Western Digital expands its NVMe data centre SSD portfolio

Abstract image of an SSD flying quickly through the air on a black background
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Western Digital has announced two new SSD drives to its range of NVMe data centre and cloud solutions, which it says will enable businesses to utilise next-generation infrastructure from edge to core.

The new Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN360 NVMe SSD and the Western Digital CL SN720 NVMe SSD leverage the company's vertical integration features, which include its internally-developed controller and firmware architectures, as well as 64-layer 3D NAND technology.

Designed as a replacement for lower-performing SATA SSDs, the new drives offer businesses improved performance, scalability, endurance, as well as a low total cost of ownership (TCO) for public and private cloud deployments, hyperscale cloud environments and next-gen workloads at the edge.

"For our cloud and hyperscale customers, performance, economics, and endurance at scale are paramount," said Eyal Bek, vice president of data centre and client computing devices at Western Digital.

"The Ultrastar DC SN630 SSD and Western Digital CL SN720 SSD, both of which leverage our internally developed SSD architectures and 3D NAND, can help our customers step up from SATA to NVMe performance as they position their data centers for the future."

Optimised for cloud storage in the enterprise, the Western Digital Ultrastar DC SN360 NVMe SSD is a 2.5-inch, small form factor drive that delivers over three times the IOPS for mixed workloads when compared to SATA models.

Ideal for software-defined or hyperconverged infrastructures and the IoT, the drive will be available in two configurations: an up-to-6.4TB version for mixed workloads with two drive writes per day (2DWD), and an option for read-intensive workloads with up to 7.68TB capacity and 0.8DWD.

Purpose-built to handle boot and edge applications, the Western Digital CL SN720 NVMe SSD offers high random read IOPs performance, optimal endurance with encryption as well as extended enterprise validation for server operating systems' data centre applications. With capacities up to 2TB in the M.2 form factor, the drive purpose-built for edge servers, content delivery networks, cloud-based gaming, and IoT platforms, the firm said.

"Our strong partnership with Western Digital brings compelling flash performance and cost innovations to the fast-growing hyperconverged infrastructure industry," said Lee Caswell, vice president of Products, Storage and Availability at VMware.

"The combination of new Western Digital NVMe products, optimized for cloud and software-defined storage applications, with the award-winning VMware vSAN™ software can improve TCO and productivity for customers building out modern infrastructure."

Daniel Todd

Dan is a freelance writer and regular contributor to ChannelPro, covering the latest news stories across the IT, technology, and channel landscapes. Topics regularly cover cloud technologies, cyber security, software and operating system guides, and the latest mergers and acquisitions.

A journalism graduate from Leeds Beckett University, he combines a passion for the written word with a keen interest in the latest technology and its influence in an increasingly connected world.

He started writing for ChannelPro back in 2016, focusing on a mixture of news and technology guides, before becoming a regular contributor to ITPro. Elsewhere, he has previously written news and features across a range of other topics, including sport, music, and general news.