Fadu FC5161 SSD Controller: WD Gen5 Drives Revealed
- Contrary to initial assumptions, Western Digital's Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD does not use an in-house controller.
- The Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD targets hyperscale data centers and enterprise clients adopting PCIe Gen5 storage. The drive incorporates Fadu's FC5161 NVMe 2.0-compliant controller. This controller...
- The FC5161 offers enterprise-grade capabilities, including OCP cloud Spec 2.0, SR-IOV, up to 512 name spaces for ZNS support, flexible data placement, NVMe-MI 1.2, advanced security, telemetry, and...
Western Digital‘s Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD leverages the Fadu FC5161 SSD controller, a surprising reveal for those tracking the latest in data center storage. This enterprise-grade SSD, built for PCIe Gen5, features the Fadu FC5161 NVMe 2.0-compliant controller, offering remarkable speeds: up to 13.7 GB/s sequential reads adn 7.5 GB/s writes. It targets hyperscale data centers and enterprise clients, with U.2 and E1.S form factors and capacities up to 7.68 TB. Key features include OCP cloud Spec 2.0, ZNS support, advanced security, and low 5W idle power consumption, making it ideal for resource-conscious deployments. Stay informed with News Directory 3 for breaking tech stories. Discover what’s next in the evolution of data storage technology.
Western digital’s Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD Features Fadu Controller
Contrary to initial assumptions, Western Digital’s Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD does not use an in-house controller. A recent teardown revealed that the company is using a controller from Fadu, a South Korean firm specializing in enterprise-grade SSD solutions.
The Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD targets hyperscale data centers and enterprise clients adopting PCIe Gen5 storage. The drive incorporates Fadu’s FC5161 NVMe 2.0-compliant controller. This controller uses 16 NAND channels supporting an ONFi 5.0 2400 MT/s interface.
The FC5161 offers enterprise-grade capabilities, including OCP cloud Spec 2.0, SR-IOV, up to 512 name spaces for ZNS support, flexible data placement, NVMe-MI 1.2, advanced security, telemetry, and power loss protection.These features are not available on other off-the-shelf controllers or previous Western Digital controllers.
The ultrastar DC SN861 SSD boasts sequential read speeds up to 13.7 GB/s and sequential write speeds up to 7.5 GB/s. It also delivers random performance with up to 3.3 million random 4K read IOPS and up to 0.8 million random 4K write IOPS.Capacities range from 1.6 TB to 7.68 TB, with one or three drive writes per day (DWPD) over five years. The SSD is available in U.2 and E1.S form factors.
Western Digital tailored each version for specific workloads. The E1.S supports FDP and performance enhancements for cloud environments. The U.2 model is designed for high-performance enterprise tasks and emerging applications like AI.
The Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD also features a 5W idle power consumption. hyperscalers, deploying thousands of drives, benefit from this low power consumption.
The Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs are available for purchase to select customers, including Meta, and other interested parties. Prices vary based on volume.