Launch of edge AI solid-state drives is pushing the technology

Innodisk is pushing the development of edge AI technology and, in doing so, has released a new edge computing SSD product line, comprising the 2.5” SATA 3TS6-P, 3TS9-P and M.2 (P80) 4TS2-P drives. Its new edge AI SSDs offers low latency, high DWPD, and large capacities. Also, the included iCell and AES technologies protect data from losses and breaches. It targets smart retail, smart city, smart fleet management, and NAS network storage applications. It offers high speeds, reliability, and industrial-grade high quality to meet the rising market demands.

With the rapid development of AI, IoT, and 5G, data utilisation has moved from cloud to edge applications, driving the necessity for edge servers and edge data centres.

Edge AI SSDs inside edge servers are needed to process data at high speeds at the source instead of delivering all data back to a central data centre, enhancing latency and lowering cost. For example, smart streetlights and traffic monitoring units depend on the SSD to offer high-speed read/write, a large capacity, and low latency to process data in real-time, and the same can be said for edge data centres. With the series reaching 6.4TB, these new SSDs are expected to disrupt the edge storage market and offer better experiences for end users.

CC Wu, GM of Innodisk’s Flash Division, pointed out that the company has already actively begun focusing on applications for the fast-growing 5G and AI fields. This new product line incorporates its R&D abilities in software, hardware, and firmware. With the release of specialised SSDs that combine the advantages of industrial SSDs with the characteristics of data centre SSDs, it hopes to seize edge computing business opportunities and satisfy the demands of the ever-growing sector.