Dell Enterprise NVMe Mixed Use Drive U.2 Gen4 6.4TB SSD

Overview

The Dell 400-BKEY is a 6.4TB NVMe solid state drive designed to deliver high-capacity and fast storage performance for Dell PowerEdge servers and workstations. Utilizing a U.2 PCIe 4.0 interface, it offers significantly faster data transfer speeds compared to traditional SATA drives, enabling quicker boot times, faster backups, and responsive handling of demanding workloads. Its 2.5 inch form factor fits seamlessly into standard front drive bays, making installation straightforward without requiring chassis modifications.

With no moving parts, this SSD operates silently, resists shock, and consumes less power than spinning disks, which helps maintain lower rack temperatures and improves overall system efficiency. It is particularly well suited for environments running mixed workloads such as virtualization clusters, high-volume transactional databases, or media production setups where read-intensive tasks and intermittent write spikes coexist.

Key features

• Large 6.4TB NVMe capacity supports extensive databases, virtual machines, and rich media storage needs
• U.2 PCIe 4.0 interface provides high-speed data transfers for reduced boot, load, and backup times
• 2.5 inch form factor allows direct installation into Dell PowerEdge drive bays without additional hardware changes
• Solid state design ensures silent operation and shock resistance for reliable uptime in demanding environments
• Lower power consumption contributes to reduced heat generation and supports energy-efficient data center operations
• Fully validated by Dell for seamless integration and management through Dell server utilities

Key specs

• Capacity: 6.4TB
• Interface: U.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe
• Form factor: 2.5 inch
• Drive type: Solid state drive (SSD)
• Compatibility: Designed for Dell PowerEdge servers and workstations

Connectivity and compatibility

This SSD connects via a U.2 PCIe 4.0 interface, which offers a direct high-speed link to the server’s PCIe lanes, ensuring maximum throughput and low latency. It is specifically validated for Dell PowerEdge systems, guaranteeing smooth integration and full support through Dell’s management tools. The 2.5 inch form factor fits standard drive bays, so it can be deployed without modifying existing server chassis or backplanes.

Ideal uses and environments

The drive is a strong choice for IT administrators managing mixed workload environments that require both high capacity and consistent performance. It excels in virtualization clusters where multiple virtual machines demand fast storage access, as well as in transactional database servers that experience frequent read and write operations. Media production teams will also benefit from its ability to handle large files and bursts of write activity without slowing down.