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SSD news
New SSD is a Zillion Times Faster than a Hard Drive

Editor:- May 7, 2008 - in a new article published today on STORAGEsearch.com called - "How Much Hay Has Your Car Been Eating Lately?" - I bemoan the tired old comparisons of server SSD IOPS to HDDs.

SSDs have been around for long enough now to drop those worn out old comparisons from which we never learned anything very useful in the first place. ...read the article


8 Months Later 2.5" Flash SSD Price is 6x Lower

San Jose, Calif - May 6, 2008 - Super Talent Technology today launched a new line of MasterDrive 2.5" SATA MLC flash SSDs.

The 120GB model has R/W speeds upto 120/40 MB/sec and a price tag of $699. Proprietary wear-leveling algorithms extend the life of these SSDs to over 65 years @ 50GB write-erase/day. ...Super Talent Technology profile

Editor's comments:-
in less than 8 months the price of a 120GB SSD from Super Talent has reduced by a factor of more than 6x - down to $699 for the new models compared to $4,499 in September 2007.


New Models from Solid Access Technologies

Newburyport, Mass - May 6, 2008 - Solid Access Technologies today announced higher capacity models in its 2U rackmount line of RAM SSDs.

The 128GB model (price $75,000) is shipping now. The 256GB models will ship next month. Both models are part of the USSD 200 product line - which dramatically increases server efficiency by recovering CPU cycles formally lost in I/O wait cycles. They deliver random read/write performance of 95,000 IOPS using a single Fibre Channel link and over 70,000 IOPS using SAS. Access time is under 10 microseconds

"For applications facing critical performance demands that can't be serviced by decades old spindle-based storage, ultra-fast SSD is emerging as a weapon of choice to improve lagging storage speed," said Solid Access Managing Partner, Tomas Havrda. ...Solid Access Technologies profile


SiliconSystems Opens Office in People's Republic of China

ALISO VIEJO, Calif - May 6, 2008 - SiliconSystems, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its Asia-Pacific operations by establishing an office in Shanghai, the company's first in the People's Republic of China.

The new office will play a critical role in supporting the burgeoning demand for SiliconSystems' industry-leading SiliconDrive technology in China and Taiwan. Yu Yuan Tang, a 21-year industry veteran, will head the new office.

"OEMs throughout the Asia-Pacific region have embraced the use of SiliconSystems' SiliconDrive technology, resulting in tremendous year-on-year revenue growth for the company throughout the entire region," said Michael Hajeck, SiliconSystems' CEO. ...SiliconSystems profile


HDD & SSD Reliability Event

Editor:- May 2, 2008 - Here's news about an upcoming IDEMA event - "Hard Disk and SSD Reliability - The Pursuit of Excellence" - May 15 in Sunnyvale, CA.

This IDEMA Symposium will address HDD reliability; the physics, mathematics, and statistics of its assessment, HDD design for reliability, field performance experience of storage users and finally the HDD production environment and supporting metrology to maximize yields and minimize reliability detractors. Also included will be a similar discussion relative to SSD product reliability. Price is $455 for non members. ...IDEMA profile, Storage Events, Storage Reliability, Storage Industry Trade Associations


Adtron Samples True Industrial Grade 2.5" 128GB SLC SSDs

FREMONT, CA - April 29, 2008 - SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. today announced the release of "true" industrial-grade 2.5" SSDs by its subsidiary, Adtron Corp.

Based on the latest 8Gb Flash technology, these new PATA / SATA drives feature densities up to 128GB, the highest density available in the industry for SLC SSDs in a 2.5-inch (9.5mm-high) form factor.

By leveraging the latest 50nm 8Gb flash technology, these new SSDs offer higher density, reduced height and lower price than before. Available in configurations of 32, 64, and 128GB, the new A25FB-3 and I25FB-3 drives offer sustained performance of up to 72MB/s read and 57MB/s write.

