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

Earlier this year, when Western Digital rolled out its Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs, the company held back on revealing which controller powered these drives. This led many to speculate that WD had developed its own controller. However, a recent breakdown of the drive tells a different story: it turns out Western Digital is utilizing a controller from Fadu, a South Korean enterprise that has been crafting high-performance SSD solutions since its inception in 2015.

The Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD is targeting the demand for high-speed storage in large-scale data centers and various enterprises that are embracing the advantages of PCIe Gen5 technology. As revealed by the latest insights from Storage Review, this SSD leverages Fadu’s FC5161 controller, compliant with NVMe 2.0. This controller is equipped with 16 NAND channels that support the ONFi 5.0 2400 MT/s interface. What’s impressive are its enterprise-level features: it adheres to the OCP Cloud Spec 2.0, supports SR-IOV, and manages up to 512 namespaces for ZNS, alongside other capabilities like flexible data placement, NVMe-MI 1.2, and advanced security measures—delivering functionalities often absent in typical controllers and previous WD models.

Performance-wise, the Ultrastar DC SN861 SSD is a powerhouse. It delivers blazing sequential read speeds peaking at 13.7 GB/s and sequential write speeds reaching up to 7.5 GB/s. In terms of random performance, it delivers up to 3.3 million random 4K read IOPS and up to 0.8 million random 4K write IOPS. Customers have flexibility with options ranging from 1.6 TB to 7.68 TB capacities and the choice between U.2 and E1.S form factors, either supporting one or three drive writes per day over five years.

Despite sharing a similar architecture, the two variants of the SN861 cater to different needs. The E1.S model is optimized with FDP support and performance tweaks specifically tailored for cloud operations. Meanwhile, the U.2 version is designed to handle robust enterprise workloads and cutting-edge applications like AI.

There’s no denying that the Ultrastar DC SN861 is a top-tier, enterprise-focused SSD packed with features. An added bonus is its energy efficiency: with an idle consumption of just 5W, it outshines its predecessors by a full watt. While this might seem trivial, in environments deploying thousands of drives, every watt saved contributes significantly to the total cost of ownership.

Currently, the Ultrastar DC SN861 SSDs are available to a select group of customers, including major players like Meta, and other interested entities. Pricing details remain under wraps and are likely to vary depending on purchase volumes.

Sources: Fadu, Storage Review