SealingTech Gets You EDSFF Ready for Next Gen Servers

When it comes to the new Enterprise and Datacenter Standard Form Factors (EDSFFs) for Next Gen Servers, find out what you need to know to ensure you have the latest reliable high performance storage solutions for future adoption. 

History of Traditional Form Factors 

The NVMe M.2 and the U.2/U.3 solid state drives (SSDs) were designed with legacy requirements. They launched more than a decade ago and were mainly used for the PC Notebook boot drives (M.2) and to use the same connector type as a 2.5-inch serial advanced technology attachment solid state drive (SATA SSD) form factors like (U.2/U.3).  

These drives often run into compatibility issues, hence why a SAS drive will not work in the same port as a NVMe drive. The issue stems from legacy SATA connectors having to merge with new peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) capable interfaces.  

The U.2 Standard evolved into the industry designing the U.3 to support Tri-Mode connectivity (SATA/SAS/NVMe) to allow for the slow adoption of NVMe drives; these drives became prohibitively expensive at the time compared to the SATA/SAS ones. The U.3 interface allowed all three drive types to work in a single system and enabled consumers to produce systems with forward functionality. A happy medium for a while, however challenges arose when the industry tried to incorporate the Tri-Mode Standard including: 

• Separate cabling requirements needed for SATA/SAS vs NVMe  

• New development for backplanes to support Tri-Mode connectivity  

• SATA/SAS drives going into the sundown part of their lifecycles  

• And the biggest hurdle, NVMe drives improve with each PCIe generation increasing or theoretically potentially doubling speed and power with each generational leap  

Current form factors can present backwards compatibility with older drive types allowing data to be used from legacy systems. However, the use of the older SAS/SATA drives lack the interoperability to support newer NVMe configurations at their rated speeds. This results from their limitation of power and signal stability that can be sent through the U.2/U.3/M.2 interface.  

The Need for Enhanced Performance and Interoperability 

For our customers, workflows for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) missions and private enterprise often require faster memory speeds, higher performance in demanding environments, and greater flexibility to keep up with fast-paced, ever-evolving cyberattacks. Traditional form factors are simply unable to support the latest speed and power requirements. 

To overcome these limitations and promote greater interoperability, the cybersecurity industry is in the process of adopting a new standard: EDSFF drives. These new server form factors are built with efficiency in mind and to meet the concerns and demands of cyber data storage.  

New SSD Form Factors for Next Gen Servers and Storage 

Several benefits exist in going from a NVMe M.2/U.2 drive to the latest EDSSFF drives. 

For one, the EDSSFF drives are ideal when working with high-density servers and cloud computing environments. They’re also faster than traditional SSDs and enable higher performance, power, flexibility, and optimized cooling to meet the demands of defensive cyber environments. The best part? They use the same SFF-TA-1002 connector multi-lane card connector as the open compute project (OCP) 3.0 standard—thus providing greater interoperability between PCIe based devices.  

Customers will also benefit from: 

Greater Efficiency 

EDSFFs enable the most efficient modular scaling of NVMe performance and capacity. As manufacturers increase capacity, speed, and functionality on the ESDFF drives, their singular connector can support all drives in the EDSSFF family. Via an extension, this same singular connector can also support the OCP family sharing up to 16 PCIe lanes. This shared architecture means one backplane or system can support multiple styles of drives and NICs; it can also provide up to 16 PCIe lanes for system expansion—enabling interoperability between systems and add-on cards.  

More Flexibility 

EDSFFs provide more space, more cooling—and a far greater server airflow. Their adaptable structure supports more use cases and integrates easily into various chassis and backplane designs. Their similar design and structure allow for greater cooling to be shared between drive types.  

Enhanced Power 

Traditional SSDs are not able to support the power requirements for PCIe Gen 6 and beyond. EDSFFs support higher power up to 70W with the E3 long and short, making it ideal for demanding, high-performance applications. 

 

EDSFFs and SealingTech’s Next Gen Products 

The SealingTech team plans to integrate the new EDSFF drives into our defensive cyber solutions starting with our next gen replacement for our SN 3100 server expected to launch in early 2026.  

This new platform targets the E1 and E3 form factors to incorporate the current, most pursued form factors from SSD manufacturers and provides the ability to scale with the increase in processing power. With EDSSFF form factors, SealingTech will be able to bring new features and forward interoperability to our customers with the rapid acceleration towards PCIe Gen 6, and 7 data transfer rates increasing the speed and effectiveness of our Cyber Fly-Away Kits. 

Interested in learning more about EDSSFF form factors and our Next Gen Products? Contact our team.