Wednesday, September 16th 2009

OCZ Announces Immediate Availability of the Z-Drive

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and flash-based storage as an alternative to hard disk drives (HDDs), today unveiled the Z-Drive, a PCI-Express Solid State Drive (SSD) designed to meet the stringent demands of enterprise computing clients. Unlike other solutions, the Z-Drive provides a cost-effective formula of performance, reliability, and upkeep for enterprise customers and their applications which require the benefits of solid state drive technology, but have previously been hesitant to adopt competing products due to the sheer cost of implementation.

"Traditional enterprise storage technology typically requires overly complex infrastructure as well costly maintenance, and is often unable to deliver the level of performance required by OEM applications," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. "The new OCZ Z-Drive is an all-in-one high performance plug-and-play bootable PCI-E solid state drive that addresses these challenges head on, and meets the demands of the complete range of enterprise storage and data access requirements. The Z-Drive is designed not only to be higher performing and more reliable than conventional solutions, but also to significantly reduce both the maintenance and overall TCO for our clients."
The Z-Drive is the result of the latest breakthroughs at OCZ and builds on the company's expertise in flash-based storage. This proprietary SSD is bootable and takes the SATA bottleneck out of the equation by employing a high-speed PCI-Express architecture coupled with a compact enterprise-grade RAID array. With 8 PCI-E lanes and an internal four-way RAID 0 configuration, the Z-Drive delivers exceptional performance that translates to professional-class data storage in a complete, all-in-one form factor. Additionally, OCZ offers unique customization options for OEM clients that may require tailored hardware or firmware solutions for their business.

To accommodate a wide range of professional applications, the Z-Drive is available in multi-level cell (MLC) and single-level cell (SLC) models referred to consecutively as p84 and e84. Z-Drive pushes the envelope in storage performance versus competing traditional and flash based solutions:

In addition, these impressive speeds are achieved all while providing lower power consumption, superior durability, and shock resistance compared to traditional rotational-based drives, translating into exceptional energy savings and reduced maintenance costs.

An ideal solution for enterprise clients that put a premium on both performance and maximum storage capacity including servers, storage arrays, supercomputing, professional media, and industrial electronics, the Z-Drive is available in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB (p84 only) capacities to offer ample room for the complete spectrum of applications. The Z-Drive comes backed by a leading 3-year warranty and dedicated technical support, ensuring unparalleled peace of mind. Visit the product pages for more.
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24 Comments on OCZ Announces Immediate Availability of the Z-Drive

#1
Disparia
Anyone seen a shop with one for sale?
Posted on Reply
#2
Nailezs
wow...if i were filthy rich i would build a new system completely centered around this drive as a main drive and 2 other SSDs in a RAID 0 array...just...like...WOW
Posted on Reply
#3
Nick89
how much does it cost?
Posted on Reply
#5
Kenshai
pr0n InspectorHow do you boot from it?
Not sure but it says it is bootable. So it must be one way or another.
Posted on Reply
#6
pantherx12
I don't think you can boot from PCI-E SSD at all.
Posted on Reply
#7
Wile E
Power User
You boot from it just like you boot from a RAID controller card. It uses a boot bios. That's basically all this is. A controller with the storage built in.
Posted on Reply
#8
EarlZ
pantherx12I don't think you can boot from PCI-E SSD at all.
I dont see why its not possible.
Posted on Reply
#11
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
I think those prices still hold ground. I don't think it got much cheaper with the new designs.

And I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier (because the thread title space is limited and I stick to the headline), but this device is bootable.
This proprietary SSD is bootable and takes the SATA bottleneck out of the equation by employing a high-speed PCI-Express architecture coupled with a compact enterprise-grade RAID array.
From the product page.
Posted on Reply
#12
Fx
HEY OCZ, I KNOW YOU JUST ANNOUNCED YOUR ZDRIVE AND IMA LET YOU FINISH BUT FUSION-IO ALREADY SET THE RECORD FOR THE FASTEST PCI SSD RAID Array!!
Posted on Reply
#13
a_ump
wow, those are some crazy speeds. don't most SSD's only manage like 200mb/s
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#15
Kenshai
FxHEY OCZ, I KNOW YOU JUST ANNOUNCED YOUR ZDRIVE AND IMA LET YOU FINISH BUT FUSION-IO ALREADY SET THE RECORD FOR THE FASTEST PCI SSD RAID Array!!
The Fusion-io stuff doesn't even compare, it only comes in 80gb flavor for $900. It is slower, and can't be booted to. I'm pretty sure it doesn't compare.

Kanye is a jackass. :)
Posted on Reply
#16
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
so... i want one.
Posted on Reply
#17
DrunkenMafia
Link please!!! *waits patiently with credit card in hand"

It would be worth every cent. In aus a 30gb vertex is $200. 5 of those = 150gb = $1k. I reckon that z-drive would still be quicker.

Imagine one in my HTPC. lol
Posted on Reply
#18
gumpty
When I win the EuroMillions draw this Friday I'll by every person on this thread one of these.

:toast:

You're welcome.
Posted on Reply
#19
DrunkenMafia
Off topic

I read a story on the news today - We had the exact same numbers in our lotto 2 weeks in a row!!!!

Completely useless bit of info for everyone :)
Its like 1:64000000 or something...

Back on topic..
Posted on Reply
#21
MopeyMartian
DrunkenMafiaIt would be worth every cent. In aus a 30gb vertex is $200. 5 of those = 150gb = $1k. I reckon that z-drive would still be quicker.
Aw, that makes me kinda sad. In the states we just had a 30GB Vertex sale for $120 after rebate. Which would get you eight drives and (hypothetically) 1840 MB/s read and 1080 MB/s write.
Posted on Reply
#22
Wile E
Power User
MopeyMartianAw, that makes me kinda sad. In the states we just had a 30GB Vertex sale for $120 after rebate. Which would get you eight drives and (hypothetically) 1840 MB/s read and 1080 MB/s write.
Big hypothetical, as you would need a high end caching controller to achieve that.
Posted on Reply
#23
DanishDevil
And 8 different households to have the rebate sent to :p
Posted on Reply
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