Next-gen 128TB SSDs set to squeeze data on the fly thanks to a new smart chip
Longsys WM8500 promises a compression ratio of up to 2:1, creating a virtual 256TB SSD at a much lower price

Date:
Tue, 16 Jun 2026 23:20:00 +0000

Description:
Longsys might have an answer to ever-increasing SSD prices: intelligent storage that incorporates state-of-the-art compression.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Longsys WM8500 offers as much
as a 2:1 in-Memory lossless compression The 5nm chip currently supports up to 128TB in single-drive capacity versus mainstream consumer SSDs that are
capped at 8TB This is made possible by using the DRAM-less SPU as an active player in the storage stack, leveraging both its High Level Cache (HLC) and intelligent Storage Agent (iSA) to deliver a compression ratio that is industry-leading Longsys, the world's second-largest independent memory firm and the force behind one of the most well-known consumer brands in the West, Lexar, as well as one of the most important B2B storage players, FORESEE, may have a solution to rising SSD and DRAM costs: A chip that compresses data on the fly extraordinarily well.

It has come up with a 5nm chip which handles on-the-fly compression for large SSDs, allowing them to essentially double their capacity beyond the 128GB single-drive capacity it currently supports. While this isn't as close to
what hardware-based data compression on tape drives looks like (with ratios
of up to 2.5:1), it is still an impressive feat for an industry reeling from ever-increasing NAND flash costs, even as many datacenters continue to use hard drives to keep costs low. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: How does the Longsys WM8500 essentially double storage? The Longsys WM8500 is
what the storage giant calls an SPU, or Storage Processing Unit, built on a 5nm process and fundamentally different from technologies such as Samsung 's SmartSSD.

Unlike Samsung's approach, which leverages a general-purpose FPGA or an ARM -based CPU inside the SSD to manage computational tasks on the drive, the SPU is an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) designed for a specific purpose: compression and storage management. You may like DapuStor launches 245TB PCIe Gen5 SSD for Enterprise Storage The largest SSD and hard drive of 2026 The first DRAM-less SSD controller to max out PCIe Gen5 is also a power efficiency champion in the making

The 5nm chip also offers a cost advantage that most high-end consumer and enterprise-grade controllers do not have, apart from its compression capabilities: it is a completely DRAM-less design that allows it to command a lower price, even as Longsys's claim of offering 'virtually' twice the
storage to its AI consumers kicks in.

It must be noted that the 2:1 figure is an 'up-to' ratio, and while it might be easier for an ASIC to compress data and context windows for certain AI models, others might make it considerably harder, especially if obfuscation
or encryption is in play. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features
and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

In an ideal scenario, however, the WM8500 SPU, coupled with its High Level Cache (HLC) implementation and its Intelligence Storage Agent (iSA), together make up what the manufacturer calls a "closed-loop software-hardware collaborative technology system" that focuses on AI customers.

The HLC cache claims a 40% reduction in DRAM requirements, making it a cost-effective alternative to HDD storage, even as competitors prepare to release 256TB enterprise SSDs later this year. AI data centers continue to demand large amounts of storage and memory alike to meet their
ever-increasing needs. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/next-gen-128tb-ssds-set-to-squeeze-data-on-the-f ly-thanks-to-a-new-smart-chip-longsys-wm8500-promises-a-compression-ratio-of-u p-to-2-1-creating-a-virtual-256tb-ssd-at-a-much-lower-price


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)