OCZ Technology Launches Next Generation Z-Drive R2 PCI-Express Solid State Drive

[btarunr]

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), announces the Company's plan to enter mass production of the Z-Drive R2 Solid State Drive (SSD) Series, the second rendition of the original Z-Drive family. The Z-Drive R2 builds on the existing solution but provides greater performance and design flexibility due to the implementation of a series of optimized NAND modules.

"Our 4th generation PCIe SSD, the Z-Drive R2, tackles the performance challenges facing enterprise IT professionals head-on" said Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group. "The Z-Drive R2 is a total solution that delivers exceptional performance over a wide of range of applications due to its superior sequential performance, making it a winner in both high IOP and high-throughput environments. In addition, it is the only bootable and field serviceable PCIe SSD option on the market today, and due to an innovative interchangeable module design, it enables low cost field upgradability and capacity increases giving storage architects unprecedented flexibility."



The innovative Z-Drive R2 SSD maximizes bandwidth by taking the SATA bottleneck out of the equation and utilizes the speed advantages of the PCI-Express interface. Unlike competing solutions, the Z-Drive family is bootable and with 8 PCI-E lanes and an eight-way1 RAID 0 configuration, the R2 delivers performance ideal for enterprise applications that are limited by HDD technology. What also makes the R2 especially exceptional is the use of interchangeable modules in the place of permanent, surface-mounted NAND; this unique feature-set is designed to make the Z-Drive field-serviceable and field-upgradeable.

Addressing the emerging performance demands of storage area networks (SANs), workstations, and servers, the Z-Drive R2 creates new possibilities in enterprise data management. The R2 delivers extremely fast transfer rates up to 1.4 GB/s, while offering enhanced reliability and durability compared to mechanical hard drives.

Promoting greater productivity for a broad range of applications spanning across virtualization, caching, and high-end storage, the Z-Drive R2 can also provide cost savings when considering the total cost of ownership (TCO) versus complex and hard to maintain HDD infrastructures. With capacities ranging from 256GB to 2TB, the R2 makes SSDs a viable alternative to large, power-consuming hard drive arrays. Furthermore, OCZ offers customization options for OEM clients that may require tailored hardware or firmware solutions for their business.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Fitseries3]

looks sick... although i would expect the throughput to be a bit higher.

price is going to be the killer.

 

[dertimaushh]

only bootable and field serviceable PCIe SSD option

Yes its bootable I want the 2TB Version And my Harddrives could retire.

But i think it has the same pricetag as a middelclass car.

 

[dani31]

I wonder if the hdd led would blink during activity

 

[dertimaushh]

Nope too fast for an ordinary HDD-LED

 

[Arrakis9]

if they bring it out with just the bare bones and sell the flash memory separately, i could see this being very successful

 

[cauby]

looks sick... although i would expect the throughput to be a bit higher.

price is going to be the killer.

i know it's not the same SSD,but just to get you the idea:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/ocz-colossus-ssd-3.5-1tb,9116.html

 

[DigitalUK]

reminds me of the old amiga graphics cards, you could just add more memory by slotting in a new stick.

 

[mechtech]

these kinda monies
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227499

 

[a_ump]

these kinda monies
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227499

that's just strange, i don't think i've personally seen a x8 slot. just x16,x4,x1. Does this even have a market??? i mean the MSRP for that has to be like 4G's or more. I can't see even enthusiasts paying for that.

 

[alucasa]

that's just strange, i don't think i've personally seen a x8 slot. just x16,x4,x1. Does this even have a market??? i mean the MSRP for that has to be like 4G's or more. I can't see even enthusiasts paying for that.

8x can fit into 16x and 8x.

Personally, I haven't seen 8x lane slot even on server boards. It will most likely be used in 16x lane slot.

 

[Disparia]

It's a fairly popular lane configuration on server boards, with a lot of boards having physical x16 and x8 slots with 8 lanes.

Besides Quadros and other GPGPU, most cards (SAS/RAID/NIC controllers) are x4 or x8.

 

[Yukikaze]

8x can fit into 16x and 8x.

Personally, I haven't seen 8x lane slot even on server boards. It will most likely be used in 16x lane slot.

Intel DP55KG (and the DP55WG) has actual open-ended PCIe X8 and X4 slots with the card-locks separated from the slot. It is actually an arrangement that makes much sense, since it frees up some board space for other components underneath.