The new SSDs are tested to meet a "true" industrial-grade standard, which includes 8 hours of comprehensive test while temperature is cycled through its rated range. In addition, the drives are certified to meet a wide range of environmental requirements, including temperature, shock, vibration, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), altitude, and current defense industry standards, making them well suited for applications requiring industrial-grade storage solutions.

"Advances in Flash technology continue to drive new applications," explained Wade Campbell, Director, SSD Marketing and Product Management. "With their increased density and improved price/performance, these new drives enable us to deliver an even wider range of industrial-grade applications in the defense and industrial markets. They also provide a base platform for higher performance SSDs that we expect to release in the coming months."

Early access A25FB-3 SATA SSD units are available now, with general availability expected by mid-summer. The I25FB-3 PATA SSDs are scheduled for general availability in calendar Q3 2008. ...Adtron profile, ...SMART Modular Technologies profile


New 1.0" SSD Directory

Editor:- April 28, 2008 - STORAGEsearch.com published a new article and directory related to 1.0" (and smaller) SSDs and HDDs.

Once the exclusive preserve of the military, spooks and space scientists this market is now dominated by the needs of shoppers for consumer lifestyle and entertainment gadgets - with market volume projections resembling international phone numbers. ...read the article


New Directory - PCIe SSDs

Editor:- April 21, 2008 - STORAGEsearch.com published a new article and directory of PCIe SSDs.

It lists all oems who make these products, includes related news and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of bus connected SSDs. ...read the article


STEC Announces Fast 1" SSD

SANTA ANA, Calif - April 21, 2008 - STEC, Inc. announced the MACH4 - a 1" SATA / PATA SSD.

For a small drive - the MACH4 is fast:- with sustained sequential reads upto 90MB/s and writes upto 55MB/s. It's expected to be in mass production at the end of April in capacities up to 32GB. Projected OEM pricing for the 8GB capacity point is $45.

"For the numerous applications which were historically challenged by the severe limitations of 1 inch HDDs, STEC is now offering a much more cost-effective, higher capacity and higher reliability alternative..." said STEC's Patrick Wilkison. ...STEC profile


STORAGEsearch.com Unveils Flash SSD Performance Roadmap

Editor:- April 17, 2008 - STORAGEsearch.com published a new article today called - the Flash SSD Performance Roadmap.

A few weeks ago a reader asked a very good question.

"Is there an industry roadmap for future flash SSD performance?"

That prompted other questions like... How fast are flash SSDs going to be in 2009? or 2012? What are the technology factors which relate to throughput and IOPS? And how much faster will they be than today.

There wasn't a simple answer I could give at the time. Clues lay scattered all across this web site and in my many discussions about the market... But I agreed there should be a single place on the web where these answers could be found. Forget Moore's Law. That gives you the wrong answer, and this article explains why. ...read the article


Seagate Steps Towards Failing the SSD Market Challenge

Editor:- April 15, 2008 - Seagate Technology has filed a patent suit against STEC according to a report in the New York Times.

Seagate is claiming that SSDs made by STEC may infringe Seagate patents related to disk interfaces and flash technology.

In an article published earlier this year Why Seagate will Fail the SSD Challenge I explored the business options available for Seagate in the flash SSD market. This move against STEC is in line with that analysis (and conclusion).

It's not unusual for Seagate to sue companies which it sees threatening its hard disk business. Earlier in this decade the business development of hard disk startup Cornice was first slowed down in the courts by suits from Seagate and WD before it was killed off by flash memory.

You can see what some other SSD analysts have to say on this subject in these article links.

Gregory Wong, at Forward Insights says "It's hard to see the financial motivation behind such a move..."

Jim Handy, at Objective Analysis looks at the weight of the patent arsenal but says that SSD Purchasers shouldn't worry. "In such dealings the plaintiff (Seagate in this case) usually will try to collect somewhat equivalent royalties from all players.."

