Samsung’s first enterprise ZNS SSD has up to 4 times longer lifespan

Samsung is making history today, as the company announced its first-ever enterprise ZNS (Zoned Namespace specification) SSD (solid-state drive) solution. It’s called the PM1731a, and thanks to ZNS technology, it promises up to four times longer lifespan in storage server, data center, and cloud environments.

The Zoned Namespace specification was first released by the NVMe organization last year, and in layman’s terms, the technology allows data to be grouped on SSDs based on usage and access frequency, thus improving performance as well as the SSD’s lifespan. In addition, ZNS also allows server systems to run big data and AI applications more reliably and efficiently.

These benefits combined significantly reduce the number of write operations and the drive’s write amplification factor (WAF). WAF represents the amount of actual writes a drive performs compared to the number of writes instructed by the host system.

A low WAF means that the drive is more efficient and long-standing, and thanks to ZNS technology, Samsung’s new PM1731a SSD is capable of achieving a WAF figure close to 1, down from the usual 3 or 4 WAF recorded by non-ZNS solutions.

The Samsung PM1731a ZNS SSD will be available in two configurations

Samsung’s first-ever enterprise-grade ZNS SSD was built upon the company’s sixth-gen V-NAND and has a 2.5-inch form factor. The drive has dual ports to ensure continuous operations with as little downtime as possible.

Samsung will release the PM1731a ZNS SSD in two capacities, with 2TB and 4TB of storage. Also worth noting is that ZNS technology allows users to take advantage of the SSD’s full capacity by eliminating the need for overprovisioning.

The drive is scheduled to enter mass production in the second half of 2021 but exact launch dates and prices are presently unknown.