Sage’s new SSD controller can control 5TB flash

With the SG68x, the Chinese company Sage Microelectronics has developed an SSD controller chip that can control up to 5TB of flash memory on an SSD. Until now, most SSD controllers are limited to addressing up to 1TB of flash memory.

Sage states that with his SG68x controller, which would have a multicore structure, it is possible to directly control flash chips by integrating various control components into the chip. As a result, there is more space on a standard 2.5″ SSD PCB to place MMC, EMMC or SD Flash chips, which means that the storage capacity can be increased.

The Sage S68x controller controls ten data channels, which in turn can control four flash chips. When using 128GB flash chips, a maximum of 5TB can be controlled. Sage uses the setup of a raid 0 array, which has the disadvantage that data loss will occur if one of the channels goes down.

Sage states that its controller chip is already used for a 2.5TB SSD, but according to the manufacturer, the storage capacity can be doubled to the maximum of 5TB. However, the throughputs that the SG68x controller can achieve are limited due to the use of a SATA 300 interface; the manufacturer mentions sequential read and write speeds of 260 and 225MB/s respectively. Sage does not specify the number of iops. The controller is relatively cheap: it should cost 5 dollars, approximately 4 euros, for SSD manufacturers.