Don Clark reminds us of an earlier patent dispute in the HDD market "that Rodime began in 1992, which ended after Seagate agreed to pay the Scottish company $45 million in 2000..."

...Later:- STEC dismissed the claims in these terms.

STEC is one of the first companies to build (flash) SSDs, having designed, manufactured and shipped SSDs as early as 1994, long before any of the suggested patents were issued to Seagate.

Given the effect SSDs are having on the HDD market, STEC believes that Seagate's lawsuit is completely without merit and primarily motivated by competitive concerns rather than a desire to protect its intellectual property.

STEC believes that Seagate's action is a desperate move to disrupt how aggressively customers are embracing STEC's Zeus-IOPS technology and changing the balance of power in enterprise storage. Seagate is sending a clear signal that it recognizes STEC as the leader in the SSD business and is attempting to slow down part of the growth that STEC is gaining through its SSD offering, particularly in the enterprise segment. STEC will aggressively pursue its defense to this infringement action.


Firewire SSD aims at Camera Market

NAB, LAS VEGAS- April 14, 2008 - Shining Technology, Inc. launched the CitiDISK SSD aimed at the digital video camera market.

The 32GB unit (140 minutes recording time) has a FireWire interface, weighs 6 ounces and can run for 3 hours using its internal battery. MSRP is $1,800. ...Shining Technology profile


Panasonic Previews 64GB Camcorder SSD

NAB, LAS VEGAS, NV - April 13, 2008 - Panasonic introduced a 64GB P2 solid-state memory card, model AJ-P2C064, for its line of P2 HD/P2 solid-state camcorders.

The 64GB P2 card (available fall 2008) can hold more than 4 hours of DVCPRO footage. Packaged in a rugged, die-cast frame, the P2 card is resistant to impact, vibration, shock, dust and environmental extremes including temperature changes. Panasonic has delivered more than 80,000 P2 HD/P2 units worldwide with over 840 television networks and stations having adopted the solid-state recording format. ...Panasonic profile


SSD Controller Company Gets $22 million Funding

Santa Clara, Calif. - April 9, 2008 - Link_A_Media Devices Corp secured $22 million in Series B financing.

The funding round, led by AIG SunAmerica Ventures, was secured from 4 additional financial and corporate investors - KeyNote Ventures, NEC Electronics, Micron and Seagate.

Link_A_Media Devices is developing a new class of chip controller resident data recovery solutions for HDDs and SSDs. These are designed to exceed the performance of conventional methods deployed in peripheral storage devices, as well as provide adaptive features that can be used during manufacturing to improve drive yields and product margins. ...Link_A_Media Devices profile

Editor's comments:-
MLC flash SSDs have high internal error rates and are currently unrecoverable. It looks like Link_A_Media's technology could improve the odds of data recovery in failed devices which incorporate its technology (as well as reducing data errors while the SSD is still operational.)

Another side effect of their technology may be better performance in flash SSDs.

Link_A_Media says their IOP Buster architecture enables scalability within the controller to address various segments of SSD applications seamlessly. It enables faster Read and Write transfers.


Ultra Small Form Factor SSD Gets Socket

ALISO VIEJO, Calif - April 8, 2008 - SiliconSystems, Inc. today announced that a robust locking socket for its ultra-small form factor USB SiliconDrive SSD has been designed by Samtec, Inc.

That provides OEM designers more flexibility when using these postage stamp size SSDs in new products. ...SiliconSystems profile


STEC Ships 4Gbps ZeusIOPS Flash SSDs

ORLANDO, FL - April 7, 2008 - STEC, Inc. announced the volume availability of its first 4Gbps Fibre Cannel compatible ZeusIOPS flash SSDs - which are being shown this week at Storage Networking World.

