345-BJLD Dell 960GB SATA 6GBPS Read Intensive Solid State Drive.

Dell 345-BJLD — 960GB SATA 6Gb/s Read-Intensive 2.5" Hot-Plug SSD

Technical Highlights

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Model / SKU: 345-BJLD
• Product class: Solid State Drive (SSD), 2.5-inch hot-plug form factor
• Storage capacity: 960 GB (formatted as 960 GB in some datasheets)
• Interface: SATA 6GBPS
• NAND type: 3D NAND TLC (Triple Level Cell)
• Endurance profile: Read-intensive (1 DWPD)

Performance Summary

• External transfer bandwidth: up to 600 MB/s
• Sequential read: up to 550 MB/s
• Sequential write: up to 510 MB/s
• Optimized for: high read workloads, caching, boot volumes, and read-dominant databases

What this means in practice

• Consistent, low-latency read performance for I/O-heavy applications.
• Energy-efficient 3D NAND TLC construction for a balance of capacity and cost-efficiency.
• Designed to meet enterprise read-intensive lifecycle demands with a modest 1 DWPD endurance rating.

Compatibility & Server Fitment

The Dell 345-BJLD is engineered to be compatible with a broad range of Dell PowerEdge platforms. It integrates seamlessly into modern Dell server fleets, making it an excellent choice for mixed-storage environments and fleet refresh projects.

Compatible PowerEdge platforms

• PowerEdge C6420, C6520, C6525, C6620
• PowerEdge HS5610
• PowerEdge M620
• PowerEdge R340, R440, R450, R550
• PowerEdge R640, R650, R650xs, R6515, R6525
• PowerEdge R660, R6615, R6625
• PowerEdge R740, R740xd, R7425
• PowerEdge R750, R750xa, R750xs, R7515, R7525
• PowerEdge R760, R760xs, R7625
• PowerEdge R940

Key Advantages

• Enterprise-grade reliability: tailored endurance and thermal profiles for sustained read workloads.
• Cost-effective capacity: 960GB TLC offers a strong price/performance ratio for read-heavy use cases.
• Easy serviceability: 2.5-inch hot-plug format streamlines replacement and upgrades in rack servers.
• Broad platform support: validated across many PowerEdge generations to simplify fleet compatibility planning.

Recommended use cases

• Read-intensive workloads such as content delivery, VDI read cache, and analytics read-heavy datasets.
• Boot/system volumes where fast sequential read and low latency are priorities.
• Hybrid storage tiers where cost per GB must be balanced against performance.

Form Factor & Physical Details

• Form factor: 2.5-inch hot-plug SSD (standard enterprise tray fit)
• Endurance metric: 1 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) — optimized for read-dominant operations
• NAND lithography: 3D NAND TLC for dense, efficient storage cells

Dell 960GB Read Intensive 1DWPD TLC SATA 6Gbps 2.5" Hot-Plug SSD — Product Category Overview

The Dell 960GB Read Intensive 1DWPD TLC SATA 6Gbps 2.5 Inch Hot Plug DELL Certified Solid State Drive (SSD) with Tray for Dell 14g, 15g and 16g PowerEdge Server is a purpose-built storage option optimized for read-heavy enterprise workloads. This category covers factory-certified drive assemblies designed for seamless fit, validated firmware compatibility, and tested interoperability with Dell PowerEdge platforms. The drives marry affordable, high-capacity TLC NAND with SATA 6Gbps connectivity and a 2.5-inch hot-plug form factor, delivering predictable performance for virtualization reads, content distribution, streaming, database query workloads, and capacity-optimized caching tiers.

Key Features & Technical Highlights

Form Factor & Interface

The drives use the standard 2.5-inch form factor with a SATA 6Gbps (SATA III) interface. This allows broad backward and forward compatibility with server backplanes and RAID controllers that accept 2.5" SATA devices. The hot-plug capability means drives can be removed and replaced while the system is running, which is critical for high-availability environments.

NAND Type & Endurance Rating

The use of TLC (triple-level cell) NAND provides a cost-effective way to increase capacity while keeping per-GB price competitive. Because TLC stores three bits per cell, the drives are optimized for read-intensive scenarios rather than heavy write cycles. The specified endurance of 1 Drive Write Per Day (1 DWPD) over the warranty period gives administrators a clear planning metric for workload allocation, lifecycle management, and replacement planning.

Performance Characteristics

• Random Read / Write IOPS: Tuned for high random-read IOPS to accelerate database lookups, web/server request responses, and virtual desktop read operations.
• Sustained Throughput: SATA 6Gbps theoretical max with real-world throughput suited to read-dominant flows.
• Latency: Lower latency than spinning media, accelerating application response times and decreasing queue depths.

Benefits of Choosing Dell-Certified 960GB Read-Intensive SSDs

Operational Simplicity & Reduced Risk

OEM-certified drives reduce integration risk. Because Dell has validated component-level interactions, administrators avoid surprises like unsupported SMART attributes, incompatible LED signaling, or failed firmware updates that can occur with third-party, tray-less SSDs. This simplifies procurement and support escalation because Dell can trace compatibility through known configurations.

Cost-Effective Capacity for Read-Heavy Workloads

TLC NAND is more affordable than enterprise-grade SLC/MLC, allowing larger capacities like 960GB at a budget-friendly price point. For workloads where reads significantly outnumber writes—such as content caches, web servers, CDN edge nodes, analytics indexing—the read-optimized endurance model saves money without sacrificing performance.

Serviceability & Availability

Hot-plug design and OEM tray enable live drive replacement and painless firmware maintenance. This is crucial for deployments requiring minimal downtime and rapid field swap of failing drives, while preserving RAID resiliency and data integrity.

Typical Use Cases and Workload Profiles

1. Virtualization & VDI Read Caches

When virtual machine hosts perform many repeated read operations—boot storms, profile loads, and replicated reads—the 960GB read-intensive SSD shines as a read cache, providing fast read hits and lowering latency compared to HDD-tier storage.

2. Web & Application Servers

Web servers, HTTP caches, and content delivery front-ends typically read static assets far more than they write new ones. These SSDs accelerate page and asset delivery while reducing I/O wait times during traffic spikes.

3. Database Index and Reporting Nodes

Read-heavy database nodes—OLAP reporting servers and reporting replicas—benefit because index lookups and report queries are predominantly read-bound. Using read-intensive SSDs as index storage improves query latency and throughput.

4. Backup Catalogs & Metadata Stores

Backup catalogs and metadata repositories often require fast random reads of small files and records. Placing these metadata stores on read-optimized SSDs delivers fast search and restore orchestration performance.

Detailed Technical Specification (Representative)

Basic Hardware Specs

• Capacity: 960GB (usable capacity may vary by formatting and provisioning)
• Form Factor: 2.5-inch (25mm or 15mm depending on OEM tray)
• Interface: SATA 6Gbps (SATA III)
• NAND Type: TLC (Triple-Level Cell)
• Endurance: 1 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day)
• Hot-Plug: Yes — compatible with Dell PowerEdge hot-plug backplanes

Enterprise-Grade Attributes

• Power Loss Protection: Firmware-level handling and reliable write ordering (varies by SKU)
• SMART Monitoring: Standard SMART attributes reported to enable health monitoring
• TRIM & GC Support: Enabled to maintain long-term performance
• Temperature & Power Profiles: Tuned for rack airflow and server power stages

Firmware & Interoperability

Firmware is signed and validated by Dell to work with iDRAC, HBA, and RAID controller subsystems used in PowerEdge 14g/15g/16g servers. Dell-certified firmware also ensures proper health reporting to management tools and enables coordinated firmware updates through Dell management channels.