Toshiba Memory to deliver value SAS SSDs targeting SATA applications

New RM5 value SAS series brings improved performance, reliability and capacity at a price point that enables SATA replacement in servers

  • Düsseldorf, Germany, 20 June 2018

Toshiba Memory Europe (TME), European subsidiary of Toshiba Memory Corporation, unveiled today a new, game-changing category of SAS SSDs expected to replace SATA SSDs in server applications. The RM5 12Gbit/s value SAS (vSAS) series features capacity, performance, reliability, and manageability and data security advantages – at a price that obsoletes SATA SSDs.

RM5 Value SAS SSD series

A homogeneous SAS environment has long been the gold standard for enterprise server and storage systems. With vertical integration expertise in flash technology, firmware and controller design, Toshiba Memory Corporation leveraged its leading position as the world's leading[1] SAS SSD line optimising RM5 to close the cost gap with SATA – and usher in a new class of SSDs. SATA simply cannot compete with SAS, falling well short in terms of performance, robustness, and encryption options.

"Designed with affordability and server applications in mind, the Toshiba  RM5 vSAS series seeks to provide a cost effective and much higher performing solution to overcome the bottlenecks that are inherent with SATA today," comments Paul Rowan, General Manager for the SSD unit at Toshiba Memory Europe.

Where SATA drives often use SAS expanders to scale out, the RM5 enables the use of native SAS from end-to-end, eliminating the need for protocol translation to SATA. Customers can now take full advantage of SAS's richer feature set and realise performance throughput superiority over SATA.

Featuring Toshiba Memory Corporation's BiCS FLASH TLC (3-bit-per-cell) 3D flash memory, the RM5 series will initially be available in capacities up to 7.68TB[2] with a single 12Gbit/s port, SFF-8639 connector and in a 2.5-inch form factor. Sample shipments to OEM customers started in limited quantities, and Toshiba will gradually increase shipments from the third calendar quarter of 2018.

The RM5 series will be exhibited at HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) Discover in Las Vegas, U.S.A. until June 21, in the Toshiba Memory America booth #196.

Notes:

[1] SAS unit shipments, IDC Worldwide Solid State Storage Quarterly Update: Summary CY 1Q1 May 2018
[2] Definition of capacity: Toshiba Memory Corporation defines a gigabyte (GB) as 1,000,000,000 bytes and a terabyte (TB) as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1GB = 230 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes, 1TB = 240 bytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system, such as Microsoft Operating System and/or pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.

All other company names, product names, and service names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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About Toshiba Memory Europe GmbH

We, Toshiba Memory Europe GmbH, are European business of Toshiba Memory Corporation. Our company offers a broad product line of flash memory products, including SD Cards, USB flash drives, and embedded memory components, in addition to solid state drives (SSD). Our company maintains offices in Germany, France, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. President is Masaru Takeuchi.