Silicon Motion will expand its MonTitan lineup of SSD controllers—for datacenters and enterprise platforms—with the upcoming addition of a truly next-generation model. Wallace C. Kou (the company's founder and CEO) contributes to ChinaFlashMarket.com with a regular written column—his latest feature (posted on January 17) includes a short sentence dedicated to announcing his firm's new SM8466 design. This appears to be their first foray into PCIe 6.0-based interface territories—details are minimal (at this point in time), but the CEO divulged the very basics. Silicon Motion's engineering team is currently in the "development stage" with the SM8466 project—a: "4 nm PCIe Gen 6 SSD master chip."

It is not clear whether this next-gen PCIe 6.0 SSD controller will be heading to market anytime soon, but Kou's column mostly focused on current plans—likely signalling where priorities lie. Silicon Motion's "built-in PCIe Gen 5 SSD enterprise-level master chip" (SM8366) is in mass production—industry experts believe that the company's MonTitan PCIe 5.0 family has had a tough time keeping up with equivalent Phison products—in particular, the market leading PS5026-E26 (PCIe 5.0 x4) controller. The SM8366 could be potent enough to take the crown in higher-end enterprise segments, but the existence of a PCIe 6.0-based successor is bound to attract extra attention.

Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend), a leading global manufacturer of memory storage solutions, introduces the ETD410T, a new U.2 enterprise solid-state drive (eSSD) designed for high-performance computing environments. Tailored to meet the stringent demands of enterprise users for ultra-fast data transfer and reliability, the ETD410T adopts the PCIe Gen 4 x4 high-speed interface and U.2 15 mm form factor, featuring a DRAM cache for exceptional performance and robust data protection. It is an ideal solution for data centers and enterprise applications.

Durable and Stable for High-Frequency Workloads
The Transcend ETD410T is a professional solution optimized for read-intensive workloads. Compliant with JESD219 standards, it offers a durability of up to 7,000 Program/Erase (P/E) cycles to withstand frequent use over long periods. With Quality of Service (QoS) consistently maintained between 99.9% and 99.99%, it delivers stable and reliable operation even in demanding enterprise environments, ensuring consistent and dependable data access.

NVIDIA has released urgent security patches addressing eight vulnerabilities in its GPU drivers and virtual GPU software that affect both Windows and Linux systems. The January 16 update targets multiple security flaws that could enable attackers with local access to execute malicious code, steal data, or crash affected systems. Two high-severity vulnerabilities stand out among the patches. The first (CVE-2024-0150) involves a buffer overflow in the GPU display driver that could lead to system compromise through data tampering and information disclosure. The second critical issue (CVE-2024-0146) affects the virtual GPU Manager, where a compromised guest system could trigger memory corruption, potentially leading to code execution and system takeover. For Windows systems, users must update to version 553.62 (R550 branch) or 539.19 (R535 branch). Linux users need to install version 550.144.03 or 535.230.02, depending on their driver branch.

The updates cover NVIDIA's RTX, Quadro, NVS, and Tesla product lines. Enterprise environments using NVIDIA's virtualization technology face additional risks. One vulnerability (CVE-2024-53881) allows guest systems to launch interrupt storms against host machines, potentially causing system-wide outages. To patch these security holes, virtual GPU software users must update to version 17.5 (550.144.02) or 16.9 (535.230.02). The vulnerabilities specifically target systems where attackers have local access, which means remote exploitation is unlikely. However, in virtualized environments where multiple users share GPU resources, these flaws pose a significant security risk. System administrators can download the security updates from NVIDIA's Driver Downloads page, while enterprise vGPU customers should obtain patches through the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. NVIDIA recommends immediate installation of these updates across all affected systems.

Supermicro, Inc. (SMCI), a Total IT Solution Provider for AI/ML, HPC, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is showcasing the latest solutions for the retail industry in collaboration with NVIDIA at the National Retail Federation (NRF) annual show. As generative AI (GenAI) grows in capability and becomes more easily accessible, retailers are leveraging NVIDIA NIM microservices, part of the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform, for a broad spectrum of applications.

