{"slug": "marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared", "title": "Marvell Bravera SC6 Doubles Gen5 Speeds as Optical Memory Reaches 32TB of Shared KV Cache", "summary": "Marvell introduced the Bravera SC6 PCIe 6.0 SSD controller, doubling the speed of its predecessor, and new memory infrastructure technologies at FMS 2026 to help hyperscalers scale memory independently from compute. The portfolio includes server-level AI storage, rack-scale CXL memory expansion (Structera X), and pod-level optical shared memory supporting up to 32TB of KV-cache offload. Will Chu, executive vice president and general manager of Custom Cloud Solutions at Marvell, said AI infrastructure is moving toward integrated systems requiring independent memory scaling to improve utilization and manage costs.", "body_md": "Marvell used FMS 2026 to introduce new memory infrastructure technologies aimed at helping hyperscalers and cloud providers scale memory independently from compute. The portfolio spans server-level AI storage, rack-scale CXL memory expansion and pooling, and pod-level optical shared memory.\n\nThe releases target growing memory demands from agentic AI inference. Larger models, longer context windows, and expanding key-value caches are increasing requirements for memory capacity, bandwidth, and connectivity. In traditional server-attached architectures, these demands can lead to processor stalls and inefficient data movement.\n\nMemory disaggregation allows memory to be expanded, pooled, and shared independently of compute resources. Marvell said its approach is designed to improve memory accessibility, reduce latency and data movement, and increase processor utilization. The goal is to produce more tokens within existing data center power and space constraints.\n\nWill Chu, executive vice president and general manager of Custom Cloud Solutions at Marvell, said AI infrastructure is moving from isolated servers toward integrated systems that combine compute, memory, and connectivity. He added that more independent memory scaling is necessary to improve resource utilization and manage the cost and power requirements of AI deployments.\n\n## Server-Level AI Storage\n\nThe Marvell Bravera SC6 PCIe 6.0 SSD controller is designed to support AI inference workloads that require frequent movement of [KV-cache data between high-bandwidth memory and SSD storage](https://www.storagereview.com/review/the-token-efficient-path-for-long-context-inference-kv-cache-offload-to-flash). Marvell said the controller provides twice the speed of its Bravera SC5 PCIe 5.0 predecessor.\n\nBy improving cache transfer performance, the SC6 is intended to increase storage efficiency for AI, cloud, and enterprise workloads. The controller also targets lower write amplification and longer NAND service life. Support for NAND from multiple suppliers gives hyperscalers greater flexibility when sourcing and deploying SSDs.\n\nThe Bravera SC6 is expected to begin sampling in the fourth quarter of 2026.\n\n## Rack-Scale Memory Expansion and Pooling\n\nMarvell’s Structera X memory expansion solutions build on [the company’s existing Structera CXL platform](https://www.storagereview.com/news/marvell-extends-cxl-ecosystem-leadership-with-structera-interoperability-across-major-memory-and-cpu-platforms) and are designed to help hyperscalers address memory-intensive AI workloads through larger and more flexible memory pools. Developed with hyperscaler partners, the platform supports memory expansion and resource sharing across servers.\n\nStructera X is intended to improve the utilization of existing memory investments while accommodating larger models, longer context windows, and increasing KV-cache requirements. By separating memory capacity from individual server configurations, the platform can support more adaptable CXL-based expansion and pooling architectures.\n\nMarvell said the approach is designed to improve infrastructure utilization and operational efficiency while reducing total ownership costs. It also establishes a foundation for future CXL memory pooling and sharing systems.\n\n## Pod-Level Optical Shared Memory\n\nMarvell’s Photonic Fabric components include optical memory modules, network interface controllers, and chiplets for a shared-memory architecture spanning multiple racks. The system is designed to connect XPUs and racks across distances of up to 50 meters.\n\nThe architecture supports up to 32TB of warm KV-cache offload with high bandwidth and low latency. Instead of retrieving KV-cache data from storage, AI systems can access it from the shared optical memory tier. Marvell said this can improve inference throughput, support larger models and longer context windows, and increase token efficiency.\n\nThe company projects up to two to three times higher token throughput within existing data center space and power constraints. Actual performance will depend on system configuration, workload characteristics, and the implementation of the surrounding AI infrastructure.\n\nMarvell is showing the portfolio at FMS 2026, booth #805. The announcement lands in a week dominated by inference-memory news, and it dovetails with [NVIDIA’s Storage-Next and SCADA push](https://www.storagereview.com/news/nvidia-scada-puts-storage-control-on-the-gpu-as-cufile-goes-open-source): Marvell has pointed to that architecture requiring PCIe Gen7 SSDs sustaining 100 million IOPS, and controllers like the Bravera SC6 are the stepping stones toward drives built for GPU-driven small-block access.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared", "canonical_source": "https://www.storagereview.com/news/marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared-kv-cache", "published_at": "2026-08-05 15:35:04+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-05 16:07:03.324126+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure"], "entities": ["Marvell", "Bravera SC6", "Structera X", "Will Chu", "FMS 2026"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/marvell-bravera-sc6-doubles-gen5-speeds-as-optical-memory-reaches-32tb-of-shared.jsonld"}}