- Recycled enterprise SSDs amplify failure risks during sustained AI workloads
- Flash wear remains a physical limit that software optimization cannot erase
- Drive regeneration trades short-term capacity gains for long-term reliability issues
The persistent shortage of enterprise SSDs has forced data center operators to rethink how they manage storage resources as AI workloads increase pressure.
A senior Dell executive has warned that recycling enterprise SSDs creates serious reliability risks at a time when storage systems are still in short supply.
Flash media degrades with repeated write cycles, and older drives can fail more quickly when operators place them back into demanding environments.
Flash wear and risk of data loss
“Flash drives wear with use. Reintroduction of aging media increases the likelihood of accelerated component failure, data unavailability and, in the worst case scenario, catastrophic data loss,” said David Noy, the company’s Vice President of Product Management for Unstructured Data Solutions.
Such results directly conflict with the stability required by AI tools, as these systems rely on uninterrupted and predictable data access.
This warning comes as analysts expect SSD supply constraints to continue for at least another year.
Some storage vendors have responded by promoting drive recycling strategies, where operators remove existing SSDs from one system and reuse them in another.
VAST Data has described this approach as a way to expand limited flash capacity by relying on software-based data reduction.
However, Dell management claims this response reflects market pressures rather than technical improvements.
“‘Flash recycling’ as a strategy is a good marketing soundbite, but also a sign of pressure, not progress,” Noy said, “It may sound pragmatic, but it carries real risk. For software-only storage vendors, it’s a sign that desperate times call for desperate measures.”
The company maintains that recycled flash bears the same physical wear and tear regardless of software efficiency, and has reiterated its longstanding support for tiered storage architectures that combine flash and rotating media.
By allowing less critical data to move away from flash, organizations can reduce their reliance on scarce and costly SSD capacity.
Dell claims this flexibility provides resilience when price changes or delivery timelines lengthen, without forcing customers into an all-flash environment.
Other suppliers have taken similar positions. For example, DDN supports multi-tier storage systems spanning NVMe, conventional SSDs, disk drives and cloud resources.
Automated data movement policies enable information to move between tiers while maintaining acceptable access rates.
Like Dell, DDN suggests that reducing reliance on premium flash hardware provides a more sustainable response to shortages than trying to recycle aging components.
Dell’s criticism also frames flash recycling as a trust issue, suggesting that software vendors may lack accountability when recycled hardware fails.
Via Blocks and files
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