The Zeus-IOPS range of 2.5" and 3.5" flash SSDs are available in capacities from 18GB up to 512GB. ...STEC profile, SAN

Editor's comments:-
it's 2 years since the first shipments of 4Gbps FC storage products. Originally conceived as an interface for hard disk arrays - this kind of throughput (and more) will soon be needed to get the most performance out of the fastest 3.5" SSDs.

I expect flash SSD throughput and IOPs to more than double every year in the period from 2007 to 2012. Consistent with that view (which is based on looking at what happens when new architectures are combined with process improvements) gigabyte per second 3.5" SSDs are only 2-3 years away.


Texas Memory Systems Celebrates 30 Years Making SSDs

HOUSTON, TEXAS - April 2, 2008 - Texas Memory Systems today announced that it is celebrating its 30th year in business.

The company was founded in 1978 to supply high performance computer memory products to the energy industry. 30 years later, Texas Memory Systems is the leading manufacturer of rackmount SSDs for business enterprises.

"Many companies have come and gone in the SSD business over the last 30 years, so it's not surprising that enterprises take a supplier's longevity into account when considering technology partners. Companies need strategic relationships with vendors that are in it for the long haul," said Mike Karp, senior analyst and storage practice leader at Enterprise Management Associates.

Since 1978, the cost of a gigabyte of RAM SSD has dropped from $1 million down to $500 and the past 30 years have seen marked changes in price, performance, and usage of SSDs.

In 1978, Texas Memory Systems introduced a 16 kilobyte RAM-based solid state disk system designed to accelerate field seismic data acquisition for oil companies. Oil prices dropped to $8 a barrel in the 1980s resulting in a steep drop in industry spending encouraging TMS to expand its reach into Government sectors with digital signal processors that incorporated solid state disk to boost performance.

Advances in computing power, and the expansion of the digital economy have driven increased demand by enterprise applications for high performance storage. Because of this shift, in 2000, TMS introduced the RamSan line of solid state disk systems to accelerate commercial applications for the Enterprise.

Today, RamSan systems are the dominant enterprise solid state disk used by major financial exchanges, banks, e-commerce and telecommunications firms across the world. The company's solid state disk business has averaged over 40% growth per year for each of the last 3 years. ...Texas Memory Systems profile


the Top 10 SSD OEMs in Q1 2008

Editor:- April 2, 2008 - STORAGEsearch.com today published the 4th edition of - "the Top 10 Solid State Disk OEMs."

Covering the quarter ending March 31, 2008 - the article also looks at market milestones and comments on changes since the earlier quarters.

Inevitably - over 60 SSD oems couldn't make it into the top 10 SSD list (and that includes enterprise rackmount SSD wannabe EMC which lay just outside at #11.)

If you're choosing SSD suppliers or strategic partners - this is the must-see predictive list of the top companies that matter - based on hundreds of thousands of readers searching for SSD content on the site rated most highly by SSD companies themselves. ...read the article


Nimbus Makes SSD Acceleration a Breeze

San Francisco, CA - April 2, 2008 - Nimbus Data Systems today unveiled its Breeze Hybrid series of multi-protocol 10GbE IP storage systems.

Nimbus claims this offers 2.5x the throughput and 75% lower cost than a 4Gbps Fibre Channel SAN. The Breeze H-series runs Nimbus' HALO storage operating system which combines storage virtualization and advanced data protection and supports an SSD acceleration option. ...Nimbus profile

Editor's comments:-
Nimbus carries on the torch of a network storage operating system - which under the name "Cloudbreak" - was first developed by Nimbus's founder at TrueSAN Networks .

That kind of groundwork thinking may help to make an SSD work economically as part of a hybrid HDD-SSD accelerated array - while avoiding the traditional high costs of manual setup and tuning. Like space-time - cost is relativistic and depends if you're in the right dimension. A fully-configured Breeze MH860 - with all software, 34TB of storage, and 64GB of mirrored SSD starts under $120,000.


