Western Digital has sent the first test samples of its new SSD Ultrastar DC ZN 540. Unlike practically all other common SSDs, this SSD cannot simply be used as a replacement for a hard disk: It works with flash zones, so-called Zoned Namespaces (CNS).

In principle, these SSDs are accessed like the host-managed version of the Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) known from hard disks: The drive controller, or rather the storage software, takes care of how the data is stored The drive itself simply provides the storage space.

Zoned Namespaces go back to an initiative by Western Digital, the manufacturer downloads via the website zonedstorage.io to collaborate on the new standard. The prerequisite for CNS is access via NVMe, CNS has already been incorporated into this standard as an extension.

According to Western Digital, ZNS not only ensures higher performance, but also better utilization of NAND flash. This should get a higher endurance, in addition, the SSD controller no longer has to worry about garbage collection, i.e. cleaning up the flash.

CNS SSDs will in all probability never be used in a desktop system. As the type designation of Western Digital’s SSD suggests, it is designed for use in a data center. Since these are the first samples of such an SSD, no prices are known yet. (ll)