KIOXIA CM9-R is the first enterprise SSD family built on 8th-generation BiCS FLASH. Our lab-tested 15.36TB E3.S model represents the series' sweet-spot capacity: 3,400K random read IOPS and 14,800 MB/s sequential read at a 25 W typical active power rating. Most Gen5 enterprise drives draw well above 20 W to hit headline figures; KIOXIA's CM9 pitch is that BiCS8's CBA (CMOS directly Bonded to Array) design delivers top-of-class throughput without the power tax.

The tested CM9-R 15.36TB ships in E3.S with 8th-gen BiCS FLASH and a 25 W typical rating. CM9-R is the 1 DWPD read-intensive arm of the family, alongside the 3 DWPD mixed-use CM9-V line. E3.S capacities span 1.92TB–30.72TB, while the 61.44TB flagship is reserved for the 2.5-inch U.2 version. Below 7.68TB the series carries BiCS-5 flash; the 7.68TB, 15.36TB and 30.72TB models host generation 8. Our review unit (KCM9XRJE15T3) sits at the capacity point posting the series' best write specs: 11,000 MB/s sequential write and 540K random write IOPS, peaks shared with no other capacity.

The drive is PCIe 5.0 x4 with dual-port x2 support for high-availability topologies, NVMe 2.0 and NVMe-MI 1.2c compliant, and supports the OCP Datacenter NVMe SSD v2.5 specification (partial). Power-loss protection and end-to-end data protection are standard, with SIE, SED and FIPS 140-3 SED security variants available.

Test Setup & Comparables

We tested on a Dell PowerEdge R760 running Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS, fitted with a Serial Cables Gen5 JBOF supporting U.2, E1.S, E3.S and M.2 drives: 2×Intel Xeon Gold 6430, 16×64GB DDR5-4400, 480GB Dell BOSS SSD, Serial Cables Gen5 JBOF, NVIDIA L4. Comparables include CD9P-R, Western Digital SN861, Solidigm PS1010/PS1030, Micron 7600 MAX, 9550 MAX and 9550 Pro; the CD9P-R is the most relevant reference, sharing the same BiCS8 flash.

FIO Performance

128K seq write (QD16/1 job): steady-state 8,668.1 MB/s @ 230.4 µs, third behind the two Microns, and 25% above the CD9P-R. 128K seq read (QD64/1 job): 9,974.6 MB/s, the one result short of rating (multi-job restores full pace; single-stream buyers should test their own pipeline). 64K random write: 9,635.3 MB/s peak (QD8/2 jobs), second; best-in-field low-QD 3,334.8 MB/s @ 18.4 µs, with controlled latency versus competitors' spikes. 64K random read: best single-stream start 1,359.0 MB/s @ 45.6 µs, reaching its 13,402.4 MB/s peak at only QD4/8 jobs. 16K seq write: 10,812.2 MB/s peak, second only to the 9550 MAX, achieved at low queue depth (QD1/16 jobs, 22.8 µs); best single-worker latency at 10.4 µs. 16K seq read: 13,393.2 MB/s at QD32/8, second to the CD9P-R, matching at half the latency (QD16/8). 4K random write: 1,502.9K IOPS peak; at QD1 it led outright at 115.8K IOPS @ 8.2 µs. 4K random read: 1,973.4K IOPS deep-queue peak, mid-pack (KIOXIA's 3,400K rating sits beyond our sweep ceiling); lowest 4K read latency in the group at QD1 (33.6K IOPS @ 29.3 µs).

GDSIO

CM9-R led the 16K block segment with 136.4K IOPS, the best small-block read figure in the group; in 1M reads it hit 6.06 GiB/s, second to the CD9P-R. The write sweep is its standout: a 5.51 GiB/s peak second to the 9550 MAX on paper, but the most stable line on the bench, avoiding the 9550 MAX's 1M/64 volatility and the Solidigm 128K high-thread collapse. Single-thread 16K write latency of 21.4 µs tied the CD9P-R.

DLIO Checkpoint

Checkpoint counts scale with capacity, so the table presents pass averages (lower is better):

The CM9-R degrades gradually and predictably rather than swinging. A 1 DWPD read-intensive drive isn't bought for sustained checkpoint writes; the FIO data carries its argument. Checkpoint-burst buyers should consider the CM9-V or mixed-use siblings.

Conclusion.

The CM9-R 15.36TB is the first enterprise SSD with BiCS8, tested at its best write capacity point, delivering the group's lowest low-queue-depth latency across every workload. It led QD1 outright in 4K reads (33.6K IOPS @ 29.3 µs), 4K writes (115.8K IOPS @ 8.2 µs), 16K seq writes (10.4 µs) and 64K reads (1,359.0 MB/s @ 45.6 µs), reached its 64K peak at a fraction of rivals' concurrency, produced the best GDS small-block read IOPS (136.4K) and the most stable sustained write line (5.51 GiB/s peak). Weaknesses: a mid-pack deep-queue 4K read peak and a single-worker 128K seq read off from rating.

For latency-sensitive read tiers, OLTP frontends, dual-port HA virtualized estates and read-heavy AI serving, the CM9-R is the strongest argument that BiCS8's CBA design changes the class; sustained heavy-write pipelines should look to the CM9-V or mixed-use drives. It now holds the "Best for Latency-Critical Workloads" leaderboard spot on StorageReview's enterprise SSD page.

Beijing Qianxing Jietong Technology Co., Ltd.
Sandy Yang/Global Strategy Director
WhatsApp / WeChat: +86 13426366826
Email: yangyd@qianxingdata.com
Website: www.qianxingdata.com/www.storagesserver.com
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