ThinkSystem Nytro 3750 Write Intensive SAS 12Gb SSDs

The ThinkSystem Nytro 3750 Write Intensive SAS 12Gb SSDs are advanced data center SSDs optimized for write-intensive performance and endurance. These self-encrypting SSDs (SEDs) are based on the Seagate Nytro 3750 platform and are available in capacities ranging from 400GB to 3.2TB. They are engineered for greater performance and endurance in a cost-effective design, and to support a broader set of workloads.

Figure 1. ThinkSystem Nytro 3750 Write Intensive SAS 12Gb SSDs

Unlike SATA drives, the 12 Gb/s SAS interface on these drives supports full duplex data transfer for higher performance, and enterprise-level error recovery for better availability. By combining the enhanced reliability of Seagate NAND flash memory silicon with NAND Flash management technologies, Nytro 3750 SSDs deliver the extended endurance in excess of 10 drive writes per day (DWPD) for 5 years, which is suitable for many write-intensive enterprise applications.

Self-encrypting drives (SEDs) provide benefits by encrypting data on-the-fly at the drive level with no performance impact, by providing instant secure erasure thereby making the data no longer readable, and by enabling auto-locking to secure active data if a drive is misplaced or stolen from a system while in use. These features are essential for many businesses, especially those storing customer data.

The following tables list the information for ordering part numbers and feature codes.

The part numbers include the following items:

• One solid-state drive with a hot-swap tray
• Documentation flyer

The ThinkSystem Nytro 3750 Write Intensive SAS 12Gb SSDs have the following features:

• Performance server SSD suitable for write-intensive workloads
• Endurance of 10 drive-writes per day (DWPD)
• Compliant with the Trusted Computing Group Enterprise Security Subsystem Class cryptographic standard (TCG Enterprise SSC)
• 15mm industry standard form factor drive with 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch hot-swap tray
• SAS 12 Gbps interface
• Seagate 3D eTLC flash technology
• Power loss data protection
• Supports Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T)
• Supports up to 32 initiators with Tag Command Queuing (TCQ) Command Set with a queue-depth of up to 128 commands
• Compliant with SCSI specifications (SAS-3 / SPL-3 / SBC-4 / SPC-5 / SAM-6)
• RoHS Compliant
• Advanced Encrypting Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption
• Supports the SafeStore self-encrypting drive (SED) functionality of ThinkSystem RAID adapters
• Supports Sanitize Cryptographic Erase
• Full end-to-end data path protection:
  • Extended error correction code (ECC)
  • Exclusive-OR (XOR) parity to protect against Flash die failure
  • Parity-checked internal data paths without an external write cache
  • Power loss data management without the need for a supercapacitor

The key difference between Write-Intensive SSDs such as the Nytro 3750 SSDs described here and Read-Intensive and Mixed-Use SSDs, is their endurance (life expectancy). SSDs have a huge, but finite, number of program/erase (P/E) cycles, which determines how long the drives can perform write operations and thus their life expectancy. Write-Intensive SSDs have better endurance than the Mixed-Use and Read-Intensive SSDs, but at a higher cost/IOPS ratio.

SSD write endurance is typically measured by the number of program/erase cycles that the drive can incur over its lifetime, which is listed as TBW in the device specification. The TBW value that is assigned to a solid-state device is the total bytes of written data that a drive can be guaranteed to complete. Reaching this limit does not cause the drive to immediately fail; the TBW simply denotes the maximum number of writes that can be guaranteed.

A solid-state device does not fail upon reaching the specified TBW, but at some point after surpassing the TBW value (and based on manufacturing variance margins), the drive reaches the end-of-life point, at which time the drive goes into read-only mode. Because of such behavior, careful planning must be done to use SSDs in the application environments to ensure that the TBW of the drive is not exceeded before the required life expectancy.

For example, the 3.2TB Nytro 3732 drive has an endurance of 58,400 TB of total bytes written (TBW). This means that for full operation over five years, write workload must be limited to no more than 32,000 GB of writes per day, which is equivalent to 10.0 full drive writes per day (DWPD). For the device to last three years, the drive write workload must be limited to no more than 53,333 GB of writes per day, which is equivalent to 16.7 full drive writes per day.

All ThinkSystem Nytro 3750 Write Intensive SAS 12Gb SSDs support drive encryption.

The following sections describe the benefits in more details.

When the self-encrypting drive is in normal use, its owner need not maintain authentication keys (otherwise known as credentials or passwords) in order to access the data on the drive. The self-encrypting drive will encrypt data being written to the drive and decrypt data being read from it, all without requiring an authentication key from the owner.

Nearly all drives eventually leave the data center and their owner's control. Corporate data resides on such drives, and when most leave the data center, the data they contain is still readable. Even data that has been striped across many drives in a RAID array is vulnerable to data theft because just a typical single stripe in today’s high-capacity arrays is large enough to expose for example, hundreds of names and bank account numbers.

