Dell 345-BKYJ 2.5-Inch Hot Plug 1.92TB SATA-6GBPS Read-Intensive 1DWPD SSD

Key Technical Attributes

Form Factor & Interface

The drive uses a 2.5-inch form factor with hot-plug capability, making it suitable for modern blade and rack-mounted servers and multi-bay storage enclosures. The SATA-6Gbps interface ensures broad compatibility with legacy and contemporary server controllers, allowing straightforward integration into existing infrastructures without requiring new HBA investments.

Capacity & Density

At 1.92TB, this SSD hits a sweet spot for organizations that want near-2TB capacity per drive within a compact footprint. It supports high-density storage designs—e.g., enclosures populated with many 2.5" bays—enabling significant aggregate capacity with the performance benefits of flash memory.

Workload Targeting & Endurance

The 345-BKYJ is explicitly characterized as a read-intensive device with an endurance rating of 1 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day). That endurance level is tuned for workloads where reads dominate write operations, providing a cost-effective endurance/performance tradeoff where extremely heavy write endurance is not required.

Hot-Plug & Serviceability

Hot-plug support is central for downtime-avoidant environments. Administrators can replace or upgrade drives while systems remain active, minimizing service interruptions and improving maintainability in mission-critical deployments.

Performance Characteristics

Read Latency & Throughput

Read-optimized SSDs like the 345-BKYJ typically deliver very low read latencies and consistent sustained read throughput. This consistency matters more than burst numbers in many enterprise contexts—predictable response times are crucial for databases, search indices, and user-facing applications where variability degrades user experience.

Write Behavior & Caching Strategies

Since this is a read-intensive SSD, random and sequential write performance will usually be lower than mixed-use or write-optimized drives. Systems should use intelligent caching (DRAM or NVMe cache tiers), write coalescing, log-structured filesystems, and appropriate write-back policies to minimize write amplification and extend the device’s effective lifespan under write-heavy bursts.

Thermal & Power Profile

The 2.5" form-factor and SATA interface typically result in modest power draw compared with larger enterprise NVMe drives. However, in high-density arrays thermal management—adequate airflow, correct rack placement, and chassis cooling—remains essential to sustain peak performance and avoid throttling.

Use Cases & Deployment Patterns

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

In VDI deployments where boot storms and read-dominant workloads occur, the Dell 345-BKYJ provides predictable read performance and a large per-drive capacity to host many user images or persistent data partitions. Used in combination with a write-back cache, it helps optimize storage tiers for cost and user experience.

Content Delivery & Web Caching

Edge servers that cache static assets, CDN nodes, and reverse proxy caches benefit from the combination of capacity and read performance. The drive's cost-per-GB and low read latency can reduce upstream bandwidth demand and improve page load times for end users.

Database Read Replicas & Analytics

Read replicas for databases and analytics nodes that perform large sequential scans or random reads can use these SSDs to accelerate query response without overpaying for write-optimized endurance levels that those replicas rarely need.

Boot/System Drives for Scale-Out Nodes

For large clusters or scale-out compute nodes where each server needs a reliable boot/system disk with capacity for logs and ephemeral storage, a 1.92TB SATA SSD is an efficient option that reduces complexity and increases consistency across the fleet.

Comparisons & Alternatives

Compared to Mixed-Use & Write-Optimized SSDs

Write-optimized SSDs provide higher DWPD or higher TBW ratings but usually at higher cost per GB. Mixed-use devices balance read and write performance. For pure read-heavy roles, choosing a read-intensive device can yield cost savings without sacrificing read throughput.

Compared to NVMe Drives

NVMe offers higher IOPS and lower latency compared to SATA SSDs, but also higher cost and (often) higher power consumption. Where existing infrastructure uses SATA backplanes or where budgeted cost-per-GB is a primary constraint, SATA read-intensive SSDs remain a sensible option.

When to Prefer HDDs

For archival or infrequently accessed cold data, high-capacity HDDs still offer the lowest $/GB. Use HDDs for bulk cold storage and tier-up hot data to SSDs like the 345-BKYJ for performance-sensitive reads.