Micron Technology has developed a 2.5-inch enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) based on a PCIe interface. The solution combines a high-performance PCIe interface with a hot-swappable 2.5-inch form factor. Because the 2.5-inch form factor allows PCIe SSDs to be integrated into the front end of the server (like traditional data storage drives), system administrators can easily service the drive or scale performance - without ever powering down the server.

The new solution has been selected as a key storage device in Dell's PowerEdge 12th generation servers. These servers use front-accessible backplane designs that accommodate 2.5-inch SATA, SAS, and PCIe devices, allowing the Dell's customer to choose the appropriate combination of data storage and caching devices to optimize performance and storage to suit their needs. The solutions can be configured by hot-swapping PCIe devices without powering down the server ? a requirement with existing PCIe card solutions.

Both Micron and Dell are helping drive adoption of this interface through their membership in the SSD Form Factor Working Group (ssdformfactor.org). The working group is an industry effort to simplify the adoption and integration of PCIe storage drives.

The new platform leverages Micron's P320h PCIe SSD design and is based on a custom-developed Micron controller.

Micron is currently in production with the P320h HHHL card and is sampling the 2.5-inch PCIe solution.