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| Brand | Samsung |
|---|---|
| Model | PM863a |
| Capacity | 3.84 TB |
| Usage Class | Read Intensive |
| Host Interface | SATA 6.0 Gbps |
|---|---|
| Total Interface Bandwidth | 6 Gb/s |
| Form Factor | 2.5" |
|---|
| NAND Flash | Samsung V-NAND 48-layer 3D TLC |
|---|---|
| Drive Writes Per Day | 1.3 |
| Total Bytes Written | 5600 TBW |
| Sequential Read | 520 MB/s |
|---|---|
| Sequential Write | 480 MB/s |
| Random Read IOPS | 97000 |
| Random Write IOPS | 24000 |
| Average Latency | 120 μs |
| Mean Time Between Failures | 2 Million Hours |
|---|---|
| Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate | 1.0×10⁻¹⁷ |
| Power Loss Protection | Yes |
| MPN | MZILS3T8HCJM-000C3 |
|---|
The Samsung PM863a (MZ-7LM3T8N) is a strong fit for read-intensive enterprise SATA deployments that need high capacity without sacrificing endurance, combining 3.84 TB, 1.3 DWPD, 5,600 TBW, and up to 97K/24K IOPS on Samsung 48-layer V-NAND. Compared with the previous-generation MZILS3T8HCJM-000C3, the PM863a delivers a more advanced V-NAND architecture with stronger sustained efficiency and endurance characteristics, making it a better choice for dense content delivery, virtualization boot/storage tiers, and scale-out server refreshes constrained to SATA 6 Gb/s.
With an endurance rating of 5600 TBW and 1.3 DWPD, the MZ-7LM3T8N is built to handle sustained daily write activity far beyond typical OS, application, and general business workloads. In practical terms, for use as a system or mixed-use enterprise drive, this level of endurance supports many years of reliable operation under normal deployment conditions, giving buyers strong confidence in long-term service life. The drive also includes power-loss protection (PLP), which helps preserve in-flight data and mapping information during an unexpected power interruption, reducing the risk of corruption and unplanned downtime. Its enterprise-class UBER of 1.0E-17, together with a 2 million hour MTBF, indicates an extremely low probability of unrecoverable read errors and strong overall reliability for business-critical environments.
1. The SATA enterprise interface ensures broad server and storage-array compatibility, making this drive a low-risk upgrade for legacy infrastructure and mixed-vendor deployments.
2. Its strong sequential read capability accelerates boot storms, backup restores, and large dataset access in read-heavy enterprise workloads.
3. High random read performance, paired with very low response time, helps databases and virtualized applications return small-block data quickly under heavy concurrent access.
4. The endurance profile is well suited for steady-state enterprise write activity, supporting predictable lifespan in business-critical environments with daily rewrite pressure.
5. Samsung’s multi-layer 3D TLC V-NAND improves capacity density and power efficiency while maintaining the reliability needed for always-on data center operation.
Lower capacity reference: 1.92 TB Higher capacity reference: 7.68 TB At 3.84 TB, this model sits at the sweet spot of the family. Compared with 1.92 TB, it gives much better capacity headroom for OS images, application growth, and data buffering, reducing the risk of early drive saturation. Compared with 7.68 TB, it delivers a more balanced acquisition cost while keeping essentially the same enterprise-class sequential and random performance profile. In practice, it is well suited for mid-scale virtualization clusters, such as hosting boot and application volumes for about 40 to 60 general-purpose virtual machines.
Q: Is MZ-7LM3T8N suitable for a write-heavy database server?
A: Yes. With 1.3 DWPD, 5600 TBW, low 120 µs typical latency, and enterprise Samsung 48-layer V-NAND TLC, MZ-7LM3T8N is suitable for write-intensive database and transaction-oriented server workloads.
Q: How many full drive writes per day can it actually endure over its warranty period?
A: This model is rated at 1.3 DWPD, meaning it can sustain approximately 1.3 full writes of its 3.84 TB capacity per day throughout the supported warranty period.
Q: Does it include power loss protection (PLP) and why is that critical?
A: Yes, it includes power loss protection. PLP helps preserve in-flight data and metadata during unexpected outages, reducing corruption risk and improving reliability in enterprise storage environments.
Q: What RAID level is recommended for this SSD?
A: The recommended RAID level depends on your priority. RAID 10 is typically preferred for database workloads requiring strong performance and redundancy, while RAID 5 or 6 offers better capacity efficiency.