Fadu’s FC5161 SSD Controller Unveiled in Western Digital’s PCIe Gen5 Enterprise Drives

Earlier this year, there was some mystery surrounding Western Digital’s new Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs. The company didn’t specify which controller was tucked inside these drives, leading many to speculate it was one of their own creations. However, a recent deep dive reveals a different story: these SSDs are powered by a controller from Fadu, a South Korean enterprise renowned for its SSD solutions, founded in 2015.

The Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD is engineered for the demanding needs of hyperscale datacenters and enterprise environments transitioning to PCIe Gen5 storage. Thanks to some investigative reporting from Storage Review, we now know these SSDs leverage Fadu’s FC5161 NVMe 2.0-compliant controller. This cutting-edge controller is packed with impressive features, including 16 NAND channels and an ONFi 5.0 interface that supports 2400 MT/s. It offers an enterprise-level suite of capabilities such as OCP Cloud Spec 2.0, SR-IOV, support for up to 512 namespaces, NVMe-MI 1.2, and robust security measures – features that distinctly stand out from other off-the-shelf controllers and predecessors from Western Digital.

Performance-wise, the Ultrastar DC SN861 doesn’t disappoint. It can hit sequential read speeds of up to 13.7 GB/s and write speeds reaching 7.5 GB/s. When it comes to handling random tasks, it delivers up to 3.3 million 4K read IOPS and 0.8 million 4K write IOPS. Available in sizes ranging from 1.6 TB to 7.68 TB, these drives offer durability options with one or three drive writes per day (DWPD) over five years. They come in two forms: U.2 and E1.S.

Although they share similar specs, each form factor is optimized for different demands. The E1.S variant is tailored with FDP and specific performance improvements for cloud infrastructure, whereas the U.2 version is tailored for high-intensity enterprise operations and cutting-edge applications such as artificial intelligence.

A unique aspect of the Ultrastar DC SN861 is its energy efficiency. Operating at a 5W idle power rate, it’s a standout feature, notably a watt lower than its predecessor, the SN840. While 1W might not sound like a lot, it matters significantly in large-scale deployments where every watt contributes to total cost of ownership.

Already available to select partners, including notable clients like Meta, Western Digital’s Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs are now making their mark, though pricing details remain under wraps and likely vary based on order size.

Sources: Fadu, Storage Review