Phison X1 SSD platform: Seagate Nytro 5350 and 5550 in the enterprise segment

Double news from Phison and Seagate. At Flash Memory Summit 2022, the two companies announced a collaboration for the Seagate Nytro 5350 and 5550 enterprise SSDs, both of which rely on the new Phison X1 SSD platform with PCIe Gen 4×4 connectivity.

Phison X1 SSD platform with high speed

The first innovation here marks the Phison X1 SSD platform, which is making its debut with the two Seagate models. The core competencies are said to include not only high speed, but also superior energy efficiency.

The manufacturer’s E20 controller (PS5020-E20) is used, which first appeared in an integrator list of the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory in February 2022.

It will be offered in the U.3 format, which is common in the enterprise segment. The new platform’s benefits include capacities of up to 15.36 TB (1DWDP) and 12.8 TB (3DWPD), respectively, as well as speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s sequential read and up to 7,200 MB/s sequential write – which are very good numbers indeed for PCIe 4.0 SSDs.

1.75 million IOPS in 4K random read and 470,000 IOPS in 4K random write also sound quite promising. A 3D eTLC NAND flash with 128 layers is used. Furthermore, the highest possible performance with the best possible energy efficiency and low power consumption within the class is promised.

On the product website, Phison reveals in detail all the details about the X1 platform, which can be adapted in custom design by manufacturers for a fee. The first customer is Seagate. The manufacturer was also involved in the development of the platform.

Seagate Nytro 5350 and 5550 use X1 platform

The first enterprise SSDs to use the new Phison X1 SSD platform are the Seagate Nytro 5350 and 5550 models. They realize exactly the performance values promised by Phison and only differ in terms of their application area.

The 5350 is designed for a low write volume (1 DWPD) and comes with a maximum capacity of 7.68 TB, while the 5550 with a maximum of 6.4 TB is intended for mixed workloads (3 DWPD).

So far, the data sheet from Seagate does not mention the maximum storage capacities promised by Phison. It only states that “capacities of up to 15 TB should be available shortly”. Furthermore, support for U.2 and U.3 interfaces and two ports for active-active high availability are offered.

While Seagate is at the maximum of what is possible with PCIe 4.0 connectivity with the offered performance, Kioxia is already launching the first Gen 5 SSDs with the CM7. And that is also with a U.2/U.3 connection, but with up to 30.72 TB capacity and speeds of more than 14 GB/s.

The Seagate Nytro 5350 and 5550 SSDs are to be delivered to business customers this month, at least in the presented capacities. However, the manufacturer does not mention details about the prices.