"Supermicro's innovative server, storage, and edge computing solutions improve retail operations, store security, and operational efficiency," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "At NRF, Supermicro is excited to introduce retailers to AI's transformative potential and to revolutionize the customer's experience. Our systems here will help resolve day-to-day concerns and elevate the overall buying experience."

IQVIA, the world's leading provider of clinical research services, commercial insights and healthcare intelligence, is working with NVIDIA to build custom foundation models and agentic AI workflows that can accelerate research, clinical development and access to new treatments. AI applications trained on the organization's vast healthcare-specific information and guided by its deep domain expertise will help the industry boost the efficiency of clinical trials and optimize planning for the launch of therapies and medical devices—ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Operating in over 100 countries, IQVIA has built the largest global healthcare network and is uniquely connected to the ecosystem with the most comprehensive and granular set of information, analytics and technologies in the industry. Announced today at the J.P. Morgan Conference in San Francisco, IQVIA's collection of models, AI agents and reference workflows will be developed with the NVIDIA AI Foundry platform for building custom models, allowing IQVIA's thousands of pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device customers to benefit from NVIDIA's agentic AI capabilities and IQVIA's technologies, life sciences information and expertise.

Synology today announced the general availability of ActiveProtect, a new line of data protection appliances that integrate enterprise backup software, server, and backup repository into a unified solution. Designed to simplify complex data protection, ActiveProtect offers comprehensive platform support, advanced security, and scalability, all with a transparent pricing model.

"Data protection should empower businesses, not burden businesses," said Jia-Yu Liu, Executive Vice President at Synology. "ActiveProtect embodies Synology's expertise in hardware and software engineering and insights from close collaboration with customers. We are confident that ActiveProtect will exceed enterprises' expectations for data protection."

InWin has showcased several new server chassis models at CES—these new introductions form part of the company's efforts to expand regional IPC, server, and systems assembly operations going into 2025. New manufacturing facilities in the USA and Malaysia were brought online last year, and new products have sprung forth. TechPowerUp staffers were impressed by InWin's RG650B model—this cavernous rackmount GPU server has been designed with AI and HPC applications in mind. Its 6.5U dual-chamber design is divided into two sections with optimized and independent heat dissipation systems—GPU accelerators are destined for the 4.5U space, while the motherboard and CPUs go into the 2U chamber.

The RG650B's front section is dominated by the nine pre-installed hot swappable 80 x 30 mm (12,000 RPM max. rated) PWM fans. This array should provide plenty of cooling for any contained hardware; these components will be powered by an 80 Plus Titanium CRPS 3200 W PSU (with four 12V-2x6 pin connectors). InWin's spec sheet states that their RG650B supports 18 FHFL PCI-Express slots with four PCI-Express riser cables—granting plenty of potential for the installation of add-in boards.

ASUS today announced ASUS ExpertCenter P500 Mini Tower (P500MV), a high-performance desktop PC for that's designed to redefine value and performance for small businesses. With the new ASUS Tower Air Cooler thermal design and powered by the latest up to Intel Core i7 processor, P5 Mini Tower unleashes up to 95 W TDP—delivering 30% better peak performance than competitors in its class. With exceptional energy efficiency, this powerful new desktop also saves up to 38% energy.i

Security is paramount with ExpertCenter P500 Mini Tower, so it's backed by the reassurance of multiple ASUS ExpertGuardian protections. This powerhouse meets commercial-grade standards with a NIST SP 800-155-compliant BIOS, while ASUS assures at least five years of BIOS and driver updates to protect critical data.

Alphacool International GmbH, based in Germany and a leading manufacturer in the field of water cooling, proudly presents the new graphics card water coolers for the latest NVIDIA Geforce RTX 5080 and 5090 generation.

The Alphacool Core GPU water cooler has been completely redesigned, and its appearance has also been adjusted. To further optimize cooling, all distances between the cooler and the components of the PCB were redefined and tested. The entire water flow was simulated using the latest software and then practically verified.

Dell Technologies builds on decades of PC innovation with a new, simplified portfolio featuring on-device AI for greater end-user creativity and productivity. To accelerate AI PC adoption across enterprises, Dell also provides developers and IT administrators with the tools to seamlessly build and deploy AI applications to Dell AI PCs.

