Fadu Echo U.2 7.68TB Enterprise SSD Review - Powerful and Efficient

TweakTown Rating: 98%

Our Verdict

The Fadu Echo U.2 7.68TB is powerful, efficient and a mixed workload wonder all wrapped up in one.

Pros

• Up to 3.33 million RR IOPS
• Mixed workloads
• Power efficiency

Cons

• None

Should you buy it?

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Introduction and Drive Details

The South Korean-based company Fadu is a major player in the enterprise storage world, so we are glad to get our hands on its latest and greatest enterprise offering. The Fabless storage company is one of many such entities currently occupying the enterprise storage space, and as others have, Fadu has carved out a large presence in the worldwide datacenter storage ecosystem.

The Fadu Echo PCIe 5.0 SSD platform is designed for Hyperscaler, Hyper-Converged, Cloud, Edge, and Enterprise storage arrays and servers. Fadu's Echo series SSDs are powered by Fadu's own in-house developed FC5161 16-channel controller. The Echo Series is among the first PCIe Gen5 SSDs to support FDP and 64 Physical Functions. Additionally, the Echo PCIe 5.0 SSDs offer class-leading power efficiency and performance.

This SSD stands out as one of the best performing of its kind we've ever encountered, so let's get into the review and find out exactly what the Echo U.2 7.68TB enterprise SSD can do for you by the numbers.

Specs/Comparison Products

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Fadu Echo U.2 7.68TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD

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Fadu's Echo PCIe Gen 5 is available at capacity points ranging from 1.92TB -30.72TB. Form factors include E1.S, E3.S, and U.2 in the 15mm 2.5-inch form factor. The drive we have in hand is 7.68TB Fadu FC5161 16-channel controlled and arrayed with Kioxia BiCS 6 eTLC flash. These SSDs are compatible with major operating systems such as RHEL, SLES, CentOS, Ubuntu, Windows Server, and VMware ESXi.

Test System Specs & Enterprise Testing Methodology

Enterprise SSD Test System

Prior to the AI revolution, datacenter SSDs' normal operating range would typically never exceed QD32. With AI data pipeline storage being directed by GPU, high queue depth performance has become paramount. Queue depths in the thousands are now commonplace, which is why we've changed our test platform, methodology, and operating system. Our charted upper queue depth range has been revised from QD256 to QD4096 for random data and up to QD1024 for sequential testing.

Testing Methodology

TweakTown strictly adheres to industry-accepted Enterprise Solid State Storage testing procedures. Each test we perform repeats the same sequence of the following steps:

1. Secure Erase SSD
2. Write the entire capacity of SSD 2x (2 loops) with 128KB sequential write data, seamlessly transition to the next step (sequential testing skips step 3)
3. Precondition SSD by filling the drive twice with 4K or 8K random writes
4. Run test-specific workload with a 30-second ramp up for 5 minutes at each measured Queue Depth, and record average result

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Benchmarks - Sequential

128K Sequential Write/Read

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We precondition the drive using 100 percent sequential 128K writes at QD256 using 1-thread for 2-drive fills, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state and to verify steady-state is in effect as we seamlessly transition into testing at queue depth. A steady-state is achieved after 1-drive fill. Average steady-state 128K sequential write performance at QD256 is approximately 10,300 MB/s. The unusually tight pattern here is a testament to superior QOS.

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Fadu specs its Echo U.2 7.68TB SSD as capable of delivering up to 10,000 MB/s 128K sequential write throughput. We are getting up to 10,600 MB/s, so the factory spec seems to be on the conservative side. This is the third-best 128K sequential write throughput we've extracted from any enterprise SSD. Impressive. Additionally, we like the way it is running at full speed at only QD2.

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Here, the drive is factory spec'd for up to 14,000 MB/s 128K sequential read throughput. We are hitting up to 13,735 MB/s, so close enough.

Benchmarks - Random

4K Random Write/Read

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We precondition the drive using 100 percent random 4K writes at QD256 for 2-drive fills, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state and to verify steady-state is in effect as we seamlessly transition into testing at queue depth. A steady-state is achieved after 1-drive fill. Average steady-state 4K random write performance at QD256 is approximately 500K IOPS.

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Our 7.68TB contender is rated at up to 400K for 4K random write IOPS. We are getting up to 509K, so again, this is excellent. As the chart demonstrates, our test subject delivers incredibly well for a 1-DWPD SSD. In fact, it's the best we've encountered to date for a 1-DWPD SSD. Impressive.

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Factory spec here is up to 3,200K IOPS at QD512. We are getting 3,300K IOPS at QD512 with our configuration. This is outstanding and is the second-best 4K random read performance at QD512 that we've encountered to date.

4K 7030

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Here, our 7.68TB contender is delivering better at queue depths of 32 and beyond than any 1-DWPD SSD appearing on our chart. Some 1-DWPD SSDs crumble when mixed workloads are introduced, but this is where the Echo Series delivers its most compelling performance, capable even of running right there with many 3-DWPD competitors. Outstanding.

4K 5050

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As we add more programming into the mix, our test subject rises to the occasion by again delivering the overall best performance curve here for any 1-DWPD SSD we've encountered to date. Impressive.

8K Random Write/Read

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We precondition the drive using 100 percent random 8K writes at QD256 for 2-drive fills, receiving performance data every second. We plot this data to observe the test subject's descent into steady-state and to verify steady-state is in effect as we seamlessly transition into testing at queue depth. A steady-state is achieved after 1-drive fill. Average steady-state 8K random write performance at QD256 is approximately 250K IOPS.

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We expect 8K random to track pretty much the same as 4K random here, just at a lower IOPS rate because it's moving twice the amount of data. Exactly half of what we saw at 4K. Overall, depending on how you look at it, this is either the best or second-best performance curve for any 1-DWPD drive appearing on our chart. The Flume IO 5900 does deliver a bit more; however, we prefer the performance curve our test subject is delivering at QD1-4.

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At QD1-128, our test subject lags behind some of its peers. However, at QD256 and higher, our test subject began delivering some of the highest performance we've encountered to date.

8K 7030

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8K 7030 is representative of a common database workload. Again, depending on how you look at it, our test subject is delivering either the best or second-best performance curve for any 1-DWPD SSD appearing on this chart. If you run database workloads, we believe the Echo Series to be a best choice for a 1-DWPD SSD serving in this role.

8K 5050

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Just as we witnessed at 4K 5050, as we add more programming into the mix, our test subject rises to the occasion by again delivering the overall best performance curve here for any 1-DWPD SSD we've encountered to date. Impressive.

Final Thoughts

We are thoroughly impressed with Fadu's Echo U.2 7.68TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD. The drive is easily among the best of its kind currently in circulation. It lives up to all its factory specs, which is something kind of rare for a PCIe Gen5 SSD to actually deliver on. The drive is powerful, consistent, and very power efficient, using 20 watts or less.

Then there is its mixed workload prowess, where our 1-DWPD test subject delivers more than anything in its class at queue depths of 32 or more. As we see it, the Echo 7.68TB is our 1-DWPD mixed workload champion, making it an ideal choice for database applications where capacity vs footprint is a high priority.

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The Fadu Echo U.2 7.68TB is powerful, efficient, and a mixed workload wonder, all wrapped up in one, earning it our highest award. Editor's Choice.