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Let me start with a story. Years ago, I was fixing the irrigation system in my yard. I was working to remove a sprinkler head, so I grabbed an adjustable-sized wrench even though I needed a fixed-size wrench. It worked — sort of. I got the sprinkler head off, but the wrench slipped repeatedly, scarring the head and ultimately, cutting my left index finger and leaving a scar on my hand because I didn’t have a fixed-size wrench. With the right tool, the job would’ve been faster, cleaner and a lot less painful.
That lesson came back to me this year at FMS. As I walked the show floor and joined panel discussions, I noticed a shift in the way people were talking about AI infrastructure. The conversations weren’t just about speeds and feeds anymore — they were about the AI data pipeline. From ingestion to inference, attendees were asking smarter questions: “What’s the best memory for pre-training?” “Which SSDs are optimized for transformation?” The industry is maturing, and with that maturity comes a deeper appreciation for using the right server, the right memory and the right storage at each stage of the pipeline. It’s no longer about what works, it’s about what works best.
Data is the heart of AI
At Micron, we say, “Data is the heart of AI.” That’s not a tagline — it’s a guiding principle. AI researchers divide their work into two main areas: data preparation and algorithm development. Both are critical, but without the right infrastructure to support them, even the most sophisticated models can’t reach their full potential.
Micron’s portfolio: Precision tools for the AI pipeline
Just like a fixed-size wrench fits perfectly and delivers torque without slippage, Micron’s memory and storage solutions are engineered for specific stages of the AI data pipeline — from ingestion and transformation to training and inference.
Here are a few standout tools from our portfolio and the AI data pipeline phase they’re optimized for.
Ingestion phase
At the ingestion stage, storage plays a critical role in capturing and sustaining massive data flows without disruption. Micron 6600 ION SSDs, with up to 245TB capacity (coming soon) and high sequential read speeds, are purpose-built to handle parallel writes and continuous streaming at scale. These solutions eliminate bottlenecks, maximize throughput, and ensure that AI workloads are fed efficiently from the moment data enters the pipeline.
Micron 6600 ION SSD
- Capacity: Up to 245TB (coming soon) in E3.L form factor
- Performance: Sequential read speeds of 14 GB/s
- Interface: PCIe Gen5
- Efficiency: Up to 37% better energy efficiency than HDDs and 67% more rack density than U.2 SSDs
This drive is ideal for high-volume ingestion and storage, making it the go-to tool for feeding massive AI workloads without bottlenecks.
At the ingestion stage, memory acts as a high-speed buffer, ensuring that massive volumes of data can be captured and staged without bottlenecks. Micron’s DDR5 MRDIMM modules provide the bandwidth and capacity needed for rapid data intake, supporting seamless streaming and parallel writes. This enables organizations to feed their AI workloads efficiently, minimizing latency and maximizing throughput.
Transformation phase
During transformation, high-performance storage is essential for staging, accessing and moving large datasets efficiently. Micron 7600 SSDs deliver the capacity, bandwidth and reliability needed to support fast ETL operations, enabling seamless data flow between memory and persistent layers. These solutions accelerate data preparation, reduce bottlenecks and ensure agile pipelines that are ready for training and inference at scale.
Micron 7600 SSD
- QoS: Best-in-class with <1ms latency at 99.9999%
- Random write: 400K IOPS
- Efficiency: 79% better energy efficiency and 76% better 99th percentile latency compared to top mainstream PCIe Gen5 SSDs.
Perfect for transformation and inference stages, where predictable performance and low latency are non-negotiable.
During transformation, in-memory processing is essential for cleaning, feature extraction, and enrichment. High-capacity memory modules, such as Micron’s DDR5 MRDIMM and RDIMM, accelerate ETL operations by manipulating large datasets directly in memory. This results in faster data preparation and more agile pipelines, readying data for the next stage.
Training and inference phase
Storage plays a pivotal role in AI performance, especially during training and inference where data throughput and responsiveness are critical. Micron 9650 SSD, built on PCIe Gen6 and G9 TLC NAND, delivers up to 28 GB/s sequential read and 5.5 million random read IOPS — feeding GPUs with massive datasets at unmatched speed. Its low latency and high efficiency make it ideal for real-time inference and scalable deployment, ensuring that AI systems operate with precision from model development to production.
Micron 9650 SSD
- Interface: PCIe Gen6
- Performance: 28 GB/s sequential read, 5.5 million random read IOPS
- Efficiency: 67% better power efficiency than most Gen5 drives
- Cooling: Supports liquid-cooled environments
This is the high-performance wrench for training and inferencing at scale — feeding GPUs with data at lightning speed.
Memory is often overlooked, but it’s the backbone of AI model creation and implementation. MRDIMM is the precision instrument for compute-intensive workloads. Training and inference are distinct yet equally critical phases in the AI lifecycle, each demanding specialized memory solutions. During training, Micron’s DDR5 MRDIMMs deliver the high bandwidth and capacity needed to feed GPUs efficiently, enabling faster processing and support for larger, more complex models. Inference, on the other hand, relies on low-latency, high-availability memory — where Micron’s edge-optimized DDR5 MRDIMM ensures rapid access to data and models, empowering real-time decision-making and scalable deployment from data center to edge.
Micron DDR5 MRDIMM
- Speed: Up to 8800MT/s
- Capacity: Up to 4TB per server
- Efficiency: 1.7 times faster completion time and 1.2 times better system energy efficiency compared to 6400MT/s RDIMMs
The takeaway
Whether you’re tightening a bolt or architecting an AI data center, the right tool makes all the difference. At Micron, we’re not just building products, we’re crafting purpose-built solutions that align with the unique demands of AI workflows.
So next time you reach for a variable-size wrench, ask yourself: Is there a better tool for the job? In AI, as in life, using the right tool pays off.