As the number one provider of commercial AI PCs, Dell expands its portfolio with new product designs, increased performance and battery life, the latest silicon innovation and AI accelerators, and industry-leading capabilities across software, management and sustainability. Dell has unified its brand across PCs, displays, services and accessories to make it even easier for customers to find the right technology solutions they need today and in the future.

At CES 2025, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., today announced Qualcomm AI On-Prem Appliance Solution, an on-premises desktop or wall-mounted hardware solution, and Qualcomm AI Inference Suite, a set of software and services for AI inferencing spanning from near-edge to cloud. The combination of these new offerings allows for small and medium businesses, enterprises and industrial organizations to run custom and off-the-shelf AI applications on their premises, including generative workloads. Running AI inference on premises can deliver significant savings in operational costs and overall total cost of ownership (TCO), compared to the cost of renting third-party AI infrastructure.

Using the AI On-Prem Appliance Solution in concert with the AI Inference Suite, customers can now use generative AI leveraging their proprietary data, fine-tuned models, and technology infrastructure to automate human and machine processes and applications in virtually any end environment, such as retail stores, quick service restaurants, shopping outlets, dealerships, hospitals, factories and shop floors - where the workflow is well established, repeatable and ready for automation.

Transcend Information Inc. (Transcend) a global leader in storage solutions, introduces the new ETD210T enterprise 2.5-inch SSD, designed to meet the read-intensive needs of business users. Featuring enterprise-grade TLC (eTLC) NAND flash and a SATA III 6 Gb/s interface, the ETD210T includes a built-in DRAM cache to deliver fast data transfer, exceptional Quality of Service (QoS), ultra-low latency, and superior endurance. Ideal for read-intensive and high-capacity storage workloads in cloud and data center applications, it provides a reliable and efficient storage solution for enterprise computing.

Designed for Enterprises, Optimized for Data Centers
The ETD210T supports various enterprise applications, including data centers, virtualized servers, and large-scale data processing. Equipped with high-endurance eTLC NAND flash, it delivers exceptional read and write performance. Its endurance rating of DWPD = 1 meets the requirements of most enterprise-class applications, while its read and write speeds of up to 530 MB/s and 510 MB/s, respectively, address the need for highly efficient storage.

TrendForce's latest investigations found that the enterprise SSD market experienced significant growth in 3Q24, driven by robust demand from AI-related applications. Prices surged as suppliers struggled to keep pace with market needs, pushing overall industry revenue up by an impressive 28.6% QoQ. Demand for high-capacity models was especially strong, fueled by the arrival of NVIDIA's H-series products and sustained orders for AI training servers. As a result, the total procurement volume for enterprise SSDs rose 15% compared to the previous quarter.

Looking ahead to 4Q24, TrendForce forecasts a slowdown in enterprise SSD revenue as procurement demand begins to cool. Total procurement volume is expected to dip, with the peak buying period behind and server OEM orders being slightly revised downward. As shipment volume declines, overall industry revenue is also projected to decrease in the fourth quarter.

KIOXIA America, Inc. today announced that the cryptographic module used in KIOXIA CM7 Series PCIe 5.0 NVMe Enterprise SSDs has been validated to meet Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-3, Level 2 for cryptographic modules.

The FIPS 140-3 standard specifies a set of security requirements of the Cryptographic Module Validation Program administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), used as a security metric for federal agencies to procure validated IT equipment. Companies and federal agencies may prefer or may now be required to deploy newer, more stringent government standards - which SSDs validated to FIPS 140-3 requirements would meet. Compared to the previous FIPS 140-2 requirements, 140-3 provides higher standards for SSDs, including a stronger authentication method and updated implementation guidance.

IonQ, a leader in the quantum computing and networking industry, today announced the delivery of IonQ Forte Enterprise to its first European Innovation Center at the uptownBasel campus in Arlesheim, Switzerland. Achieved in partnership with QuantumBasel, this major milestone marks the first datacenter-ready quantum computer IonQ has delivered that will operate outside the United States and the first quantum system for commercial use in Switzerland.

Forte Enterprise is now online servicing compute jobs while performing at a record algorithmic qubit count of #AQ36, which is significantly more powerful than the promised #AQ35. With each additional #AQ, the useful computational space for running quantum algorithms doubles. A system with #AQ36 is capable of considering more than 68 billion different possibilities simultaneously. With this milestone, IonQ once again leads the industry in delivering production-ready systems to customers.

