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Micron 6500 ION Transition Guide

Compare Micron 6550 ION and 6600 ION migration options for a 6500 ION application, including form factors, performance, samples, and supply planning.

Micron 6550 ION series → Micron 6600 ION series → Micron 6500 ION series →
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If you’re planning a move from the Micron 6500 ION, we can help you compare options for your application, platform, and production schedule.

  • The Micron 6550 ION is a PCIe Gen5 candidate with TLC NAND, 30.72TB and 61.44TB capacities, and U.2, E3.S, and E1.L options.
  • The Micron 6600 ION uses QLC NAND and extends the capacity range to 245.76TB. Micron reports that the 245TB model is shipping. Ask us about availability for the exact configuration you need.

This guide compares both families and lists replacement candidates by part number, with compatibility checks for your team’s evaluation.

We are an authorized Micron distributor. We can recommend migration options, including products that require a design change, arrange samples, and work through prototype questions with Micron. Your team qualifies the selected product; we can help plan stock for production.

Planning Your Supply and Transition

Send us your current part number, expected demand, and production schedule. We can discuss availability, product options, and the timing of samples and qualification for your program.

Where a last-time buy is appropriate and available, we can help plan the purchase and hold inventory for scheduled releases under agreed program terms. Those releases can extend beyond the manufacturer’s final shipment date.

Micron 6500 ION Part Number Conversions

The options below pair existing 6500 ION parts with 6550 ION and 6600 ION products to evaluate, grouped by form factor and security configuration. A recommended migration may require changes to the host or storage connection. Confirm the part number, firmware, sector format, security requirements, and availability before ordering, then qualify the selected product in your application.

2.5-inch U.3 to U.2 • SED (TCG Opal) • 30TB

The listed 512-byte and 4096-byte configurations use different part numbers. Match the required sector format when selecting a candidate.

2.5-inch U.3 to U.2 • Non-SED • 30TB

Unencrypted drives. Standard and 4K sector size variants.

U.2 Form Factor • SED (TCG Opal) • 60TB Upgrade Path

The 6500 ION did not offer a 60TB option. These 6550 ION SKUs represent an upgrade in capacity for existing U.2 customers.

U.2 Form Factor • Non-SED • 60TB Upgrade Path

The 6500 ION did not offer a 60TB option. These 6550 ION SKUs represent an upgrade in capacity for existing U.2 customers.

E1.L Form Factor • SED (TCG Opal) • 30TB *

The product number below represents the 512 byte sector size. For 6600 ION E1.L requirements, contact Edge to confirm current options and availability.

E1.L Form Factor • Non-SED • 30TB *

Unencrypted E1.L drives. The product number below represents the 512 byte sector size. For 6600 ION E1.L requirements, contact Edge to confirm current options and availability.

E1.L Form Factor • 60TB Upgrade Path *

The 6550 ION includes a 60TB E1.L option. For 6600 ION E1.L requirements, contact Edge to confirm current options and availability.

* The 6550 ION includes E1.L options. For 6600 ION E1.L requirements, contact Edge to confirm current options and availability. An E3.S transition requires a platform that supports the selected drive. Contact us to discuss your chassis and qualification requirements.

Compatibility Notes

6500 ION to 6550 ION:

  • U.3 to U.2: The 6500 ION’s 2.5-inch option is U.3; the 6550 ION’s is U.2. Check backplane support, carrier fit, power, and firmware with the system manufacturer. The connector alone does not establish a drop-in replacement.
  • PCIe Gen5 backward compatibility: The PCIe link can negotiate Gen4 speeds. The host’s backplane, firmware, power, and cooling must also support the selected drive. A Gen5 storage connection is needed to use its Gen5 interface bandwidth.
  • E1.L form factor: The 6550 ION includes E1.L candidates for evaluation in an existing E1.L platform. Confirm the exact configuration and qualify the change.
  • E3.S form factor (new on 6550): The 6550 ION introduces E3.S-1T, which wasn’t available on the 6500 ION. This is an optional upgrade path for customers seeking higher density.

6500 ION to 6600 ION:

The 6600 ION family includes U.2, E3.S 1T, and E3.L options, depending on capacity. For 6600 ION E1.L requirements, contact Edge to confirm current options and availability. Availability and any non-cancelable, non-returnable terms are confirmed in your quote.

  • PCIe Gen5: Like the 6550 ION, the 6600 ION uses PCIe Gen5. Check the complete host configuration as well as the negotiated link speed.
  • QLC vs. TLC: The 6600 ION uses QLC NAND rather than the TLC NAND found in both the 6500 and 6550 ION. For write-intensive workloads, customers should review endurance ratings carefully.
  • Availability: Confirm current availability for the exact capacity, form factor, and security configuration with us.

About the Micron 6550 ION NVMe SSD

The Micron 6550 ION is a PCIe Gen5 enterprise NVMe SSD available in 30.72TB and 61.44TB capacities across three form factors: U.2 (15mm), E3.S-1T (7.5mm), and E1.L (9.5mm). Security options include Non-SED and SED with FIPS 140-3 L2 certifiable configurations.

Features & Benefits of the Micron 6550 ION

  • PCIe Gen5 x4 interface; up to 14,000 MB/s sequential read
  • Up to 61.44TB capacity, enabling over 1.2 petabytes of storage per 1U server in E3.S configuration
  • Micron reports up to 20% lower power consumption in its published comparisons with selected 60TB SSDs
  • NVMe configurable power states: 25W (max) down to 10W
  • OCP 2.5 compliance with L1 ASPM idle power management, enabling idle power as low as 4W vs. 5W on the 6500 ION
  • 1 RDWPD endurance rating for 16KB random writes
  • SED with FIPS 140-3 Level 2 certifiable options, SPDM 1.2 attestation, and Secure Encrypted Environment (SEE)
  • E3.S-1T form factor; about 67% more drives per rack unit when comparing 20 drives in 1U with 24 drives in 2U at the same drive capacity
  • Vertically integrated design: Micron NAND, DRAM, controller, firmware, and manufacturing for supply chain reliability

What About the Micron 6600 ION?

