After showing off their last generation Z-Drive back in January at CES, OCZ has finally announced plans to begin mass producing these absurdly fast and expensive storage devices. Geared towards enterprise use, the Z-Drive uses a PCI x8 interface, replaceable MLC NAND flash modules arranged in a RAID0 configuration for a 512GB to 2TB capacity range, up to eight Indilinx controllers, and features peak read and write speeds of up to 1.4GB/s.
Three different models will be available. The Z-Drive p84 R2 is due to debut with 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB capacities, peak read speeds of 850MB/s and sustained write speeds of 500MB/s. The m84 R2 sacrifices a little speed (800MB/s read, 750MB/s write, and 500MB/s sustained) for a large 2TB capacity, while the p88 R2 will also get you that much storage but with peak transfer rates of up to 1.4GB/s both reading and writing, as well as a sustained write speed of 950MB/s.
Pricing hasn't been disclosed yet, but we are guessing these will cost somewhere in the vicinity of an arm and a leg. At least businesses can take some comfort in the fact that the interchangeable NAND modules will make this SSD "field-serviceable and field-upgradeable" throughout its lifespan. The Z-Drive R2 comes with a 3-year warranty and, according to OCZ, will do well in tasks that involve virtualization, caching, and high-end storage.