To address the growing demands for agile embedded networking, intelligent edge, and secure communication, Advantech, a leading provider of network security solutions, has launched a new series of x86 network appliances: FWA-6183, FWA-5082, and FWA-1081. Powered by AMD EPYC 9004 and 8004, and AMD Ryzen V3000 series processors, this series delivers advanced computing performance, high bandwidth, and lower TDP. These appliances are optimized for a wide range of workloads, from SMEs to larger-scale enterprise of network security applications, including edge computing, WAN optimization, DPI/IPS/IDS, SD-WAN/SASE, and NGFW/UTM.

Key AMD Embedded Network Advantages
AMD EPYC & Ryzen Series Processors:

• Breakthrough Performance
• Up to 96 cores/192 threads, ensuring scalable processing power.
• Expansive I/O Options
• PCIe Gen 5 with up to 128 lanes for high bandwidth and maximum I/O flexibility
• Optimized Power Efficiency

Aetina, a subsidiary of the Innodisk Group and an expert in edge AI solutions, is pleased to announce its debut at Supercomputing (SC24) in Atlanta, Georgia, showcasing the innovative SuperEdge NVIDIA MGX short-depth edge AI server, AEX-2UA1. By integrating an enterprise-class on-premises large language model (LLM) with the advanced retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technique, Aetina NVIDIA MGX short-depth server demonstrates exceptional enterprise edge AI performance, setting a new benchmark in Edge AI innovation. The server is powered by the latest Intel Xeon 6 processor and dual high-end double-width NVIDIA GPUs, delivering ultimate AI computing power in a compact 2U form factor, accelerating Gen AI at the edge.

The SuperEdge NVIDIA MGX server expands Aetina's product portfolio from specialized edge devices to comprehensive AI server solutions, propelling a key milestone in Innodisk Group's AI roadmap, from sensors and storage to AI software, computing platforms, and now AI edge servers.

Microsoft is introducing Windows 365 Link, a compact cloud PC for business users. The device costs $349 and measures just 120 x 120 x 30 mm, making it smaller than Apple's Mac mini. The compact size comes from the fanless cooling design and the fact that the device doesn't have local storage capabilities. This small computer has quite a variety of connectivity options, including one USB-C, three USB-A ports, HDMI, DisplayPort, and Ethernet connections, supports two 4K monitors, and has Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E wireless capabilities. The specific hardware details are not yet revealed by Microsoft.

It requires Windows 365 with Microsoft Intune and Entra ID, and it works with 365 Frontline, Enterprise, and Business editions. As with other cloud-based solutions, Microsoft will lock some of the security options, "features like Secure Boot, the dedicated Trusted Platform Module, Hypervisor Code Integrity, BitLocker encryption, and the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint detection and response sensor can't be turned off, further helping to secure the device". Microsoft plans to launch the device in April 2025, with early previews in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Businesses interested in testing the device can contact their Microsoft account team before December 15, 2024, to join the preview program.

QSAN Technology Inc., a leading provider of innovative storage solutions, is thrilled to announce the latest update to its enterprise NAS product line with enterprise unified storage manager - QSM 4, designed to set new standards for performance and management. The XN8100R and XN5100R series (single controller models) now deliver significantly enhanced capabilities for today's data-intensive business environments.

Enhanced Performance for Greater Efficiency with Enterprise NAS
QSAN's XCubeNAS models with the newly developed QFS (QSAN File System) demonstrate up to 10x faster data access than QSM 3 models. The high-core models of the XN8100R series work with SD4 NVMe SSD to further optimize latency and IOPS, delivering exceptional responsiveness and high-speed data access.

HighPoint's RocketAIC 6542AWW has established a new milestone for turnkey NVMe Storage. Despite the external RAID solution's tidy dimensions (it stands only 4.84 inches tall, 8.27 inches deep, and 9.25 inches in length), it is equipped with eight of Solidigm's D5-P5336 NVMe SSDs, and provides an astonishing 491.52 TB of enterprise storage capable of delivering 28GBs of real-world transfer speed; ideal for Edge Applications that demand fast, high-density storage solutions with small hardware footprint.

