345-BGPW Dell 1.6TB SAS 24GBPS Mixed Use TLC SSD

Main Specifications of Dell 345-BGPW Solid State Drive

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Part Number / SKU: 345-BGPW
• Drive Type: Enterprise-Class Solid State Drive
• Storage Capacity: 1.6TB
• Interface Standard: SAS-4
• Interface Bandwidth: 24Gbps
• Form Factor: 2.5-Inch SFF (15mm Thickness)
• Encryption: Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) with FIPS-140 Compliance
• Usage Profile: Mixed-Use Endurance with 3 DWPD

Advanced Technical Characteristics

Drive Construction

• Hot-swap enabled for quick replacement
• Powered by BiCS Flash™ TLC NAND memory
• Designed for high-performance enterprise workloads

Performance Ratings

• Sequential Read Speed: up to 4,200 MB/s
• Sequential Write Speed: up to 3,400 MB/s
• Random Read IOPS: 420,000
• Random Write IOPS: 195,000

Connectivity Options

• Interface: 1 x SAS 24Gb/s
• Supported Bays: 2.5-Inch Hot-swap compatible slot

Data Security and Reliability

Encryption & Compliance

• Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) technology for secure storage
• FIPS-140 data protection standards supported
• Ideal for sensitive enterprise and data center environments

Endurance & Workload Support

• Optimized for mixed workloads
• 3 DWPD endurance for long-term reliability
• Built for continuous server operations

Server Compatibility for Dell 345-BGPW SSD

Supported Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers

• PowerEdge C6420, C6520, C6525, C6600, C6620
• PowerEdge MX760c
• PowerEdge R250, R350
• PowerEdge R440, R450
• PowerEdge R540, R550
• PowerEdge R640, R650, R650xs
• PowerEdge R6515, R6525
• PowerEdge R660, R6615, R6625
• PowerEdge R740, R740xd, R740xd2
• PowerEdge R750, R750xa, R750xs
• PowerEdge R7515, R7525
• PowerEdge R760, R7615, R7625
• PowerEdge T350, T550

Additional Storage System Support

• Powervault ME5012 storage array

Highlights of Dell 345-BGPW Enterprise SSD

Key Benefits

• Enterprise-class performance tailored for data-intensive applications
• High-speed SAS 24Gbps interface for rapid data transfer
• Strong endurance rating for sustained workloads
• Enhanced data security with SED and FIPS-140 compliance
• Broad compatibility across 14G, 15G, and 16G PowerEdge servers

Use Cases

• Database management and transaction-heavy environments
• Virtualization and cloud infrastructure deployments
• Enterprise applications demanding secure, high-speed storage
• Mission-critical workloads requiring reliable performance

Dell 345-BGPW 1.6TB Self-Encrypting SED SAS 24Gbps Mixed-Use SSD

The Dell 345-BGPW 1.6TB Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) is an enterprise-class 2.5-inch SFF solid state drive engineered for modern Dell EMC PowerEdge server environments. With a 24Gbps SAS interface, 3 drive writes per day (3DWPD) mixed-use endurance rating, and triple-level cell (TLC) NAND, this drive balances high sustained throughput, enterprise reliability, and data security. Designed and certified for Dell EMC 14G, 15G and 16G PowerEdge server platforms, the 345-BGPW addresses the needs of virtualization, database acceleration, caching tiers, and mixed transactional workloads where a compromise between endurance and capacity is required.

Key attributes that define the category

This category centers on enterprise solid-state drives that pair high-performance SAS connectivity with on-drive encryption and certified compatibility with major server families. The Dell 345-BGPW sits in the mixed-use tier: it is optimized for sustained mixed read/write activity, delivering predictable performance for enterprise applications while keeping total cost of ownership attractive through TLC density. The self-encrypting (SED) capability provides hardware-based AES encryption and secure key management, enabling compliance with corporate policies and regulatory requirements without a significant performance penalty. The 2.5-inch small form factor (SFF) allows high drive density in modern rack servers, making this drive suitable for dense compute and storage nodes.

Technical specifications and what they mean for buyers

The Dell 345-BGPW’s technical specifications translate directly into real-world operational benefits. The 24Gbps SAS interface brings multi-lane enterprise SAS bandwidth that minimizes bottlenecks during sustained I/O bursts and rebuild operations. The 1.6TB capacity provides a versatile middle ground: larger than low-capacity cache drives yet more cost-efficient per gigabyte than older high-endurance models. The 3DWPD endurance rating indicates that the drive is engineered to sustain three full drive writes per day over its warranty period, making it appropriate for mixed transactional databases, virtual desktop infrastructure, and application servers that generate moderate write activity. The TLC NAND increases storage density compared to MLC alternatives, reducing acquisition costs while remaining within enterprise reliability thresholds due to sophisticated wear-leveling, error correction, and overprovisioning management built into the drive firmware.

Form factor, interface and compatibility

Physical compatibility is essential when deploying drives across multiple generations of PowerEdge servers. The Dell 345-BGPW uses the 2.5-inch SFF form factor that fits both newer and many legacy hot-plug bays, enabling flexible upgrade strategies and higher compute density per server chassis. The SAS 24Gbps physical layer maintains backward compatibility with 12Gbps SAS controllers and supports multipath configurations in SAN environments. Certification for Dell EMC PowerEdge 14G, 15G, and 16G series eliminates guesswork during procurement: administrators can deploy these drives in supported server builds and be confident that firmware interoperability, thermal profiles, and RAID behavior have been validated for those platforms.

