SSSTC PJ1 3.84TB M.2 22110 SSD Review - Enterprise Grade Boot Drive

TweakTown Rating: 89%

Our Verdict

The SSSTC PJ1 3.84TB M.2 22110 SSD is an ideal enterprise grade boot drive.

Pros

• 8.25 watts
• Low queue depths
• Real PLP

Cons

• Sequential write speed

Should you buy it?

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Introduction and Drive Details

They are rarely spoken of in the enterprise storage arena, but M.2 NVMe SSDs can play a critical role in the data center. Enterprise-grade M.2 SSDs are much different than those that dominate the consumer market. As a critical link in the data chain for servers across the globe, these SSDs must be absolutely reliable above all else. Here, failure is not an option.

SSSTC or Solid State Storage Technology Corporation is a part of the Kioxia group, giving it a real advantage over much of its competition, because they have fab-level access to Kioxia BiCS flash, so it goes without saying that the subject of today's review is arrayed with Kioxia flash. On the controller front, SSSTC has chosen, what is in our opinion, one of the best PCIe Gen4 controllers ever made, InnoGrit's IG 5636FAA eight channel data center controller.

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This controller supports many enterprise critical features, including but not limited to end-to-end data path protection, thermal throttling, namespace management, online firmware updates, and TCG Opal 2.0. Additionally, our test subject comes equipped with an array of low-profile polymer solid-state capacitors providing full data protection in the event of power loss.

SSSTC states its PJ1 SERIES PCIe Gen4 x 4 Lane primarily targets enterprise servers. Key attributes include high performance, middle power, increased system responsiveness, high reliability, and enhanced ruggedness as compared to standard hard drives. The PJ1 SERIES PCIe Gen4 x 4 Lane series is available in different form factors that are electrically, mechanically, and software compatible with existing M.2/EDSFF/U.2 slots.

Our test subject is a 3.84TB M.2 22110 form factor SSD. The M.2 form factor is ideal for implementation as a server's boot disk for many reasons, including low power consumption, ability to run off chipset PCIe lanes, thereby freeing all CPU PCIe lanes for the GPUs and storage arrays. Additionally, as an M.2 SSD, the drive can be motherboard-mounted, and because it is a low-power PCIe Gen4 SSD, nothing more than an integrated motherboard heatsink is required for cooling.

Specs/Comparison Products

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SSSTC PJ1 3.84TB PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 22110 SSD

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The drive we have in hand is a 1-DWPD design, M.2 22110 form factor, 3.84TB in capacity, Kioxia 112-Layer TLC arrayed, and 8-channel IG5636 controlled. This configuration is rated for up to 850K IOPS and up to 5 GB/s sequential throughput. SSSTC's PJ1 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

A special thank you goes to Allyn Malventano, without whose help, we wouldn't be where we are with our Linux-based Enterprise SSD testing platform.

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

Note: Because the subject of this review is a form factor that we've not tested before, we will be presenting this review as a stand-alone without comparison.

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Benchmarks - Sequential

128K Sequential Write/Read

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We precondition the drive with 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 2,100 MB/s.

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SSSTC specs its M.2 2210 SSD as capable of delivering up to 2,000 MB/s 128K sequential write throughput. We are getting up to 2,100 MB/s, so the factory spec here is pretty much spot on.

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Here, the drive is factory spec'd for up to 5,000 MB/s 128K sequential read throughput. We are hitting up to 6,000 MB/s. This is excellent throughput for a power-sipping 8-watt Enterprise SSD. Additionally, we note its QD1 read performance is on par or even better than many much faster PCIe Gen4 and even Gen5 enterprise SSDs. Excellent.

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 93K IOPS.

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Our test subject is rated at up to 85K 4K random write IOPS. We are getting up to 98K, so again significantly better than advertised. We will point out that this is a very low IOPS rate in comparison to what we typically encounter from a TLC arrayed SSD; however, we are of the opinion that this is more than enough to serve its intended role at a very high level.

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Factory spec here is up to 850K IOPS at QD256. We are getting 916K at QD256 with our configuration. Again, we note its QD1 read performance is on par or even better than many much faster PCIe Gen4 and even some Gen5 enterprise SSDs. Excellent.

4K 7030

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Again, its low queue depth performance is outstanding, especially for an 8-watt SSD.

4K 5050

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As we add more programming into the mix, our test subject responds quite well, and in fact is again delivering on par with many PCIE Gen4 SSDs that consume double the power. 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 47K 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. Our test subject delivers exactly half of what we saw at 4K.

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This is a great performance curve. At practical queue depths, it is one of the better performance curves we've encountered from any PCIe Gen4 Enterprise SSD. Outstanding.

8K 7030

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8K 7030 is representative of a common database workload. Again, the drive's low queue depth performance is on par with most other PCIe Gen4 Enterprise SSDs we've tested, indicating our test subject can handle database workloads quite well.

8K 5050

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Again, its QD1 performance is as good or better than many other PCIe Gen4 Enterprise SSDs we've tested that consume up to double the power.

Final Thoughts

As we see things, SSSTC's PJ1 M.2 22110 SSD with PLP makes for a superior enterprise-grade boot drive. It offers plenty of throughput for its intended role, while consuming only 8 watts of power. Its form factor is ideally suited for motherboard mounting and integrated motherboard cooling. Its capacity of 3.84 TB is, as we see it, ideal for a server OS disk.

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SSTC's PJ1 M.2 22110 SSD has earned one of our highest awards.