Key Takeaways
1. Micron Technology launched three SSDs using 276-layer G9 NAND technology: the 9650, 6600 ION, and 7600, aimed at enhancing AI and cloud workloads.
2. The 9650 SSD features a four-lane PCIe 6.0 interface, achieving up to 28 GB/s read and 14 GB/s write speeds, with significant energy efficiency improvements.
3. The 6600 ION prioritizes storage capacity, offering models up to 122.88 TB, with a future 245 TB version, providing high energy efficiency and reducing power consumption.
4. The 7600 series focuses on low latency, with response times under 1 ms and competitive read/write speeds, effectively doubling random-write throughput compared to competitors.
5. Initial samples of the 9650 and 7600 are in customer qualification, with the 6600 ION set to ship in Q3 2025 and the 245 TB model by mid-2026, enhancing AI infrastructure capabilities.
Micron Technology has rolled out a set of three data-center SSDs using their 276-layer G9 NAND technology. These include the 9650 PCIe Gen 6 NVMe flagship model, the 6600 ION series aimed at high capacity, and the latency-focused 7600 PCIe Gen 5 drive. The goal of these new offerings is to provide a combination of high bandwidth, extreme density, and reliable response times to support the growing needs of AI clusters and cloud workloads.
Key Features of the 9650 SSD
The 9650 SSD stands out as the first drive to utilize a four-lane PCIe 6.0 interface. Micron states that it can achieve sequential transfer rates of up to 28 GB/s for reading and 14 GB/s for writing, along with a remarkable 5.5 million random-read IOPS. Furthermore, its enhanced power management allows for energy efficiency improvements of up to 67 percent compared to similar Gen 5 alternatives. This SSD is mainly designed for AI servers and is available in E1.S and E3.S form factors, which can be cooled by air or liquid. It also supports peer-to-peer transfers with Nvidia Blackwell GPUs through Astera Labs or Broadcom retimers, without needing to involve the host CPU.
Capacity and Energy Efficiency of the 6600 ION
When it comes to prioritizing raw capacity, the 6600 ION uses QLC NAND on a PCIe 5.0 platform. The initial capacities include 30.72 TB, 61.44 TB, and 122.88 TB, with a 245 TB model set to launch in the first half of 2026. Micron claims to deliver 4.9 TB per watt and has a 37 percent energy advantage over traditional HDD arrays. This enables a single 1U server to accommodate 2.4 PB of flash storage, significantly reducing rack-level power consumption by several megawatt-hours each day.
The Latency-Focused 7600 Family
The 7600 series completes the lineup as a mainstream Gen 5 option that prioritizes low latency. It maintains sub-1 ms response times on tasks like RocksDB and achieves sequential read speeds of 12 GB/s, write speeds of 7 GB/s, along with up to 2.1 million random-read IOPS. These specifications effectively double the random-write throughput compared to rival drives in the same category.
Initial samples of the 9650 and 7600 are already going through customer qualification, while the 122 TB 6600 ION is set to ship in Q3 2025, followed by the 245 TB version in the first half of 2026. Collectively, these three SSDs position Micron to enhance AI infrastructure with faster data paths, larger flash pools, and improved quality-of-service assurances, all built on a vertically integrated controller, firmware, and NAND stack.
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