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All SSDs, whether consumer or enterprise, share similar components and working mechanisms. However, some SSDs are designed for consumer or client systems, while others are specifically designed for enterprise environments.
But, what is the difference?
Consumer SSDs are designed and developed for general use with moderate read/write loads. These drives are optimized for tasks such as operating systems, file storage, running applications, and standard data read/write operations. The Enterprise SSDs, on the other hand, are designed to operate in a high-load environment and typically run 24/7. These drives are designed to meet the requirements of data centers, databases, and cloud storage.
1. Performance Difference
IOPS (Input/Output Operations per Second) is the most critical parameter that determines your SSD’s performance with random data. Your drive’s random performance determines how well it will serve applications, operating systems, database tasks, and other daily computer use.
Generally, you’ll find the enterprise SSDs rated for higher IOPS. However, modern consumer NVMe drives, especially 5th-generation NVMe SSDs, are now reaching 2 million IOPS. Some enterprise SSDs achieve over 2.5 million IOPS during 4K read/write operations. These differences between these theoretical numbers might not be huge, but the real difference is in the consistency of this performance. The sustained performance of commercial SSDs is significantly more stable. They are better optimized for queue depths and have better parallelism with a larger number of channels.
Suppose we look at the throughput, which is the amount of data sent per second; the sequential numbers for top Gen 5.0 consumer SSDs are reaching around 15,000 MB/s. The enterprise drives offer similar or slightly higher throughputs, but again, they are focused more on surviving and serving in harsh data centers and server environments.
2. Endurance and Lifespan
Endurance[1] can be understood and calculated using TBW and DWPD. If an SSD has a higher TBW (Terabytes Written), it will also have a higher DWPD (Drives Written per Day). The key feature of enterprise SSDs is that they come with higher endurance, specifically in terms of TBW. However, some specific features that make enterprise SSDs different and better include Power-Loss Protection[2], End-to-End data path protection, Uptime/Duty cycle design, firmware validation, throttling control, higher over-provisioning, strong ECC, and others.
The lifespan of enterprise SSDs is higher due to their lower wear over time, improved power management, superior NAND Flash, and a focus on quality rather than cost. Most popular consumer and enterprise SSDs come with a standard warranty period of 5 years. However, if you check the DWPD and TBW, the numbers from the enterprise drives would be significantly higher than those from the consumer drives.
But why are enterprise SSDs capable of enduring more than consumer SSDs? There are reasons for this.
The biggest reason is that enterprise SSDs utilize SLC, MLC, or eMLC NAND Flash, which are the most suitable types of NAND flash in terms of both performance and endurance. The main reason is that the memory cells inside these Flash memory chips can endure more read/write cycles as compared to multi-level cells.
3. Latency
Latency is a simple storage metric that refers to the total time taken for the drive to complete a single input/output operation. It is measured in µs. Lower latency correlates to faster access time. Access time is crucial in environments where real-time processing is necessary. Cloud computing and databases are the primary areas where access time is vital.
As we discussed earlier, enterprise SSDs primarily utilize SLC, eMLC, and MLC NAND flash[3]. SLC, which stores one bit per memory cell, comes with lower latency. This is because reading and writing data by interpreting a single state (high or low) of the cell is easier than reading and writing multiple voltage levels. Consumer SSDs generally use TLC and QLC NAND flash, which store 3 and 4 bits of data inside each memory cell. This makes the circuitry and data handling much more complex compared to the SLC. MLC and eMLC, on the other hand, are found in budget segment enterprise SSDs, which have slightly higher latency compared to SLC.
Another major factor contributing to latency is the controller architecture. Enterprise SSDs typically use multiple cores with high-end parallelism and better firmware optimization. These controllers are designed to handle complex operations and large queues efficiently. The controllers in consumer drives are often balanced between price and performance. They lack these advanced features and are designed to work on home or office computers.
DRAM size and optimization are much higher and better in the enterprise SSDs. DRAM in SSDs plays a significant role in reducing latency by quickly storing incoming data and frequently accessing it, rather than the NAND itself. It also helps in managing FTL and running algorithms like wear leveling and ECC in a much better manner. Consumer drives have low DRAM size, and sometimes, they can use HMB instead of DRAM, which makes caching much slower.
