SEDC3000ME/15T3 Kingston 15.36TB PCIE Nvme X4 U.2 3D ETLC TCG Opal Enterprise SSD.

Product Overview of Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 SSD

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 is a high-capacity solid-state drive designed for demanding enterprise environments. Featuring advanced 3D ETLC NAND technology and PCIe NVMe Gen5 x4 interface, this SSD offers exceptional speed, durability, and security for data-intensive applications.

General Information

• Brand: Kingston
• Model Number: SEDC3000ME/15T3
• Category: Solid State Drive (SSD)

Technical Specifications

• Storage Capacity: 15.36TB
• Form Factor: U.2, 2.5 inches x 15mm
• Interface: PCIe NVMe Gen5 x4
• Backward Compatibility: Supports PCIe Gen4 devices
• NAND Type: 3D ETLC (Enhanced Triple-Level Cell)

Performance Metrics

Speed and Throughput

• Sequential Read Speed: Up to 14,000 MB/s
• Sequential Write Speed: Up to 9,700 MB/s

Random Input/Output Operations per Second (IOPS)

• 4K Random Read: 2,700,000 IOPS
• 4K Random Write: 400,000 IOPS

Reliability and Durability

• Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF): 2 million hours
• Endurance Rating: 1 Drive Write Per Day (1 DWPD)

Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 15.36TB Enterprise-Grade SSD

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 is a state-of-the-art enterprise solid-state drive built to deliver unparalleled performance, durability, and security for demanding data center and corporate environments. Designed with cutting-edge technologies such as PCIe NVMe Gen5 x4 interface and 3D ETLC NAND memory, this drive is engineered to handle large-scale workloads while maintaining low latency and high throughput.

Enterprise SSDs like the Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 are critical components in modern IT infrastructure, supporting applications that require rapid data access, exceptional reliability, and robust security measures. This category of storage devices represents the forefront of storage technology, integrating advanced features to meet the increasing demands of cloud computing, virtualization, big data analytics, and high-frequency trading platforms.

High-Capacity Storage Solution with 15.36TB

One of the standout attributes of the Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 SSD is its massive 15.36 terabytes of raw storage capacity. This substantial volume is essential for enterprises managing extensive databases, large virtual machine deployments, or big data environments that require persistent, high-speed access to petabytes of information distributed across storage arrays.

Such a capacity allows data centers to reduce the number of physical drives needed, thus saving on space, power consumption, and cooling costs. Additionally, the 15.36TB size helps streamline data management and simplify scaling efforts by consolidating more data on fewer drives.

U.2 2.5-inch Form Factor Designed for Enterprise Systems

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 utilizes a U.2 form factor, measuring 2.5 inches by 15 millimeters, which is a standard size compatible with many server and storage chassis. This physical format enables easy integration into existing enterprise infrastructures and supports hot-swapping, which is critical for minimizing downtime during maintenance or upgrades.

The U.2 interface also offers the advantage of robust power delivery and enhanced thermal management, which helps maintain optimal drive performance and longevity under the rigorous operating conditions found in data centers.

Advanced NAND Technology: 3D ETLC

Understanding 3D ETLC NAND Flash

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 incorporates 3D Enhanced Triple-Level Cell (ETLC) NAND flash memory. This type of NAND technology stacks memory cells vertically in multiple layers, increasing storage density while preserving speed and endurance.

3D ETLC differs from traditional planar NAND by providing higher storage capacity per chip and improved endurance metrics, making it ideal for enterprise workloads that involve frequent write operations. The "enhanced" aspect of ETLC refers to optimized cell design and firmware improvements that balance cost-effectiveness with durability.

Benefits of 3D ETLC for Enterprise Applications

ETLC NAND's enhanced endurance enables the Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 to withstand a high number of program/erase cycles, which is vital for environments that require constant data rewriting, such as real-time analytics, AI training workloads, and transactional databases.

This technology also contributes to the drive's ability to maintain consistent performance over time, reducing the risk of bottlenecks caused by NAND wear. Enterprises benefit from longer drive lifespans and predictable maintenance cycles, resulting in lower total cost of ownership.

Cutting-Edge Interface: PCIe NVMe Gen5 x4

Next-Generation PCIe Gen5 Connectivity

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 supports the latest PCI Express Gen5 standard, utilizing four lanes (x4) to facilitate incredibly fast data transfer speeds. PCIe Gen5 doubles the bandwidth available over PCIe Gen4, delivering up to 32 gigatransfers per second per lane, which translates into substantial improvements in sequential read and write rates.

This interface is backward-compatible with PCIe Gen4 systems, ensuring a smooth transition path for organizations upgrading their infrastructure without immediate need for full Gen5 deployment.

