Technical Details
Huawei introduced new SSD OceanDisk 1800, designed for AI infrastructure and modern data centers. Devices are available in 61.44 TB and 122.88 TB versions, with a 245 TB version promised in the future. However, the volume is not as important as the technologies used.
Background
Since 2019, Huawei has been on the US Department of Commerce's blacklist, which has denied the company access to US equipment and software, as well as any technologies developed with US involvement. As a result, Huawei cannot purchase multilayer NAND memory with 3D packaging from leading manufacturers: even Samsung and SK hynix, which produce chips with over 400 layers, use US technologies and cannot supply them to Huawei.
Industry Impact
As an alternative, Huawei turned to Chinese manufacturer YMTC with its Xtacking 4.0 3D NAND — but this memory is limited to 232 layers, putting Huawei at a disadvantage in terms of storage density. However, Chinese engineers found a non-standard solution — Die-on-Board (DoB) packaging. Instead of the traditional packaging of chips in BGA/TSOP packages, Huawei places NAND crystals directly on the SSD's printed circuit board. This allows for more NAND crystals to be placed without vertical stacking, bypassing the limitations of traditional packaging in terms of density, and reducing production costs by eliminating expensive packaging stages.