Endurance is not one number
SSD life is affected by total writes, workload, capacity utilization, garbage collection, temperature and firmware policy. TBW describes cumulative writes within a product's stated life or warranty conditions; DWPD expresses how many full-drive writes per day are supported across the warranty term.
Use DWPD with context
A common expression is DWPD = TBW ÷ (warranty days × drive capacity), with consistent units. Compare the data-sheet rating alongside capacity, warranty, workload and restrictions rather than in isolation.
Why write amplification matters
Host writes and NAND writes are not always equal. Garbage collection, wear leveling and data movement cause internal writes. Long periods near full capacity, small random writes and unsuitable logging policies can worsen the condition. Validate mitigations in the target application stack.
Operational guidance
Start with observed host-write curves, then add growth, recovery and peak-write buffers. For checkpoints, database logs and high-write caches, select an enterprise drive whose endurance aligns with the write profile and monitor remaining life, media errors, temperature and relevant power events.