For the past few weeks, there has been quite a commotion on tech sites, and it was all because of a 5 year old presentation. Someone discovered a set of slides created in 2010 by then-chair of the JEDEC SSD committee, Alvin Cox of Seagate. That person misinterpreted one of the slides to mean that unpowered SSDs would retain data for only a few days in a hot room. It was reported on one site and of course picked up by several others, spreading quickly across the spectrum of sites reporting on technical matters. Finally, Alvin and a colleague gave an interview to PCWorld (www.pcworld.com/article/2925173/debunked-your-ssd-wont-lose-data-if-left-unplugged-after-all.html) setting the record straight, stating that a scenario that might cause data loss is highly unlikely, especially for consumers. Read the article for more details.
Author: Team_SSSI
PCI Express Coming to an SSD Near You
There’s been a lot of press recently about what’s going on in the world of storage regarding the utilization of PCIe as a device interface. Of course, PCIe has been around a long time as a system bus, while SATA and SAS have been used as storage device interfaces. But with SSDs getting faster with every new product release, it’s become difficult for the traditional interfaces to keep up.
Some folks figure that PCIe is the solution to that problem. PCIe 3.0 operates at 1GB/s, which is faster than 600MB/s SATA. And with PCIe, it’s possible to add lanes to increase the overall bandwidth. The SATA Express spec from SATA-IO defines a client PCIe device as having up to 2 lanes of PCIe, which brings the speed up to 2GB/s. Enterprise SSDs will have up to 4 lanes of PCIe, which provides 4GB/s of bandwidth.
There was also some work on the software side that needed to be done to support PCIe devices, including NVM Express and SCSI Over PCIe (SOP), both of which are well underway.
If you are interested in knowing more about PCIe SSDs, keep an eye on our Education page, where, sometime during the week of August 5, we will be posting a new white paper on this topic.
SSSI at the Flash Memory Summit
SSSI will be at FMS August 21-23 in the Santa Clara Convention Center, booth 814. We’ll be displaying PCIe SSD products from a variety of suppliers, and as usual, we’ll have experts on hand to answer your questions about SSD technology and market trends.
Exhibits are open Wednesday Noon to 2:00pm and 5:30 to 7:30pm and Thursday Noon to 2:00pm. Stop by and say hello.
The Future of Flash & SSDs Is Not-So-Bleak
You have have seen articles about the study by a UCSD researcher that says future of Flash (and NAND Flash-based SSDs) is bleak: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/021612-ssds-have-a-bleak-future-256255.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_2012-02-20
Well, SSSI member Allyn Malventano of PC Perspectives begs to differ: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Editorial/NAND-Flash-Memory-Future-Not-So-Bleak-After-All
Recommended Reading List on SSDs and Performance
SSSI has developed an extensive library of educational materials about SSD performance and how to use the SSS Performance Test Specifications to measure it. If you’re new to SSDs or simply want to become more knowledgeable on the subject, we can help.
Below is a list of white papers, presentations, webcasts, and even a video that discuss SSDs, SSD performance and how it should be measured. The list is in the recommended order of reading / viewing, and ranges from basic overviews to technical details. Hope you find this useful.
- What more logical place to start than Solid State Storage 101? This white paper talks about SSDs, how they work and how they fit into system architectures.
- Another white paper, NAND Flash Solid State Storage for the Enterprise, looks at Flash memory in more detail and how SSD controllers work.
- Facing an SSS Decision? Here is How SNIA is Helping Users Evaluate SSS Performance is a presentation that starts to delve into SSD performance and the basic principles of the SSS Performance Test Specification.
- The presentation Validating SSS Performance also introduces the SSS PTS, but in additional detail.
- The Solid State Storage Performance Test Specification (SSS PTS) White Paper provides an easily understandable introduction to the SSS PTS.
- Here’s a video of our own Eden Kim Describing the SSS PTS at Storage Visions 2012.
- SNIA Solid State Storage Test Specification is a more technical description of the contents of the SSS PTS.
- Now that you’ve read all about them, the actual SSS PTS documents can be downloaded here.
- And finally, SSSI has put together a webpage on Understanding SSD Performance, which explains the test results generated from the SSS PTS and what they mean to users.
You can find a lot of other informative material related to SSDs on the SSSI Education page.
If you have any questions, comments or requests, please comment on this post or send a message to asksssi@snia.org.
SSSI Annual Meeting
If you attended yesterday’s SSSI meeting at the SNIA Winter Symposium, thanks. If not, you missed a great bunch of informative sessions on a range of topics, including SSD performance, security, caching, and the PCIe SSD Roundtable. The presentations are posted at www.snia.org/forums/sssi/knowledge/education.
Understand SSD Performance Project
At last week’s Storage Vision conference, SSSI announced the Understanding SSD Performance project, which is intended to educate users about how to use the SSS PTS (Performance Test Specification) to make intelligent decisions about SSD performance. You can find the press release here.
The project outcomes so far include a new webpage at www.snia.org/forums/sssi/pts, a white paper (www.snia.org/forums/sssi/knowledge/education), and a webcast.
Join us for the webcast on January 19 at 11AM Pacific Time by going to www.brighttalk.com/webcast/663/40549.
Webcast on SSD Encryption
Join Tom Coughlin, Marketing Chair, SNIA SSSI and President, Coughlin Associates, for an informative SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative webcast on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 11:00 am PT/2:00 pm ET.
Solid Security: The Rise of Self-Encrypted Solid State Drives
http://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/663/37987
Protecting user data is important in storage devices. If valuable information is on a storage device, it makes sense to make sure that that data isn’t accessible by unauthorized individuals or organizations. Protecting user data from being stolen or accessed leads to the use of encryption in storage devices.
With one of the hottest drive categories – solid state drives (SSDs) – rapidly penetrating data centers, this hour-long webcast provides a valuable introduction to self-encrypting drives (SEDs) and explains why organizations need SEDs Solid State Drives in their environment. Listen, ask questions, and find out from your peers where they are in incorporating SEDs and SSDs in their environment.
New Article on SSD Security
An article by SSSI member Tom Coughlin on Self Encrypting Drives was just published in the October edition of Storage Networking Solutions. Tom defines SED, discusses the advantages of a SSD SED, and forecasts the rate of adoption of this important technology. It starts on page 17.
New SSD Blog
SSSI member Jim Handy at Objective Analysis has started a blog dedicated to SSDs. Jim is an avid follower of the SSD market, and his blog will doubtless be a great resource.
You’ll find the link on the SSSI Blogroll.