Enterprise SSD "small deals"

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foureight84

Well-Known Member
Jun 26, 2018
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Just bought a 6 (2.5) bay enclosure for my salvaged Precision 5820. Hopefully more SATA drives will popup.
 
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whoknew123

Member
Jun 21, 2025
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Does anyone happen to have/willing to share a list of drive models/capacity and what you consider a good deal?

I’m only looking for 2-3 drives so I don’t mind paying a 5-10% premium if it means I have them in hand sooner. With all the options out there it’d take me ages to put together a list.
 
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ca3y6

Well-Known Member
Apr 3, 2021
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whoknew123 said:
Does anyone happen to have/willing to share a list of drive models/capacity
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I maintain such a database (contributions welcome)


whoknew123 said:
and what you consider a good deal?
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That's a bit of how long is a piece of string question. Rule of thumb is that SSD under $45/TB is cheap, under $35/TB is a great deal. But then you pay a premium for certain things. PCIe4/5 will be sold at a premium over PCIe3. AIC format will be at a discount to U.2. SAS will be at a discount to U.2. Some U.3 are "U.3 only", i.e. not compatible with U.2, that calls for a discount. The larger capacities, the more expensive per TB they tend to be, so you will rarely find 7.68TB drives at those discounts, and almost never a great deal on 15.36TB. Curiously, endurance/DWPD tend to have little impact on price though it should. Some models you should stay away entirely as they will likely have compatibility issues, IBM SAS SSDs in particular. Low health (<75%) calls for another discount, <50% health calls for a steep discount. QLC is cheaper out of the factory, but also many buyers won't touch it, so it should call for a discount, but not sure it does in practice. Drives with firmware freely downloadable (Dell/Micron/Intel) should sell at a premium over the likes of Samsung that have very buggy firmware they won't update unless you have a contract with them, but not really in practice.
 
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tubeit

New Member
Aug 1, 2021
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ca3y6 said:
I maintain such a database (contributions welcome)

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Damn, we're basically doing the same thing. Would you consider doing a github repository for the database as a JSON file for easier contributions? This project of mine for finding good eBay deals also started because I've found no comprehensive SSD database online. There's basically only the one on techpowerup but it's missing a lot of enterprise drives, it's closed source, the data is not queryable and maintained by only one person. I appreciate their work but an open source database would benefit all.
 
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ca3y6

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Apr 3, 2021
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I don't really want to spend much more time on it to be honest. There is a user interface for making changes to my database that I am happy to give you access to if you want. And the data is accessible in json format as well (the link is at the top of the page). But don't really want to switch to github, and part of the rationale for the UI is to enforce consistency for certain fields from many contributors. Also by now the changes should be fairly small as I should cover all major models. What I don't cover is the many OEM variant, and smaller manufacturers.
 
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luckylinux

Well-Known Member
Mar 18, 2012
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ca3y6 said:
Does it? I don’t really speak german and sent that quickly from my mobile.
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I'm lazy even though I understand (and somewhat speak) German:

The SSD was functional until removed and has not been retested since. Ideal for servers, storage setups, caching, or workstations with U.2 support.

...

⚠ Notes:

Functional before removal, not tested since

Sold as used and without warranty

Private sale – no warranty or return

Image is for illustrative purposes, serial number may vary
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From the same Seller for 169 EUR:
Kioxia 7.68TB U.2 PCIe NVMe SSD – Modell KCD61LUL7T6B – mit Adapter

www.ebay.de

Kioxia 7.68TB U.2 PCIe NVMe SSD – Modell KCD61LUL7T6B – mit Adapter | eBay.de

Entdecke Kioxia 7.68TB U.2 PCIe NVMe SSD – Modell KCD61LUL7T6B – mit Adapter in großer Auswahl ✓ Vergleichen Angebote und Preise ✓ Online kaufen bei eBay.de ✓ Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
 
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luckylinux

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Mar 18, 2012
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Not sure how good of a Deal this one are. I'm seriously getting lost with some of the Deals being so low compared to the other ... 1.92TB, 3.2TB, 3.84TB, 7.68TB etc all start to seem around the 100 USD ballpark Figure depending what you find :D .