The Micron 6600 ION is a PCIe Gen5 enterprise NVMe SSD with capacities from 30.72TB to 245.76TB. Its family includes up to 122.88TB in E3.S and 245.76TB in E3.L or U.2. Check capacity and form factor together using Micron’s 6600 ION specifications.

Micron reports shipments of the 245TB model. That does not establish stock or lead time for every configuration. We can check the products available for your transition schedule.

A few points worth keeping in mind:

  • The 6600 ION’s 122TB+ capacities are worth evaluating for dense storage deployments. Compare write performance and workload-specific endurance with the 6550 ION, as well as capacity per drive.
  • For 6600 ION E1.L requirements, contact Edge to confirm current options and availability. A different form factor requires a platform that supports the selected drive.

Micron 6500 ION vs. 6550 ION vs. 6600 ION: Spec Comparison

Feature Micron 6500 ION Micron 6550 ION Micron 6600 ION
Interface PCIe Gen4 x4 (NVMe 2.0) PCIe Gen5 x4 (NVMe 2.0b) PCIe Gen5 x4 (NVMe 2.0e)
NAND Type Micron 232-layer TLC Micron G8 232-layer TLC Micron G9 QLC
Capacity 30.72TB 30.72TB / 61.44TB 30.72TB / 61.44TB / 122.88TB / 245.76TB
Form Factor(s) U.3 (15mm), E1.L (9.5mm) U.2, E3.S-1T, E1.L U.2; E3.S 1T through 122.88TB; E3.L at 245.76TB; contact Edge for E1.L requirements
Seq. Read (128KB) 6,800 MB/s 14,000 MB/s 14,000 MB/s through 122.88TB; 13,700 MB/s at 245.76TB
Seq. Write (128KB) 5,000 MB/s 7,000 MB/s at 20W 2,700 / 3,000 / 3,000 / 3,000 MB/s at 30.72 / 61.44 / 122.88 / 245.76TB
Rand. Read (4KB) 1,000,000 IOPS 2,000,000 IOPS 2.6M / 2.0M / 2.0M / 1.78M IOPS at 30.72 / 61.44 / 122.88 / 245.76TB
Rand. Write (4KB) 200,000 IOPS 70,000 IOPS 110K / 40K / 42K / 42K IOPS at 30.72 / 61.44 / 122.88 / 245.76TB
Endurance 0.3 DWPD (4KB random) 1.0 RDWPD (16KB); 0.25 RDWPD (4KB) 0.3 RDWPD (16KB); 0.3 RDWPD at 30.72TB or 0.075 RDWPD at larger capacities (4KB); 1.0 SDWPD (128KB)
Max Active Power 20W 25W (max unconstrained) 25W through 122.88TB; 30W at 245.76TB
Idle Power 5W 4W (L1 ASPM, OCP 2.5) 5W
Security SED or Non-SED SED or Non-SED; FIPS-certifiable configurations SED or Non-SED; FIPS-certifiable configurations
OCP Compliance OCP 2.0 OCP 2.5 OCP 2.6
MTTF 2.5M hours 2.5M hours at 0–50°C 2.5M hours at 0–50°C
Warranty 5 years 5 years 5 years
Availability Check the exact configuration with us Check the exact configuration with us Micron reports shipments; check the exact configuration with us

Performance depends on capacity, power settings, firmware, and workload. The 6550 ION figures above use a 20W power limit; its 25W setting allows higher write throughput. The 6600 ION performance figures use Micron’s detailed power-state tables: the default 25W PS1 columns through 122.88TB and 30W PS0 at 245.76TB. The 61.44TB write figure follows Table 3 rather than the different value in summary Table 1. Micron’s 6550 ION specifications and 6600 ION technical specification give the relevant test conditions. FIPS-certifiable does not by itself establish validation for your selected configuration.

Did You Know? The 6550 ION Also Comes in 61.44TB

The 6550 ION’s 61.44TB configuration doubles per-drive capacity over the 30.72TB 6500 ION. For a server that supports 20 E3.S drives in 1U, that gives about 1.23PB per rack unit. By comparison, 24 drives of 30.72TB in 2U provide about 0.74PB total, or 0.37PB per rack unit. This example changes both drive capacity and chassis density. Check the selected server’s drive count, power, and cooling before using it for a deployment estimate.

Metric 30.72TB Config (Same Capacity) 61.44TB Config (Capacity Upgrade)
Drives per 1U server (E3.S) 20 drives 20 drives
Storage per 1U ~615TB ~1.2PB
Storage per rack (36U) ~22PB ~44PB
Sequential Read 14,000 MB/s 14,000 MB/s
Random Read IOPS 2,000,000 2,000,000

The table assumes 20 supported E3.S drives per 1U and 36U of storage servers per rack. Capacities are decimal, before formatting or data protection. Both 6550 ION capacities have the listed read ratings at a 20W power limit; the drive’s maximum unconstrained power setting is 25W.

Ready to Plan Your Transition?

We can help you compare replacement products, check part numbers and pricing with Micron, and plan samples and production stock. Send us your current part number and transition schedule. Keith Peterson received the Micron Americas Distribution FAE Recognition Award for 2025.

A part number to check, or a question about your program? Send it over and we'll take a look.

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