4. Reliability and Data Integrity
Although data centers and servers utilize advanced redundancy for reliability in data storage, enterprise SSDs are specifically designed with the primary purpose of ensuring reliability, endurance, and data integrity.
Enterprise SSDs enhanced reliability through advanced error correction codes (ECC), End-to-End data protection, and power-loss protection. Data loss could be a severe loss in enterprise and database environments. Therefore, manufacturers strive to equip these drives with the most reliable specifications possible.
Most consumer SSDs will also use these techniques, but on pretty standard levels. These drives generally lack advanced data protection features and, hence, are prone to data loss in many cases. In terms of physical reliability, enterprise SSDs have durable packaging and higher shock and vibration resistance.
5. Quality of service (Quality of Service)
Quality of Service (QoS is an essential aspect in networking and data center storage environments. In storage, this essentially refers to the consistency of a storage drive’s performance, characterized by predictable latency and IOPS. It is more about the consistency of the performance promised by a drive rather than the peak performance numbers. If a data center is to enter into a service level agreement (SLA), the storage medium must be capable of fulfilling its promises. No data center, cloud service provider, or even a small company would want to face losses simply because their storage drives failed due to a heavy load.
Consumer-driven designs are generally not thoughtfully designed with this in mind. Quality of service is crucial in enterprise environments because they must deliver their services under heavy and varying loads without compromising on quality.
6. Thermal Management and Cooling
Consumer SSDs typically operate under a normal temperature range from 0°C to 70°C. These drives start to throttle after 70°C. Some can go till 80°C. Throttling simply reduces performance to compensate for the heat. Generally, after 70°C, consumer SSDs will throttle and decrease to less than half of their original performance.
The enterprise SSDs are designed to tolerate much higher temperature ranges, exceeding up to 85°C. Although electronic components have limitations in terms of heat tolerance, enterprise SSDs utilize more efficient controllers and NAND flash in terms of thermal output. This helps generate less heat, and when heat is generated, they come with much better heat spreaders, airflow mechanisms, and thermal pads. The material quality, including the PCB, is way better in enterprise SSDs.
Within data center environments, enterprise SSDs are deployed in extremely dense structures. There could be racks with thousands of drives. This generates a lot of heat, which affects nearby drives as well. To optimize the performance in cold data center environments, enterprise SSDs often feature passive heatsinks or extra space around the PCB to allow air to flow around the components.
The normal temperature range in data centers typically ranges between 18°C and 27°C (64°F and 81°F), as recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Most data centers maintain a temperature significantly lower than this (up to 20°C) as a safety precaution.
7. Interface, Form-Factor, and Deployment
Enterprise SSDs come in different form factors and interfaces that our home or office computers aren’t even designed to tolerate. For example, enterprise SSDs are often available in U.2, U.3, EDSFF (Enterprise and Datacenter SSD Form Factor), and PCIe add-in card formats, which are specifically designed for server racks and high-density environments.
These drives also utilize advanced interfaces, such as SAS and NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF), which offer ultra-low latency and high throughput, far exceeding what standard consumer hardware can handle.
Consumer SSDs are designed for lower space consumption, better compatibility, and easy deployment even by normal users. The common form factors are M.2, 2.5″ SATA, and PCIe Add-In Cards. The common interfaces are PCIe, SATA, and NVMe.
Conclusion
All in all, enterprise SSDs are designed for better endurance, performance, lower latency, higher lifespan, data integrity, and good power management as compared to consumer SSDs. Data centers, servers, cloud-computing environments, and large companies deploy enterprise SSDs to store critical data, eliminating the risk of failure or data loss. Also, they can invest heavy amounts in each SSD, which normal users can’t easily afford.
Some people create their own small data centers in their homes or offices using enterprise SSDs but these setups require specialized equipment such as rack-mounted servers, advanced cooling solutions, and uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) to ensure the enterprise drives function optimally.
In a nutshell, Consumer SSDs can’t be compared with enterprise SSDs in terms of price, compactness, and variety. However, enterprise drives can’t be compared with consumer drives in terms of performance, reliability, endurance, and quality of service.
Thanks for Reading!
https://www.seagate.com/files/staticfiles/docs/pdf/whitepaper/storage-device-longevity-us.pdf
https://www.kingston.com/en/blog/servers-and-data-centers/ssd-power-loss-protection
https://www.usenix.net/conference/fast20/presentation/maneas?
