SM8008 PCIe Gen5 controller targets power-efficient boot storage| Electronics Weekly

It features a power-efficient architecture that supports up to 14GB/s performance while operating under 5W.

The NAND flash controller specialist highlights that boot SSDs operate continuously across thousands of servers. Even marginal power savings per drive potentially mean reductions in total datacentre power consumption, and thus operating costs.

SM8008 features

Features of the SM8008 highlighted by the company include the following.

• Up to 14GB/s sequential throughput
• Over 2.3 million random IOPS (4K)
• Active power consumption under 5W
• PCIe Gen5 x4 host interface
• 8 NAND channels supporting ONFI and Toggle DDR 5.0 up to 3,600MT/s

The part is built on TSMC’s 6nm process technology.

Security

In terms of security, the SM8008 security framework involves:

• TCG Opal 2.0 compliant encryption
• Hardware-accelerated AES-256, SHA2-512, and RSA-3072b
• Secure Boot and firmware authentication
• Support for DICE and SPDM
• CNSA 2.0 readiness

Server deployments

The idea is to enable datacentre operators to modernise boot infrastructure without increasing energy budgets, says the company.

“The rapid growth of AI and cloud infrastructure is driving large-scale server deployments,” said Alex Chou, Senior VP of Enterprise Storage & Display Interface Solution Business at Silicon Motion. “While much focus is placed on accelerators and high-performance storage, every AI server relies on reliable, power-efficient boot storage.”

“SM8008 is purpose-built for this critical layer, delivering Gen5 performance with enterprise-grade security while strengthening our enterprise portfolio.”

Gregory Wong, Founder and Principal Analyst of Forward Insights also highlighted the strategic importance of boot SSDs.

“With the shift to PCIe Gen5 and more power-sensitive data center designs, even foundational components like boot SSDs are becoming strategically important. Vendors that align performance, efficiency, and security with evolving hyperscale standards are positioned to benefit as this segment continues to expand within the broader enterprise storage market.”

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation dates from its founding in 1995 and now has offices in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as the US.

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