FlashCore Modules

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IBM® FlashCore Modules (FCM) are a family of high-performance flash drives in a standard 2.5", 15mm form factor. FlashSystem 9500 supports up to 48 IBM FlashCore® Modules.

The FlashCore Module design utilizes the NVMe protocol, a PCIe Gen3/ Gen4 U.2 interface, and high-speed NAND memory to provide high throughput and IOPS with consistent and predictable latency. The FlashCore Modules are accessible from the front of the enclosure. Hardware-based data compression and self-encryption are supported.

FlashCore Modules are available in 4.8 TB, 9.6 TB, 19.2 TB and 38.4 TB.

Table 1. FlashCore Modules sizes and capacities
FlashCore Module	Terabytes Usable	Terabytes Effective
FCM 3.0	4.8	21.99
	9.6	28.8
	19.2	57.6
	38.4	115.2

The 4.8 TB and 9.6 TB drives are using PCIe Gen 3 interface. For FCM 3.0, the 19.2 TB and 38.4 TB capacity drives have a significantly increased compression and decompression throughput.