WhipTail removes sign-up
barrier for case studies
Editor:- May 6, 2011 - WhipTail Technologies
has responded to my request to remove the sign-in barrier for their
customer SSD acceleration
case studies - although they haven't all been optimized for web downloads.
For
example the 2 page pdf re the
Ohio
DODD - is an unnecessarily bloated 13MB.
Despite that - I think
many of you with complex SAN
environments who have held off SSD acceleration due to the unknown interaction
factors in your systems will find it reassuring reading some of
these stories.
SandForce names trusted partner for SSD data recovery
Editor:-
May 5, 2011 - SandForce
today named DriveSavers
as a member of its trusted partners program.
"DriveSavers was our
first choice to expand the SandForce Trusted program to include
data recovery services,"
said Kent Smith, Senior Director of Product Marketing for SandForce. "While
SandForce SSD Processors eliminate the most common data loss scenarios through
DuraClass NAND flash management features, DriveSavers can provide the SSD a
safety net should the unexpected SSD failure happen and data loss occurs."
Editor's comments:- although many data recovery companies have
developed techniques
to deal with SSDs - some SSDs are difficult or impossible to recover without
the support of the original
controller company.
This is a significant announcement because it makes SandForce SSDs more
attractive in consumer markets. Over 90% of consumers don't do reliable
backups.
Dataram delivers 24x speedup for telco
Editor:- May
5, 2011 - Dataram
has started to say more about the
speedup
ratios that customers are seeing with its
XcelaSAN (the industry's
first SSD ASAP).
One of my
11 SSD predictions
for 2011 was that SSD marketers would start to talk the language of xN
speedups for common apps or customer groups rather than simply tossing
around native IOPS and throughput numbers.
"We knew from the
outset that XcelaSAN would deliver unbeatable value and performance to our
customers, and we are now seeing proof of the many financial and business
benefits that all our users are receiving." said John Freeman, President
and CEO of Dataram. "We are very pleased to find that our customers can now
do more at lower CapEx and OpEx, while extending the usable life of their
equipment in a wide range of business environments."
flash SSD
capacity - the iceberg syndrome
Editor:- May 4, 2011 - ever
wondered how much of the flash capacity inside your SSD actually appeared on
the invoice? You may be surprised how much more lies beneath the surface.
A new
article today on StorageSearch.com
discusses the wide differences of approach within the SSD market when it comes
to surface visible flash capacity.
SMART samples 1.8" slim 64GB SLC SSDs
Editor:-
May 3, 2011 - SMART
is sampling a new 64GB 1.8"
Slim (39x54x4mm ) SATA SLC SSD for embedded applications.
The
XceedIOPS iSATA Slim has a typical power consumption of 0.5W at +5VDC and
supports automatic 5V/3.3V input power selection. R/W throughput is upto
120/115MB/s and 14K/1.4K R/W IOPS.
"Because the XceedIOPS iSATA Slim SSD is designed to a
JEDEC industry standard,
SMART anticipates many OEM customers will adopt this form-factor as the platform
of choice for existing and new product development activities," said John
Scaramuzzo, SMART's Senior VP and General Manager, Storage Business Unit.
TMS updates SSD patents list
Editor:- May 3, 2011
- new (to me) is a
patents directory on Texas Memory Systems'
website which lists the company's US patents which are mostly related to
ensuring the integrity
of data in fast SSDs.
The most recent - issued a few weeks ago -
is related to dealing with timing skews which occur in all digital systems -
but which become more significant when data throughput approaches the speed
limits of the associated chip driver technology and board layout environment.
The patent covers a TMS technique for fine tuning set-up and hold times and
extracting reliable data. Other TMS patents in the last year relate to variable
size page data striping in flash arrays and a scheme for reducing
read
disturb errors. See also:-
SSD
patents (editor mentions on StorageSearch.com).
Kaminario gets another $15 million funding
Editor:-
May 2, 2011 - Kaminario
today announced it
has secured $15 million in Series C funding bringing its total investor
funding to $34 million.
"Kaminario expects to sell to companies
of all sizes, since almost every company has at least one application that needs
a jump in its storage performance," said
Dani
Golan, its co-founder and chief executive.
Fusion-io aims to accelerate MIL bots
Editor:- May
2, 2011 - Fusion-io
today
announced
that it will participate in the Coalition
Warrior Interoperability Demonstration - an annual
event that engages
cutting-edge information technology focusing on operational shortfalls
identified by combatant commanders and government agencies.
"More
than ever, rapid interpretation of multiple points of data in real-world,
wartime environments can mean the difference between life or death for soldiers
and civilians," said
Fred Vasofsky,
Fusion-io Director of Federal Systems. "Fusion-io understands how
critically important it is for warfighters and analysts to be able to quickly
and correctly interpret field data. Through our participation in CWID, our
military leaders will be able to assess how our technology can make a
significant contribution to the defense and disaster response-related activities
of our nation and allies."
Editor's comments:- many
early SSD
makers started in the
defense market and
then later diversified into civilian markets. It's been unusual for the flow
to go the other way. But this announcement by Fusion-io shows that enterprise
technologies which speed critical decision making (by people or bots) can
migrate from civilian to defense applications if they are fast enough and
deemed to be reliable
enough to make a worthwhile difference. |
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| the 3 fastest PCIe
SSDs? |
Are you tied up in
knots trying to shortlist flash SSD accelerators ranked according to
published comparative benchmarks?
You know the sort of thing I mean -
where a magazine compares 10 SSDs or a blogger compares 2 SSDs against each
other. It would be nice to have a shortlist so that you don't have to waste too
much of your own valuable time testing unsuitable candidates wouldn't it?
StorageSearch's long running
fastest SSDs directory
typically indicates 1 main product in each form factor category but those
examples may not be compatible with your own ecosystem.
If so a
new article -
the 3 fastest PCIe
SSDs list (or is it really lists?) may help you cut that Gordian
knot. Hmm... you may be thinking that StorageSearch's editor never gives easy
answers to SSD questions if more complicated ones are available.
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But in this case you'd be
wrong. (I didn't say you'd like the answers, though.) ...read the article | | | |
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| How much investment does
it take to achieve something big in the SSD market? A couple of years ago - if
you were a big company wanting to get into the SSD marke by an acquisition or
strategic investment then a budget somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion
would have seemed like plenty. |
| VCs & SSDs | | |
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