see also: -
Microsemi
(or WEDC) - editor mentions in StorageSearch.com
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Who's
who in SSD? - by
Zsolt Kerekes,
editor - January 20, 2011
Microsemi is 1 of 35 companies in
the
1" SSD guide, 1
of more than 50 companies in the
military SSD market,
1 of more than 100 companies in the
2.5" SSD market
and is also listed in these directories:-
fast purge SSDs,
SATA SSDs and
PATA SSDs.
Microsemi's
SSD technology business was initially based on technology developed by a company
it acquired in 2010 called
White Electronic Designs
Corp (WEDC) - which was 1st listed in StorageSearch.com's SSD buyers
guides in
2005.
Everything the company does is related to the defense market.
SSDs
and the Big Bang....
Now I don't know if you've ever seen the
comedy sitcom -
the Big Bang Theory?
It's about a bunch of physicist (guys) whose social skills - when it comes to
encounters with other humans (in particular - girls) - are nowhere near as
highly developed as you might expect from brainiacs with a deep understanding
of the make up of the cosmos.
My favorite character in Big Bang is
Sheldon Cooper (played by Emmy award winning actor Jim
Parsons). When someone accidentally ignites Sheldon with a flippant
technical comment or question - his response is a lecture - which goes on
and on and on and on...
He takes physics and technology very seriously
- and in some ways I'm reminded this is exactly what I do when I get invited
to offer a "simple quick reply" about SSDs by some unsuspecting
reader in an email. The way such questions are phrased can signal to me
that the questioner may not know enough to ask the right question. Some people
might call Sheldon's responses (in Big Bang) and mine (re SSDs) as somewhat
obsessive when it comes to the detail.
But sometimes an obsessive
compulsion to details (my positive definition of OCD) can
be a good thing. And this is where we return to Microsemi's SSD products. Do you
remember? we started off talking about those earlier on.
back to
Microsemi's SSDs
I've been tracking the company's SSD products
since 2005 - but even before they launched their 1st SSD - I anticipated they
would enter the SSD market because it was a natural extension of their memory
technology and the needs of their defense customers.
Last year I had
some enjoyable discussions with Jack Bogdanski
- Microsemi's Director of New Product Development about a range of detailed
SSD technology design issues.
Even though Jack didn't answer all my
detailed questions (some of the ways they've solved design problems they prefer
to keep secret) I was impressed by the lengths they have gone to in some of
their new SSD designs to ensure that they operate reliably under all likely
operating conditions, that the data stays secure even if the SSD falls into the
wrong hands, and that with customer supply cycles often extending over many
years - Microsemi minimizes the risk of forced requalifications.
They
design the controller software, they make their own microprocessors - which
incidentally made it easier for them to ensure end-to-end data integrity - and
they have more than a decade of experience with memories in "hard"
defense (as opposed to "soft" industrial) applications.
One
detail gives you an idea of how far the obsession with getting it right goes.
When it came to the design of the architecture to
manage sudden
SSD power loss - realizing the importance of getting this right they applied
more engineers to this than most companies deploy to entire an entire 2.5"
SSD.
So - if you're in the defense market and - in particular need
SSDs to fit into the tight spaces and environmental constraints of aerospace
projects - and if you're looking for a long serious conversation about
some minute aspect of the SSD design - which no-one else seems to take
seriously - but which is a deeply sensitive issue for you - then the SSD
people in Microsemi might be good to talk to.
But make sure you set
aside enough time for the follow up reply. It may not be a quick one.
For
more info about Microsemi take a look at the links above and
Microsemi
editor mentions in StorageSearch.com.
I currently talk to more
than 300 makers of SSDs and another 100 or so companies which are
closely enmeshed around the SSD ecosphere - which are all profiled here on
the mouse site.
I learn about new SSD companies every day, including
many in stealth mode. If you're interested in the growing
big picture of
the SSD market canvass - StorageSearch will help you along the way. Many
SSD company CEOs read our site too - and say they value our thought leading SSD
content - even when we say something that's not always comfortable to hear. I
hope you'll find it it useful too. |
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In May 2010 -
Microsemi
announced
it had completed the acquisition of
White Electronic Designs.
In
August 2010 - Microsemi
announced it now offers a 16GB SLC NAND version of its
PBGA SSDs - which
are designed specifically for use in the rugged and demanding environments of
defense and aerospace
applications.
