Kioxia has introduced two generations of its XL-Flash storage class memory (SCM), a high-speed type of NAND memory originally designed to compete with Optane SSD technology by providing new levels of latency, performance, and endurance over standard flash-based storage. However, so far, only a few companies have released solid-state drives based on this type of NAND. This might change, as InnoGrit, a maker of SSD controllers, demonstrated a reference design PCIe 5.0 SSD based on XL-Flash memory at Computex that delivers up to an incredible 3.5 million random read IOPS. Therefore, there is a chance that independent makers of solid-state drives will release drives based on Kioxia's SCM.
InnoGrit's N3X SSD, based on the InnoGrit Tacoma IG5669 controller and Kioxia's 2nd Generation XL-Flash memory in SLC mode, is designed for latency-sensitive enterprise workloads that demand the utmost reliability. The NVMe 2.0-compliant controller supports a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface and enables sustained performance of up to 14 GB/s sequential read speed and up to 12 GB/s sequential write speed, as well as up to 3.5 million random read IOPS and 700 thousand random write IOPS.