Lenovo Toshiba KCM5DRUG3T84 3.84TB SAS for 150 USD (able to do Offers)
www.ebay.com

Lenovo TOSHIBA 3.84TB SSD 2.5 U.2 NVMe KCM5DRUG3T84 (78% & 79%) Health | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Lenovo TOSHIBA 3.84TB SSD 2.5 U.2 NVMe KCM5DRUG3T84 (78% & 79%) Health at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Intel DC P4600 3.2TB NVME for 175 USD (able to do Offers)

EDIT 1:

WD Ultrastar DC SN200 3.2TB NVME PCIe Gen 3.0 x8 HHHL AIC SSD HUSMR7632BHP301 for 174 USD (able to do Offers)
 
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ca3y6

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Apr 3, 2021
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EasyRhino said:
that's cool but it is LITERALLY 10 years old.
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yeah, and in this case SAS2 is kind of obsolete, but SAS3 wouldn't be. To be honest, I am not sure age is a primary factor in SSD reliability, as long as you are not pushing them (in term of operating temperature and load level). If the wear levels are healthy. But I have yet to find some stats to back that up, that show the impact of age on SSD reliability independently of TBW.
 
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whoknew123

Member
Jun 21, 2025
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luckylinux said:
According to https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/bm/de/downloads/ds557652 the Drive in the Listing seems to be at least 2 Firmware Revisions behind (3202T2GB) compared to the latest (3205T2GE and 3205T2GC).

Can we run the Linux Update Tool even though we don't own a Lenovo System ? Is it sufficient that the SSD itself is Lenovo ?

EDIT 1: I gave it a Try ... I could download lnvgy_fw_drives_all-1.39.11-0_linux_x86-64.bin and lnvgy_fw_drives_all-1.50.16-0_linux_x86-64.bin.

They don't really run as is (nobody checks if the File is running as User, just complain that they cannot write to /var/log/Lenovo_Support/ux.log).

Using binwalk one can somewhat extract the File, but then we are left with a .std File that doesn't really give out its Type via file Command.

Seems to just be Binary File, that's all, approx 1.3MB:
Code: 
ls -lh ./_lnvgy_fw_drives_all-1.39.11-0_linux_x86-64.bin.extracted/image/files/3205t2ge.std
-rw-rw-r-- 1 USER USER 1,3M Jun 14  2022 ./_lnvgy_fw_drives_all-1.39.11-0_linux_x86-64.bin.extracted/image/files/3205t2ge.std
Opening via nano shows a few Lines of Header, then it's all Binary and/or encrypted:
Code: 
CX05DHWF

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 20:16:42 bytsbgle
                                                          C5M:32:05:03:80

^Z        T2GE^@^@^@^@^@^@^H^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^H^@^@^@^@^@^@^B ^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^A^@�^S^@�^@^@^@2^E^C�^D^@^@^@^@�^S^@^W[�>^\���~��Ε�h�^W�e"��՚^D^C9�>o5���#����?1�����O�#��^P�J�^C+*>��h�������C>
�Ce�kPv2�^?'��Dӷ7,^S�܌����w^O�i7�f�^Y����v ��^K�"3��4^N"+���e^F^E�FJ��V���M�^U^Ws8����6�ۊ���m^V~^W$ʿa^_#�^Wz^K`|�w^W�`눺�ߚt-fǥV��8J@^U�Ҽ�Th)F^V�"�F�Ϫc1^O�&[dk^O?��v�כݱ�5�aJ'����v^T������1>-`T2^T^^~E2^?⁗T^O�7ނ���i�^BF>>
;d(��!^B2^Y�_<L���      D*G�w^?KHv���^H�>^\��MS��b���
^P[p�Tk����u�7^N�^K�W��aD�;"��G-�I^P�x������^C����lj��w��^Y�(�k^Q^?lڗ�*^P��~^B^\�^[@�j,M�����T���q�T���^\Ô'���O�K^Tl�T^_^N�^Q@�^Hk�D��R��+�ĥ�\�eڭ��m�9�|c A�l^Q�7�Y��5^��.E+��&A�6^U��^A�^K���ܡ]^?�^D�|�1�/�$�R�-$`��^V^Q�>
����O��A^S9�^D�!�8^W'HVk^F���^\&9�w^K���^Cv6y�^?�^N^X�  ���.J^]^V��+y�Kp�y�^T�5�ߟd}��Kv"^@�x&�rMn^X�s�^S%⼒��W�^Ri�T=R^S�{(>ix��?L�C+���^^_^H]��"�]���^G��^D��Yp*zup3�"N�f^F��*�H-M��{��^W�Ƃ:k�^C^E/
^Q^N�U)^DM;��   h-��^Pk�$���a�OZ^Y���7l��^N�^U�0:Nk^V"�>��`��^VH�p5�^K^Y�2
...
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EDIT 2: I asked Seller and he was like "I have no Idea what you are talking about", supposedly about updating the Firmware.