Here's a pic:

 

[newconroer]

I'm starting to struggle to keep up with where SSD technology is at the moment.
When they first came out - and for some time afterwards - they had major random read/write issues, causing stuttering and latency that was worse than an old 5400 SATA mechanical drive.
With like any marketing, they boasted about the burst speeds but never told you the negative stuff - reminds me of desktop monitors.

However Intel's series managed to actually address random seek/write speeds, and I wonder if that's why they were the most expensive (and still are fairly costly). Corsair dropped a few models on us, and they were terrible.

It's been a year or so since then? I've considered SSD in a new system, however while initially I was looking at the technology for the random seek/write speeds, to reduce drive lag and stuttering, I'm now resigned to the idea the SSD would just make my overall user experience a bit more snappy, but not necessarily awesome.

Obviously, manufacturers are aware of this, but whether they've actually made noticeable leaps and bounds, is what I need to figure out.
This PCI Express method turns the whole thing on it's head for me.

 

[Suijin]

I'm starting to struggle to keep up with where SSD technology is at the moment.
When they first came out - and for some time afterwards - they had major random read/write issues, causing stuttering and latency that was worse than an old 5400 SATA mechanical drive.
With like any marketing, they boasted about the burst speeds but never told you the negative stuff - reminds me of desktop monitors.

However Intel's series managed to actually address random seek/write speeds, and I wonder if that's why they were the most expensive (and still are fairly costly). Corsair dropped a few models on us, and they were terrible.

It's been a year or so since then? I've considered SSD in a new system, however while initially I was looking at the technology for the random seek/write speeds, to reduce drive lag and stuttering, I'm now resigned to the idea the SSD would just make my overall user experience a bit more snappy, but not necessarily awesome.

Obviously, manufacturers are aware of this, but whether they've actually made noticeable leaps and bounds, is what I need to figure out.
This PCI Express method turns the whole thing on it's head for me.

Yeah but the expense comes from the flash memory though, so those large numbers are going to be pricy. I looked at the newegg link above and the 512 GB one was over $2000.

I'm hoping Intel is going to be putting out new SSD drives this summer like they did last summer. If they do I'm hoping for 160 GB for about $250, then I'll buy one and try it out.

I know the Intel ones are good in about every way. If you really want to read up on them goto Anandtech. He does good reviews of SSDs, and has found several issues with them in the past.

 

[Kitkat]

there isnt a hell in the universe where id pay that much. unless that hell gave u money by the hour for burning then id prolly just waste it on candy since u cant get full in hell.

 

[AsphyxiA]

reminds me of the pci slot cards that could run SD or DDR RAM a few years ago. Alecstar used it for his page file.

 

[Esse]

reminds me of the pci slot cards that could run SD or DDR RAM a few years ago. Alecstar used it for his page file.

Gigabyte I-RAM, wish they released a DDR2 version

 

[InnocentCriminal]

Instead of saving up for a whole new rig, I'll just keep saving so I can afford a 1TB version, hopefully by the time I have enough for the 2TB version they'll have shrunk in physical size.

The P84 is available in the UK for £3500.

 

[Hugis]

The 256Gb R2 m84 version is here for $1,926.79

While the top of the line p88 is listed for $8,941.79

 

[Hugis]

Innocent, that appears to be an older version.

from ocz site

OCZ Z-DRIVE R2 M84 PCI-EXPRESS SSD

Part Numbers
256GB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2M84256G
512GB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2M84512G
1TB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2M841T

OCZ Z-DRIVE R2 P84 PCI-EXPRESS SSD

Part Numbers
256GB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2P84256G
512GB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2P84512G
1TB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2P841T

OCZ Z-DRIVE R2 P88 PCI-EXPRESS SSD
Part Numbers
512GB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2P88512G
1TB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2P881T
2TB - OCZSSDPX-ZD2P882T

 

[InnocentCriminal]

I know, hence why I state that it's the P84, it's to show the price of the first generation. However I did type over R1 when editing it to say P84. Well spotted.

 

[amschip]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003EEMIHW/?tag=tec06d-20

10K for a piece. Sick even considering parts and R&D

 

[Mussels]

if i was running a massive performance needing server, this is what i'd use

 

[Yukikaze]

I am wondering if people realize that this thing is the equivalent of 2TB of 133Mhz SDRAM bandwidth-wise (Actually, it has a slightly higher bandwidth) ?

Price and all aside, that's one hell of a technological achievement.