Phison Pascari X200Z 3.2TB Enterprise SSD Review - The Ultimate Caching Solution

TweakTown Rating: 99%

Our Verdict

Phison's Pascari X200Z 3.2TB SSD is the new standard in QLC caching, and with its massive 3.2TB of SLC flash can be ideal for other roles as well.

Pros

• Availability
• Sequential throughput performance
• Random throughput performance
• Endurance
• Low latency

Cons

• None

Should you buy it?

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Introduction and Drive Details

With the rise of ultra-high capacity QLC SSDs, the need has also arisen for SLC-powered caching SSDs. With SLC caching SSDs stacked in front of massive QLC storage arrays, the ultra-low endurance mass storage array can be buffered from its worst enemy, small file random writes. SLC SSDs used in conjunction with specialized software, cache random writes, compacts and reshapes them into large speedy and endurance friendly IU aligned sequentialized writes, further extending the endurance, lifespan and performance of the QLC capacity tier.

Modern caching solutions need to be ultra-low latency and ultra-high endurance. This is where SLC flash running on a PCIe Gen5 interface comes into play. The Pascari X200Z 3.2TB SLC caching SSD is simultaneously the highest capacity, lowest latency, and most endurant flash-based SSD of its kind we've ever encountered, making it likely the best overall QLC caching hardware available to date. The 3.2TB model we have in hand is rated at 60 DWPD or a mind-bending 350 Petabytes of endurance. Incredible.

Phison advertises its Pascari portfolio of enterprise SSDs as being built on over two decades of experience driving innovation in NAND technologies. The Pascari portfolio enables highly customized and off-the-shelf solutions to address specific storage deployment scenarios and workloads. With turnkey solutions for every enterprise application, Phison enables its partners and customers to identify and make the most of emerging opportunities across the data storage ecosystem.

Phison describes its Pascari Performance X-Series as follows: "Our highest performing enterprise-class SSDs designed for extreme write intensity with vast capacity options allowing for scale and efficiency while reducing operating costs. Pascari X-Series comes in the latest form factors and is unmatched in features, giving you custom SSD results with an off-the-shelf buying experience. The Phison X200 exists to support your diverse requirements in a single series. X200 delivers both single port and dual-port modes while shipping in U.2 2.5? and E3.S form factors to give your datacenter reliable and predictable performance that exceeds industry standards."

The fabless controller company further touts its Pascari X200 Series as having already attained design wins across the computing spectrum. These design wins include high-performance computing to video delivery platforms by hyperscale customers. The X200 platform currently serves a wide range of workloads in enterprise environments and datacenters worldwide.

For us the X200Z stands out as a readily available turnkey solution offering unmatched latency, capacity and endurance along with a higher level of mixed workload prowess than we've seen previously, so let's get into the review and find out exactly what the Pascari X200Z 3.2TB SLC arrayed enterprise SSD can do for you by the numbers.

Specs/Comparison Products

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Phison Pascari X200Z 3.2TB PCIe Gen5 x4 U.2 SSD

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Phison's Pascari X200Z Series SSDs are available at capacity points ranging from 800GB -3.2TB in the 15mm 2.5-inch U.2 form factor. The drive we have in hand is U.2 15mm, 3.2TB - Phison PS5302-X2 16-channel controlled and is arrayed with Hynix V7 176-Layer SLC programmed enterprise grade 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 10,000 MB/s. Additionally, we note that the IO pattern here is unusually tight, which is exactly what we are looking for. Impressive.

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Phison specs its Pascari X200Z 3.2TB SSD as capable of delivering up to 9,500 MB/s 128K sequential write throughput. We are seeing more than 10,200 MB/s, so the factory spec is a bit conservative. The drive delivers very well at QD1, which is something we highly value. Additionally, its consistency is rock steady at queue depths of two or more. Excellent. We will draw your attention to the P5810, which is a Gen4 SLC arrayed caching SSD and is currently a competitor to the X200Z. Huge advantage for the Pascari drive.

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Here the drive is factory spec'd for up to 14,800 MB/s 128K sequential read throughput. We are hitting up to 15,026 MB/s, which is a new lab record for sequential read throughput. Impressive. Additionally, we take note that at QD16 our test subject is outperforming every other high performance SSD we've encountered to date.

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 1000K IOPS. The pattern observed here is quite good. Its tight and consistent pattern with no outliers attests to its high QOS design.

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Phison's 3.2TB contender is rated at up to 950K for 4K random write IOPS. We are getting up to 1000K, so again, this is excellent. As the chart demonstrates, our test subject delivers the second-best performance curve of any SSD, which appears on our chart overall. This is especially impressive considering the capacity disadvantage inherent at 3.2TB vs. 6.4TB. Again, we see roughly double the performance of our test subject and the P5810.

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Factory spec here is up to 2800K IOPS at QD512, which is exactly what we are getting with our configuration. As we view it, the Pascari X200Z 3.2TB delivers the best overall performance curve here of any flash-based SSD we've tested. Its low queue depth performance here is stunning.

4K 7030

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We knew it would be good, but we didn't anticipate the drive's mixed workload performance would be this fantastic. By far the best we've ever seen, indicating to us that this drive can be the ideal choice for other roles than just a caching solution. If you need a mixed workload juggernaut, this is the SSD you've been waiting for.

4K 5050

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Again, roughly triple the performance of the P5810, along with the best performance curve we've ever seen from any flash-based SSD. 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 500K IOPS. The pattern observed here again is exactly what we love to see. Its tight and consistent pattern attests to its high QOS design.

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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. Here we find our test subject delivering overall the second-best performance curve of the SSDs appearing on this chart.

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Although it's not the best performance curve appearing on this chart, our 3.2TB contender does indeed deliver more than double what the P5810 can.

8K 7030

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8K 7030 is representative of a common database workload. This chart here perfectly illustrates a role other than caching where the X200Z can deliver at a higher level than anything else flash-based we've ever encountered.

8K 5050

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Everything just stated about its performance curve at 8K 7030 applies here as well, and even more so. Absolute domination with this crushing mixed workload. Amazing.

Final Thoughts

Phison's Pascari X200Z 3.2TB SSD is easily the most powerful flash-based SSD we've ever tested. As a caching solution, its low latency is unmatched as far as we know, making it our first choice for that role. Additionally, it has the highest capacity of its kind that we've encountered, making it even more appealing as we see it.

In our opinion, capacity might be king here as well as it is for other storage tiers. Its mixed workload performance is miles ahead of anything flash-based we've encountered previously. It's so compelling that we can see this drive being implemented for other high-performance, high endurance, low latency-focused storage use case scenarios like OLTP and Database or other scenarios where performance greatly outweighs the cost.

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It's the best of its kind we've ever seen, earning Phison's Pascari X200Z 3.2TB SLC SSD our highest award. Editor's Choice.