Rejected Offer at 75 USD / Piece for 2 Pieces.

EDIT 3: Offered 85 USD / Piece, not feeling very optimistic. Only 3 Pieces left :oops: .

EDIT 4: Rejected 85 and 100 USD / Piece. Countered at 120 USD the first Time then 140 USD the Second Time :rolleyes: .

EDIT 5: accepted 105 USD / Piece for 2 Pieces :cool:
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Better negotiator than I lol. I took 3 at 120 last night. I was getting impatient with deals so these should scratch that itch until something great pops up. Plan to run them in zfs raidz1 for a download cache on my unraid server.

Buying these also means I need to pick up an 826-el1-n4 backplane for my case. Oh, and I don’t have pcie lanes to support so picking up an epyc 7302p with a romed8-2t.

if you have any luck updating them let me know. As long as they work I’m not overly concerned but certainly will if you pave the way.
 
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crlt

Active Member
Jul 12, 2024
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luckylinux said:
Microchips are not made to last Indefinitively (thinking mainly about the Controller). They mostly get killed by Over-Voltage Transients / Static Discharge / etc and of course they age much faster the higher in Temperature you go (Arrhenius Law). Which one "kills" first, whether it's the Calendar Aging or the Number of Write Cycles that each Cell experienced over its Lifetime (TBW), it's for sure a Combination of both.

Please Note that old SSDs have MLC Flash with "big" Cells Production Process (in Terms of Nanometers, ~ 20 - 30 nm) so that is better in terms of Longevity and Reliability compared to TLC/QLC NAND. Although in Terms of Calendar Aging, not sure if that makes a Difference. If it does I'd say that the MLC and "big" Production Process is actually better. Of course the same Remark applies to the Controller.

Capacitors mostly age over Time (Capacitance decreases over Time, Electrolyte dries up, ...) so that's for sure a Negative Thing. In these applications aging of Capacitors due to Load Cycling isn't a Factor. Since Manufacturers should design their PLC and Filtering according to the EOL Drive Characteristic (and hopefully they do so), then there should be some reserve Capacity to take that into account so even when old the Drive should perform correctly.
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Capacitor health has always made me wonder. Some enterprise drives report a cap health metric but most dont. Has anyone experienced SSDs going bad from caps?
 
J

josh

Active Member
Oct 21, 2013
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Need 6x more 3.84/7.68 SAS drives. Would appreciate if anyone pings me when something shows up :)
 
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ca3y6

Well-Known Member
Apr 3, 2021
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I agree that microships aren't meant to last forever, particularly if they are mistreated. But microships in a datacentre, with stable A/C and electricity, should last a long time. What dies is typically the mechanical parts, and what overheats. I log and monitor all my drives centrally, and all my SSD in a datacenter are stable in a 35-45 celcius range. I never had a motherboard or addon card die of "natural causes", the only times it happened were the result of a manipulation. I am sure it happens, I am just saying the risk is low. And I am mostly dealing with arrays of SSD, where if one dies from time to time, not a big deal. The risk is large simultaneous failures.

The unknown to me is whether NAND cells age well.
 
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pimposh

pimposh

hardware pimp
Nov 19, 2022
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luckylinux said:
No direct Experience on Capacitors and these Enterprise Drives but IMHO an Enterprise Drive with PLP where the Capacitor aged too much "simply" means that PLP is no longer effective (either not working at all i.e. Lost Function, or for too short period of Time i.e. Degraded Function)
Click to expand...

The tantalum/polymer capacitors used in most enterprise drives are known for their longevity. Although they are susceptible to cracking and vibrations, they do not fail any earlier than NAND modules.
Also due to completely different internal construction against typical electrolityc caps, behaviour over time is way more predictable in terms of drifting.
While they fail - usually it goes into shorted circuit - and effectively renders drive dead, which one will notice with ease.



EDLCs/supercaps are also sometimes found, as well as more typical aluminium caps.



I don't want to hijack this thread, but it shouldn't be the case given that the oldest drives have been in use for around 10 years.
 
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