KIOXIA's new open-source RocksDB plug-in improves the performance and lifespan of SSDs

KIOXIA's new RocksDB plug-in is designed for multi-SSD RAID configurations, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in the era of generative AI, cloud computing, and data centers that store massive datasets. The free and open-source plug-in is designed not only to improve the performance of these modern RAID setups but also to increase and enhance the lifespan of the flash storage being used.

3

KIOXIA notes that in a 4-drive RAID setup, the RocksDB plug-in reduces the write amplification factor (WAF) by 46% while increasing throughput by 8.22 times compared to MDRAID. Even in a 2-drive RAID setup, WAF is reduced by a third. Write amplification is a common issue with SSDs or Flash Storage, where more data is written than intended; reducing this is a significant win for both performance and SSD health.

RocksDB is also a widely adopted database for both generative AI and cloud applications, so KIOXIA's open-source plug-in seems like a must-have for systems with large amounts of historical data that require high-performance searches.

KIOXIA is demonstrating its new RocksDB plug-in at its booth (A51) at the 2025 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit, which takes place next week at the San Jose Convention Center from October 13-15. The live demonstration will include the company's KIOXIA XD8 Series SSDs in a 2-drive RAID 1 configuration, showcasing performance and reduced WAF performance compared to standard Linux RAID mirroring.

KIOXIA's new open-source plug-in is expected to be released in Q1 2026 (January to March). "Kioxia will release the plug-in as an open-source contribution, underscoring its commitment to advancing SSD and flash memory technologies industry-wide," the company says. "By sharing innovations that improve efficiency, Kioxia continues to support the evolving needs of advanced computing infrastructures and data centers."