NVMe Protocol Optimizations

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) protocol is designed specifically for SSDs to exploit their low latency and parallelism. The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 leverages NVMe’s capabilities to deliver blazing-fast response times and maximize I/O operations per second (IOPS), critical metrics for latency-sensitive enterprise applications such as database transaction processing and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

By using NVMe over PCIe Gen5, the SSD dramatically reduces overhead and increases queue depths, enabling multiple commands to be processed simultaneously and boosting overall system throughput.

Performance Characteristics and Benchmarks

Sequential Read and Write Speeds

One of the key performance metrics for the Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 is its exceptional sequential read speed, rated at up to 14,000 megabytes per second. This rapid data retrieval rate allows enterprises to efficiently process large files, stream multimedia content, and conduct backup operations without significant delays.

Sequential write speeds reach up to 9,700 megabytes per second, ensuring that data is rapidly stored with minimal latency. This capability is vital for write-intensive workloads, such as log recording, video editing, and high-frequency trading platforms where every millisecond counts.

4K Random Read and Write IOPS

Beyond sequential speeds, the Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 excels in handling random I/O operations with remarkable 4K random read performance rated at 2.7 million IOPS and 4K random write speeds up to 400,000 IOPS. These figures represent the drive’s ability to quickly access and write small data blocks scattered throughout the storage medium.

High random IOPS performance is crucial for enterprise applications such as online transaction processing (OLTP), virtual machine hosting, and database query execution where random data access patterns dominate.

Reliability and Endurance Features

Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) of 2 Million Hours

Reliability is paramount for enterprise storage devices. The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 is engineered with a mean time between failures (MTBF) rating of two million hours, indicating exceptional durability and low failure rates. This metric translates to fewer unplanned outages and greater uptime, which is critical for businesses relying on continuous access to their data.

Drive Endurance and Write Lifespan

The endurance of the drive is measured at one drive write per day (1 DWPD), meaning the entire capacity can be rewritten daily throughout the warranty period without risk of premature failure. This level of endurance is suited for write-heavy workloads such as data logging, content creation, and scientific simulations.

Such robust endurance specifications help organizations optimize maintenance schedules and reduce the total cost of ownership by extending the operational life of their storage assets.

Enterprise Security with TCG Opal

Hardware-Based Encryption Standards

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 incorporates TCG Opal 2.0 security protocols, a widely recognized industry standard for self-encrypting drives (SEDs). This hardware-based encryption ensures that all data written to the SSD is automatically encrypted without impacting performance, providing peace of mind for enterprises dealing with sensitive or regulated data.

Benefits of TCG Opal in Enterprise Environments

By implementing TCG Opal security, the drive supports features such as secure boot, authentication, and access control, which help prevent unauthorized access to stored data. This is essential for compliance with industry regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS, which mandate robust data protection measures.

Furthermore, self-encrypting drives can simplify IT security management by reducing reliance on software-based encryption solutions that consume system resources and complicate deployment.

Compatibility and Integration in Enterprise Systems

Backward Compatibility with PCIe Gen4 Systems

Although optimized for PCIe Gen5, the Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 is fully backward compatible with PCIe Gen4 motherboards and controllers. This feature allows enterprises to deploy the drive immediately within existing infrastructures while planning for future upgrades to Gen5 hardware.

Integration with RAID and Storage Arrays

The drive's U.2 form factor and NVMe interface make it compatible with common enterprise storage solutions, including RAID configurations and high-performance storage arrays. Its high throughput and low latency characteristics improve the performance of RAID arrays by reducing bottlenecks and improving data redundancy and reliability.

Thermal Management and Power Efficiency

Advanced Cooling Solutions Enabled by U.2 Form Factor

The U.2 interface supports effective heat dissipation through server chassis designs that incorporate dedicated cooling solutions. The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 benefits from these thermal management features, which help maintain consistent performance and prevent thermal throttling during intensive workloads.

Power Consumption Optimization

Despite its high performance, this SSD maintains efficient power consumption, reducing energy costs for large-scale deployments. Lower power draw also contributes to less heat generation, which in turn extends the life of the device and associated hardware components.

Use Cases and Applications of Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3

Data Centers and Cloud Storage Providers

The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3 is ideal for hyperscale data centers and cloud service providers where large volumes of data must be accessed rapidly and reliably. Its high capacity, blazing speeds, and enterprise-grade endurance support multi-tenant environments and complex workloads seamlessly.

Virtualization and High-Performance Computing

Virtualized environments rely heavily on storage speed and reliability. The Kingston SEDC3000ME/15T3's exceptional random IOPS and endurance ensure that multiple virtual machines can operate concurrently without storage bottlenecks, making it an excellent choice for VDI deployments and HPC clusters.