM section also offers security and encryption options.

Treat this section as orientation. Any Kioxia row would appear in the tables above; check its title for form factor.

DWPD and power loss protection: what to confirm on the sheet

Kioxia defines one drive write per day as writing and rewriting the drive to full capacity once a day, and DWPD is a common way to state endurance in writes per day. On the class example, Samsung's PM893 page gives 1.0 DWPD, which at its largest 7.68 TB would be 7.68 TB written a day on our arithmetic. This page makes no endurance comparison with consumer SSDs, because we have read no consumer maker's figures.

Before buying any row, take its exact part number to the maker's own document and confirm these points:

• Interface and form factor, against your server's bay or controller documents.
• DWPD, at the capacity you are buying, since endurance is stated per model.
• Power loss protection, which Kioxia states for its PM and CM Series and Samsung's PM893 page lists, but which you should not assume for another model.
• Warranty. The PM893 page lists a limited 5-year warranty for that product, and that says nothing about any listing in our tables.
• Condition, from the table, plus the seller's wording on Amazon.co.uk for any used row.