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One Drive. 30 Terabytes. No Controllers, No RAID, No SAS Cables.

A 2U server with 24 U.2 NVMe bays populated with 30.72TB drives delivers 737 TB of raw NVMe storage in a single node — no SAS expander, no external JBOD, no RAID controller bottleneck. The Micron 6500 ION is the highest-capacity NVMe SSD in a standard 2.5-inch U.3 form factor, using Micron 232-layer 3D TLC NAND with a 1 DWPD endurance rating. It is the drive for hyperscale storage, AI data lakes, content delivery, and all-flash object storage where capacity density per slot matters more than peak IOPS.

Technical Specifications

Parameter	Specification
Capacity	30.72TB (also: 15.36TB)
Form Factor	2.5-inch U.3 (15mm, backward-compatible with U.2)
Interface	PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.4
NAND Type	Micron 232-layer 3D TLC (industry’s highest layer count)
Sequential Read (128K)	Up to 7,000 MB/s
Sequential Write (128K)	Up to 5,000 MB/s
Random Read (4K, QD256)	Up to 1,000K IOPS
Random Write (4K, QD256)	Up to 200K IOPS
Latency (4K Random Read, QD1)	~80 microseconds
Latency (4K Random Write, QD1)	~15 microseconds
Endurance	1 DWPD (5 years), 56,000 TBW (30.72TB model)
MTBF	2,000,000 hours
Power (Idle / Avg Active / Max)	5W / 18W / 22W
Power Loss Protection	Capacitor-backed, full in-flight data protection
Security	TCG Opal 2.0, SED, FIPS 140-2, secure erase (instant)
Physical	100.45 x 69.85 x 15.00 mm
Temperature	0C to 70C
Warranty	5-year limited (manufacturer), 56,000 TBW limit

One Drive Replaces Eight — The Consolidation Math

Configuration	Drive Count	Total Raw Capacity	Power (Drives Only)	Drive Cost (Estimated)
8x 3.84TB NVMe SSDs	8 drives	30.72 TB	~80W (8x 10W)	$2,800
4x 7.68TB NVMe SSDs	4 drives	30.72 TB	~60W (4x 15W)	$3,000
1x Micron 6500 ION 30.72TB	1 drive	30.72 TB	18W (1x 18W)	$3,500

The single 30.72TB drive costs more per terabyte than smaller drives, but it saves 5 drive bays — enabling 5x more total capacity in the same server. In a 24-bay server, 24x 30.72TB drives deliver 737 TB. 24x 7.68TB drives deliver 184 TB. The per-slot capacity advantage is 4x. The single-drive approach also eliminates 7 potential failure points (controllers, NAND packages, power circuits) for the same capacity.

Compatible Platforms

U.3 form factor, backward-compatible with all U.2 NVMe backplanes. Compatible with Dell R660, R760, R770, R7715, R860, R960, xFusion FusionServer V7, Lenovo ThinkSystem V3/V4. Verify platform supports 30.72TB drive capacity — older RAID controllers with 32-bit LBA may not address >16TB. PERC H965i and H755N support >16TB with current firmware.