Edge Boost Server 7mm SSD Review — LSI-SandForce Performance With Enterprise-Level Durability Features

REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

The Edge Boost Server 7mm 240GB SSD is an impressive storage product.  We were able to achieve over 545MB/s sequential read speeds, which is over 97% of what the drive’s product page advertises at 560MB/s.  At 534MB/s, sequential writes came in a little higher than the advertised 530MB/s.  Random 4K read speeds are stated as 45,000 IOPS, yet we achieved almost 50% higher at 67,000 IOPS at a queue depth of 16 in our Anvil Storage Utilities Professional benchmark.  The random 4K write speeds are stated as 80,000 IOPS, yet we achieved 82,000 IOPS in the same Anvil testing.  We were very impressed with the random 4K performance of this drive.  As always, results can vary based on the exact hardware configuration used.

The build quality of the Edge Boost Server 7mm SSD is enterprise-level solid.  A full suite of enterprise-grade features are present, including power fail support, which is rapidly becoming one of the first features IT pros are looking for.  Also included are AES encryption, secure erase capabilities, TRIM support, S.M.A.R.T. drive health monitoring, wear-leveling and Durawrite to enhance endurance, RAISE and ECC to detect and correct errors, and garbage collection.  The Edge Boost Server 7mm is a full-featured enterprise SSD.

Adding capacitors to facilitate the power-fail protection, utilizing an enterprise-specific NAND controller, use of MLC synchronous NAND, and adding and enabling the full suite of enterprise-level performance and durability features certainly pushes this drive up the cost curve a bit.  A 2,000,000 hours MTBF lifespan, and being backed by Edge Memory’s five-year warranty certainly are important aspects of any “value” assessment.

The Edge Boost Server 7mm 240GB SSD is a rock-solid performer, and we are seriously considering making this drive our everyday-use SSD.  We are proud to award the Edge Boost Server 7mm 240GB  SSD our Gold Seal.