Fusion-io Announces Ultra-Fast Atomic Series Accelerators

Fusion-io just took the wraps off a new, high-performance series of MLC NAND flash-based accelerators that push the limits in terms of speed and capacity. There are two families of products in the new Fusion-io Atomic series, the high-end PX600 series and the not quite as high-end, but still drool-worthy SX300 series.

The Fusion-io SX300 Atomic Series products will be offered in capacities of 1.25TB all the way on up to a massive 6.4TB. The 1.25, 1.6, and 3.2TB devices feature low-profile PCBs, while the larger 6.4TB Atomic SX300 has a half-length, but standard full-height PCB. All of the drives have PCIe 2.0 x8 connections.

The maximum read bandwidth on all of the SX300 series parts is an impressive 2.6GB/s, with write bandwidth between 1.1GB/s and 1.2GB/s, depending on the model. Random Read IOPS are in the 180K to 215K range with Random Write IOPS of 285K or 300K. Endurance is rated for between 4 PBW and 22 PBW, again, depending on the model.


The PX600 series Atomic accelerators will come in somewhat lower capacities, but with higher performance and much longer endurance. The PX600 series will be offered in capacities ranging from 1TB to 5.2TB, with maximum read bandwidth of 2.7GB/s. Write bandwidth varies between 1.5GB/s and 2.2GB/s. Note, however, that to achieve the highest write bandwidth, an optional high-power mode must be used. In the standard 25W mode, 1.6GB/s is the max bandwidth for the 1.3, 2.6, and 5.2TB products. Random Read and Write IOPS peak at 330K and 375K, respectively, and endurance is roughly triple the SX300 series.

No word yet on pricing, but we hope to have our hands on samples soon.

Marco Chiappetta

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com