In an effort to avoid data breaches and the ensuing customer notifications required by data privacy laws, companies use different methods to erase the data on retired drives before they leave the premises and potentially fall into the wrong hands. Current retirement practices that are designed to make data unreadable rely on significant human involvement in the process, and are thus subject to both technical and human failure.

Self-encrypting drives eliminate the need to overwrite, destroy, or store retired drives. When the drive is to be retired, it can be cryptographically erased, a process that is nearly instantaneous regardless of the capacity of the drive.

Self-encrypting drives reduce IT operating expenses by reducing asset control challenges and disposal costs. Data security with self-encrypting drives helps ensure compliance with privacy regulations without hindering IT efficiency. So called "Safe Harbor" clauses in government regulations allow companies to not have to notify customers of occurrences of data theft if that data was encrypted and therefore unreadable.

Using a self-encrypting drive when auto-lock mode is enabled simply requires securing the drive with an authentication key. When secured in this manner, the drive’s data encryption key is locked whenever the drive is powered down. In other words, the moment the self-encrypting drive is switched off or unplugged, it automatically locks down the drive’s data.

When the self-encrypting drive is then powered back on, it requires authentication before being able to unlock its encryption key and read any data on the drive, thus protecting against misplacement and theft.

While using self-encrypting drives just for the instant secure erase is an extremely efficient and effective means to help securely retire a drive, using self-encrypting drives in auto-lock mode provides even more advantages. From the moment the drive or system is removed from the data center (with or without authorization), the drive is locked. No advance thought or action is required from the data center administrator to protect the data. This helps prevent a breach should the drive be mishandled and helps secure the data against the threat of insider or outside theft.

The following table presents technical specifications for the Nytro 3750 SSDs.

The following tables list the ThinkSystem servers that are compatible.

SAS SSDs operate transparently to users, storage systems, applications, databases, and operating systems.

Operating system support is based on the controller used to connect to the drives. Consult the controller propduct guide for more information:

• RAID controllers: https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/raid
• SAS HBAs: https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/hba

To effectively manage a large deployment of SEDs in Lenovo servers, IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager (SKLM) offers a centralized key management solution. Certain Lenovo servers support Features on Demand (FoD) license upgrades that enable SKLM support.

The following table lists the part numbers and feature codes to enable SKLM support in the management processor of the server.

The IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager software is available from Lenovo using the ordering information listed in the following table.

The following tables list the ThinkSystem servers that are compatible with the FoD upgrades for SKLM.

The ThinkSystem Nytro 3750 Write Intensive SAS 12Gb SSDs carry a one-year, customer-replaceable unit (CRU) limited warranty. When the SSDs are installed in a supported server, these drives assume the system’s base warranty and any warranty upgrades.

Solid State Memory cells have an intrinsic, finite number of program/erase cycles that each cell can incur. As a result, each solid state device has a maximum amount of program/erase cycles to which it can be subjected. The warranty for Lenovo solid state drives (SSDs) is limited to drives that have not reached the maximum guaranteed number of program/erase cycles, as documented in the Official Published Specifications for the SSD product. A drive that reaches this limit may fail to operate according to its Specifications.

The Nytro 3750 SSDs have the following physical specifications:

Dimensions and weight (approximate, without the hot-swap tray, if applicable):

• Height: 15 mm (0.6 in.)
• Width: 70 mm (2.8 in.)
• Depth: 100 mm (4.0 in.)
• Weight: 163 g (4.9 oz) 3.2TB drive, 136 g (5.7 oz) all other capacities

The Nytro 3750 SSDs are supported in the following environment:

• Temperature, operating: 0 to 70 °C (32 to 158 °F)
• Temperature, non-operating: -40 to 75 °C (-40 to 167 °F)
• Relative humidity: 5 to 95% (noncondensing)
• Altitude, operating: -300 to 4,572 m (-1,000 to 10,000 feet)

The Nytro 3750 SSDs conform to the following regulations:

• UL
• TUV
• FCC
• IC
• CB
• CE Mark
• C-Tick Mark
• BSMI (Taiwan)
• KCC (Korea EMI)
• VCCI

For details see the Seagate HDD and SSD Regulatory Compliance and Safety document:
https://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/forms/compliance/regulatory-compliance-and-safety-100838899-A.pdf

For more information, see the following documents:

• Lenovo Press product guides and papers on RAID adapters and HBAs
  https://lenovopress.com/servers/options/raid
• Lenovo RAID Management Tools and Resources
  https://lenovopress.com/lp0579-lenovo-raid-management-tools-and-resources
• Lenovo RAID Introduction
  https://lenovopress.com/lp0578-lenovo-raid-introduction
• Seagate Nytro SAS SSDs home page
  https://www.seagate.com/products/enterprise-drives/nytro-sas-ssd/