A nonvolatile high-speed memory "Intel Optane SSD DC P4800X" which is faster than NAND (SSD) and cheaper than memory (DRAM) is finally coming up

It is cheaper than DRAM using Intel's next-generation memory technology "3D XPoint" jointly developed with MicronNANDStorage much faster than the storage "SSD"Intel Optane SSD DC P4800XFinally it will appear in the market.

Intel® Optane ™ SSD DC P4800X Series
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/solid-state-drives/optane-solid-state-drives-dc-p4800x-series.html

Intel's first Optane SSD: 375GB that you can also use as RAM | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/intels-first-optane-ssd-375gb-that-you-can-also-use-as-ram/

I can understand why Intel is innovative for computing, why 3D XPoint technology was born, by seeing the following movie.

Revolutionizing the Storage Media Pyramid with 3D XPoint Technology | Intel IT Center - YouTube


Memory storage can be classified into three categories from "HOT" "COLD" "WARM" from three elements "performance (speed)" "capacity" "price".


High-speed but low-capacity and expensive DRAM is "HOT"


Low speed but large capacity and inexpensive HDD is "COLD"


NAND (SSD) with speed / price middle is "WARM"


These three memory storages are used in computers, and the latency (the smaller the number, the higher the speed) varies greatly.


The performance / cost of memory storage draws an exponential curve that it becomes faster if cost is increased.


"3D XPoint technology" is realizing a memory that is as low as a SSD as well as a DRAM, which is faster than DRAM and is faster than DRAM.


3D XPoint technology is a memory technology that can realize "HOT" performance in "WARM" price range.


The 3D XPoint technology can be applied to both the memory of the DIMM and the nonvolatile memory for substituting the SSD where capacity is important, relatively high form factor for DRAM substitution. It is memory that uses 3D XPoint technology to bury cheaply the performance between DRAM and SSD.


"DC P4800X" which is the first product as the "Optane SSD" series that utilizes this 3D XPoint technology for storage purposes was announced.


The inside of the heat sink looks like this. The form factor is PCI - Express (PCI - e 3.0 x 4).


DC P4800X is as fast as storage with random read (4 KB) up to 550,000 IOPS, random write (4 KB) up to 500,000 IOPS. Furthermore, even if IOP (the number of input / output per second) increases, there is a big advantage that latency hardly changes. First of all, a 375 GB capacity model will be released in the latter half of 2017 for $ 1,520 (about 170,000 yen), after which the 750 GB and 1.5 TB model will be released with PCI - Express and U.2.


The DC P4800X that can be used as a high-speed SSD can be used for cash applications or for extending DRAM. Moreover, it can also be used as memory by "Memory Drive Technology" which can be used only with the Xeon series. Both latency and bandwidth are inferior to DRAM Optane SSD, but since memory density is much higher, there is an advantage that it can build a large capacity memory at a lower price than DRAM.


Also, with respect to NAND, which is inevitable in speed reduction in the process of mixed reading and writing, the DC P4800X does not cause a decrease in speed and the response time will improve up to 40 times.


Using DC XPoint technology The DC P4800X, the first version of Optane SSD, is expected to be used in data centers and servers. The DC P4800X has been shipped to some customers on March 19, 2017 and will be mass produced in the second half of 2017 and will be put into the market.