Huawei crossed SSD with tape in MED drive: due to sanctions, the company can no longer rely on HDD supplies

Huawei, according to Blocks​&​Files, is developing technology for storing large amounts of data based on so-called magnetoelectric disks (MED). In fact, we are talking about combining SSD and tape drives in one case, which will combine the advantages of “hot” and “cold” storage. The need to create a new type of storage system is due to strict sanctions from the United States – Huawei fears possible interruptions in the purchase of traditional HDDs.

The MED concept is to combine different types of media in one sealed housing. It is a solid-state drive based on NAND flash memory and a tape system including a drive, tape reels and read-write heads. Thus, an SSD can be used to work with “hot” data, providing low latencies and high read/write speeds, and a tape module can be used to work with “cold” data. The tape length is approximately half that of LTO cartridges, i.e. about 480 m instead of 960 m.

Structurally, MED resembles a tape recorder cassette and contains two reels for tape, an electric motor and heads. MED has a block interface and two translation layers. When recording, information first goes to the SSD, and after reordering it is sequentially written to tape. When reading, the drive, based on the metadata in flash memory, reads data either from the SSD (“warm”) or from the tape (“cold”). In the latter case, the access delay can be up to two minutes.

Image source: Blocks & Files

The MED platform does not use tape drive technology from IBM, Fujifilm or Sony. Instead, Huawei developed the necessary components together with Chinese partners, and NAND chips are already produced in China. This ensures independence from foreign products that may be subject to sanctions. The MED chassis does not require robotic arms and provides high storage density.

The first generation MED stores 72 TB of information while consuming only 10% of the energy required by a conventional hard drive. Total cost of ownership (TCO) is approximately 20% lower than other tape systems of equivalent capacity. The first generation MED rack provides data transfer rates of 8 Gbps, holds more than 10 PB of information and consumes less than 2 kW. MED systems are not at risk of overheating because they are primarily designed to store historical data.

Huawei has received a number of patents for the MED system and its components. First generation solutions are expected to be released in 2025. And for 2026–2027. The release of second-generation devices with 3.5″ format bays (LFF) is planned. Western Digital also proposed something similar – the company patented a highly integrated LTO cartridge in an HDD housing. As for Huawei’s future plans, it is now developing its own SSDs with a capacity of 60 TB based on QLC NAND flash memory with SLC caching.