The compact external storage chassis' integrated power supply and powerful cooling system enable the NVMe media to be completely isolated from the host hardware platform. Not only does this free up interior space for the host server or workstation, it can significantly improve reliability and efficiency by offsetting power consumption and ensuring that waste heat generated by the SSDs never enters the computing environment.

Today, Hewlett Packard Enterprise announces its new high performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure portfolio that includes leadership-class HPE Cray Supercomputing EX solutions and two systems optimized for large language model (LLM) training, natural language processing (NLP) and multi-modal model training. The new supercomputing solutions are designed to help global customers fast-track scientific research and invention.

"Service providers and nations investing in sovereign AI initiatives are increasingly turning to high-performance computing as the critical backbone enabling large-scale AI training that accelerates discovery and innovation," said Trish Damkroger, senior vice president and general manager, HPC & AI Infrastructure Solutions at HPE. "Our customers turn to us to fast-track their AI system deployment to realize value faster and more efficiently by leveraging our world-leading HPC solutions and decades of experience in delivering, deploying and servicing fully-integrated systems."

Innodisk, a leading global AI solution provider, has introduced its new E1.S SSD, which is specifically designed to meet the demands of growing edge computing applications. The E1.S edge server SSD offers exceptional performance, reliability, and thermal management capabilities to address the critical needs of modern data-intensive environments and bridge the gap between traditional industrial SSDs and data center SSDs.

As AI and 5G technologies rapidly evolve, the demands on data processing and storage continue to grow. The E1.S SSD addresses the challenges of balancing heat dissipation and performance, which has become a major concern for today's SSDs. Traditional industrial and data center SSDs often struggle to meet the needs of edge applications. Innodisk's E1.S eliminates these bottlenecks with its Enterprise and Data Center Standard Form Factor (EDSFF) design and offers a superior alternative to U.2 and M.2 SSDs.

As AI accelerates data expansion, enterprises face increasing challenges in managing large volumes of data effectively. Tiered storage solutions have emerged as the preferred approach for balancing performance and costs. Solid State Drives (SSDs), with their fast read and write speeds, low latency and high power efficiency, are becoming the dominant storage selection for data centers and AI servers. Among SSD techniques, QLC SSDs offer unique advantages in costs and storage density, making them particularly suited for read-intensive AI applications. Therefore, high-capacity SSDs, such as 32 TB and 64 TB models, are gaining traction as a new storage solution in the market.

Read-Intensive Applications: Mainstream Enterprise SSD Use Cases
According to the latest research from FI (Forward Insight), up to 91% of current PCIe SSDs deployments are used in applications with DWPD of less than 1, and the share is expected to reach 99% by 2028. this shift underscores the increasing prevalence of read-intensive applications and data centers, a space where QLC SSDs excel.

Today, Cisco announced new additions to its data center infrastructure portfolio: an AI server family purpose-built for GPU-intensive AI workloads with NVIDIA accelerated computing, and AI PODs to simplify and de-risk AI infrastructure investment. They give organizations an adaptable and scalable path to AI, supported by Cisco's industry-leading networking capabilities.

"Enterprise customers are under pressure to deploy AI workloads, especially as we move toward agentic workflows and AI begins solving problems on its own," said Jeetu Patel, Chief Product Officer, Cisco. "Cisco innovations like AI PODs and the GPU server strengthen the security, compliance, and processing power of those workloads as customers navigate their AI journeys from inferencing to training."

TrendForce's latest findings reveal that NAND Flash products have been impacted by weaker-than-expected seasonal demand in the second half of 2024, leading to a decline in wafer contract prices in Q3. This downward trend is projected to deepen, with prices expected to drop by more than 10% in Q4.

Enterprise SSDs are the only segment likely to see modest price growth—supported by stable order momentum—with contract prices forecast to rise by 0-5% in Q4. However, PC SSDs and UFS will see more cautious procurement strategies from buyers, as weaker-than-expected sales of end products drive buyers to adopt a conservative approach. As a result, TrendForce projects overall NAND Flash contract prices will decline by 3-8% in Q4.