Performance characteristics and workload suitability

Performance is a multi-dimensional attribute for enterprise SSDs and should be evaluated by throughput, latency, IOPS, and sustained performance under mixed loads. The Dell 345-BGPW is tuned to deliver strong sequential and random read performance thanks to the SAS 24Gbps interface and internal controller optimizations, while write performance is balanced by TLC programming techniques and on-die caching. The drive excels in mixed workloads — common in consolidated enterprise environments — where steady low latency for reads and acceptable sustained writes are both important. Typical use cases that benefit from this drive include mid-tier database servers, virtualized application hosts, cache-accelerated storage pools, and tiered storage architectures where a mix of read-intensive and write-moderate IO patterns are present.

Latency and IOPS expectations

Enterprise deployments often prioritize low and consistent latency as much as raw IOPS. The Dell 345-BGPW reduces I/O tail-latency through advanced firmware features such as command-queue optimization, background garbage collection scheduling, and predictable thermal throttling behavior when compared with consumer products. While absolute IOPS figures vary by queue depth and workload profile, buyers can expect this mixed-use SSD to provide substantial random read IOPS and healthy random write IOPS that remain stable over prolonged operation when provisioned with appropriate overprovisioning and installed in validated server configurations.

Security features — hardware encryption and compliance readiness

Self-encrypting drive technology is a critical differentiator for enterprise SSDs because it secures data at rest with hardware AES encryption and reduces CPU overhead associated with software encryption. The 345-BGPW’s SED capability ensures that all data written to the media is automatically encrypted, simplifying compliance with data protection mandates and corporate governance. Because encryption keys are managed by the drive hardware, secure erase and cryptographic erase operations become efficient, enabling administrators to decommission or repurpose drives without lengthy secure overwrite procedures. This model is particularly attractive to organizations operating in regulated industries that require proof of data sanitization for retired storage devices.

Key management and integration

Effective deployment of SEDs requires integration with key management systems and host BIOS/RAID controller features that support drive locking and unlocking. The Dell 345-BGPW is compatible with common enterprise key management approaches and supports ATA password and SED unlocking mechanisms implemented through Dell EMC firmware and server management utilities. When combined with centralized key management practices, the drive helps deliver a scalable approach to encryption that reduces operational complexity while maintaining the strong security posture expected in modern data centers.

Endurance, reliability, and monitoring

Endurance and reliability metrics directly influence replacement cycles, service windows, and TCO calculations. The 3DWPD rating provides clear expectations for daily write volumes the drive can sustain across its service life. Enterprise firmware implements wear-leveling, bad block management, and robust error correction codes (ECC) to extend usable lifespan and ensure predictable failure modes. Administrators should pair these drives with proactive monitoring tools that report SMART attributes, program/erase cycle counts, and predicted remaining life. Such telemetry allows for capacity planning and scheduled replacements before critical degradation occurs.

Predictable failure modes and data protection strategies

Solid state drives demonstrate different failure characteristics than spinning media; they often fail with little to no mechanical prior warning, but modern enterprise SSDs, including this Dell model, include telemetry to mitigate surprise failures. Implementing RAID with hot spares, regular backups, and automated alerting provides comprehensive data protection. The Dell 345-BGPW integrates cleanly into typical enterprise storage topologies where redundancy and rapid rebuilds are used to maintain availability during component replacement.

Thermal, power and environmental considerations

High-density servers and all-flash configurations place more stress on thermal and power budgets. The 2.5-inch SFF format of the Dell 345-BGPW is designed to operate within the thermal envelopes of PowerEdge 14G–16G platforms with validated thermal behavior and power consumption profiles. If drives are densely populated in a single chassis, administrators should confirm airflow patterns, ambient temperature ranges, and drive bay cooling specifications to avoid thermal throttling. Efficient firmware thermal management reduces performance impact during temperature excursions, but proper rack and server level cooling remains the primary mitigation for sustained high I/O environments.

Power efficiency and datacenter impact

Compared to larger form factor HDDs, SFF SSDs reduce rack space and often provide better power efficiency per usable terabyte. The Dell 345-BGPW contributes to lower rack-level energy consumption when used to replace legacy spinning disks in read-heavy or mixed workloads, improving per-unit performance per watt and enabling higher consolidation ratios for compute and storage services.

Firmware, lifecycle support and certification

Firmware stability is central to enterprise drive suitability. Dell certifies firmware releases for compatibility with specific PowerEdge server generations and validates them against controller firmware, RAID drivers, and server BIOS levels. Lifecycle support for the 345-BGPW includes firmware updates for performance optimization and reliability fixes; administrators should follow Dell EMC guidance for applying firmware updates during maintenance windows. Certification for 14G, 15G and 16G PowerEdge server families simplifies procurement and deployment by aligning lifecycle support and compatibility matrices across hardware generations.

Field serviceability and warranty considerations

Enterprise buyers value predictable warranty coverage and straightforward replacement processes. The Dell 345-BGPW is sold through channels that typically provide enterprise warranty terms and Dell support options including advance replacement. When planning purchases, organizations should align drive procurement with their existing support contracts and consider extended support for critical systems to ensure rapid remediation in the event of a failure.