In March 2011 -
Microsemi
announced
initial production and availability of its
TRRUST-Stor a rugged
2.5" SATA SSD designed for mission critical applications in the
aerospace, defense, and military markets. Security features in the new SSD
include:- AES encryption with a 256-bit key with XTS, a
fast purge feature
called SnapPurge which destroys key in less than 30mS and hardware-based fast
clear of the entire drive which takes less than 4 seconds. Uncorrectable bit
error rate is one sector per 1030 bits read. Other reliability
oriented features include:- Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) and
power
interruption protection with over and under voltage detection and protection
which does not rely on super caps or batteries.
In May 2011 -
Microsemi announced
that its TRRUST-STOR
(2.5" rugged SSDs) are the industry's first SSDs to pass zero-failure
testing at vibration
levels that are consistent with the industry's most severe environments.
In September 2011 -
Microsemi
announced it's
shipping secure rugged SATA SSD chips for embedded defense applications with
upto 75GB SLC capacity in a single 32mm x 28mm PBGA (plastic ball grid array).
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| "SSD IP is still an
important factor in establishing leadership in the minds of the market. We
haven't got the stage where the color or the brand on the SSD box determines how
many get sold." |
| ......from the article -
the Top 20 SSD Companies | | |
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| Microsemi
packs MIL SATA 75GB SLC SSD into PBGA |
Editor:- September 29, 2011 - Microsemi
announced it's
shipping secure rugged SATA SSD chips for embedded defense applications with
upto 75GB SLC capacity in a single 32mm x 28mm PBGA (plastic ball grid array).
Advanced security features include AES-128 encryption, self-destruct
capability and whole-module
erase with "push-button"
trigger option, which are essential for mission-critical defense and aerospace
applications, ruggedized mobile systems, surveillance, avionics, navigation and
ruggedized portable storage solutions.
"Our ability to miniaturize microelectronics systems has proven
to be a key advantage in defense applications where SWaP solutions are critical,"
said Jack
Bogdanski, director of marketing for Microsemi. "Offering a
complete solid state storage system in a compact module allows designers to add
more features to their systems, while supporting key security features that are
increasingly important to our defense and aerospace customers."
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| Microsemi
pushes the envelope in rugged 2.5" SSDs |
Editor:- March 21, 2011 - Microsemi today
announced
initial production and availability of its
TRRUST-Stor a rugged
2.5" SATA SSD designed for mission critical applications in the
aerospace, defense, and military markets.
Security features in the
new SSD include:- AES encryption with a 256-bit key with XTS, a
fast purge feature
called SnapPurge which destroys key in less than 30mS and hardware-based fast
clear of the entire drive which takes less than 4 seconds. Uncorrectable bit
error rate is one sector per 1030 bits read. Other reliability
oriented features include:- BIST
and
power
interruption protection with over and under voltage detection and protection
which does not rely on super caps or batteries.
Jack
Bogdanski, Director of New Product Development said that . "...Unlike
commercial offerings, our proprietary IP and controller technology guarantees
our customers a stable platform whose future is not dictated by 3rd party or
commercial product design cycles."
Microsemi emphasize they can
support a
long customer supply
cycle with
no EOL
because they control all the IP in the design including the processor core.
Editor's
comments:- from the time when I saw an advanced product datasheet for this
product I was impressed by its balanced set of design features for military
applications and especially its industry leading data integrity and security
features. So I looked forward to speaking with the product's architect Jack
Bogdanski.
As an opener to the conversation I had today I asked about the SSD's
power down management - is there any other type of non volatile memory inside
their new SSD (apart from flash)?
Jack said he wasn't prepared to
disclose proprietary details of how they solve design problems. But a team of 5
people had worked for nearly 2 years on the SSD power management alone. He
promised to send me more information about what this system does as an update
to my recent SSD
power down article.
I said - "there are so many interesting
features in this new SSD that it's hard to just narrow down my questions to 1 or
2 topics. How did the design come about?"
Jack said that the
company first considered getting into the
military SSD market in
2002 - because it was a natural extension of their abilities to integrate memory
packages and systems. There were a lot of changes going on in the SSD market at
that time. Jack made the point several times in our conversation - that unlike
other markets for SSDs - in the military you have to get the design right
and deliver a product which works reliably.
So WEDC/ Microsemi asked
their military customers - "What are you not getting from other SSDs
which you would like to see in a new true mission critical SSD?"
That's where the feature set came from. |
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Jack said their customers
set a high value on data security and operational reliability as well as
performance. He said the TRRUST-Stor is a working product that's already being
shipped to a military customer. It's not just a datasheet. | | | |
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