Fusion-io Gets $19 million Funding for PCIe SSD

SALT LAKE CIT - March 31, 2008 - Fusion-io today announced that it has closed $19 million in Series A funding from a group of investors led by New Enterprise Associates.

The funds from this round will be used to manufacture the company's first product, the ioDrive - a PCIe compatible flash SSD. ...Fusion-io profile


Unveiling XLC Flash SSD Technology

Editor:- March 31, 2008 - STORAGEsearch.com today published an article about stealth mode fabless semiconductor company, XLC Disk, Inc called - Unveiling XLC Flash SSD Technology.

It describes their revolutionary multi-level cell nand flash technology which may appear in a new range of high density flash SSDs in Q1 2009.

Overcoming the intrinsic technology problems which have limited previous MLC devices to 2 bits in a single flash memory cell - the new XLC technology uses a patent pending calibration / discriminator architecture which enables reliable operation with 4 bits (with today's process technology) and may be scalable to more bits in the future.

If successful - this type of technology could deliver 16x the storage density currently available from SLC SSDs using the same area of silicon - thereby closing the gap in cost per gigabyte between SSDs and HDDs. As with any new storage technology reliability is an unknown factor - but XLC Disk claim that intrinsic data repeatability (before on chip error correction) is at least as good as current MLC devices.

This article was initially planned for publication tomorrow (on April 1st) but when I contacted Jim Handy at Objective Analysis for a comment on this spoof concept - he surprised me by saying that he knows of at least one of the top 10 SSD companies which is working on exactly this type of technology. It shows that fact can be stranger than fiction - and we can expect to see SSDs starting to put price pressue on the hard drive market years earlier than predicted by Moore's Law type density improvements. ...read the article


IMI Launches SATA SSD Testers

Milpitas, Calif - March 20, 2008 - International Microsystems Inc. today announced immediate availability of 3 new SATA SSD testers.

The IMI testers support functional testing including read/write functional tests, read/write speed tests as well as parametric standby/dynamic current tests. Also supported is the initialization of the SSD controller which is normally required as the first step in production testing.
  • The M7305 is a 4 slot engineering tester.
  • The M7300 is a 4 - 16 slot benchtop production tester.
  • The M7310 is a 4 to 16 slot burn in chamber production tester with a temperature range from -73°C to +180°C.
All 3 testers come with user-friendly software and are supplied as fully functioning standalone systems with display, keyboard and mouse along with Ethernet connectivity. The powerful GUI allows user definition of all parameters governing the chosen tests. All models can be used as SATA SSD duplicators with master data being supplied by either a master drive or by a master binary file. ...IMI profile, Storage Testers & Analyzers


Does Notebook Maker Have High Rate of SSD Flash Backs?

Editor:- March 19, 2008 - a report discussed in an article on CNET saying that flash SSDs in notebooks are incurring double digit customer reject rates has been dismissed by Dell as "untrue."


Toshiba's MLC SSDs in Mass Production

IRVINE, Calif. - March 18, 2008 - Toshiba has started mass production of MLC flash SSDs aimed at the notebook market.

The new Toshiba SSDs have SATA interfaces and will be available in 3 form factors:- module, 1.8" and 2.5", and with upto 128GB capacity.

Toshiba says overall performance is better than 5,400 RPM and 7,200 RPM HDDs. Read / write speeds are 100MB/s and 40MB/s respectively. Initial production is for Toshiba's own notebooks. ...Toshiba profile


SiliconSystems Enhances SiliconDrives

ALISO VIEJO, Calif - March 18, 2008 - SiliconSystems, Inc. today announced its enhanced 2nd generation of SiliconDrive SSDs.

Capacity and read/write speeds have been increased.

SiliconDrive II are aimed at embedded systems in which design factors such as reliable operation, elimination of drive corruption and the ability to forecast useable life are calculated to deliver significant cost benefits compared to expensive field failures and replacements over a multi year installed life - which can come from using hard disks or less glitch resistant consumer SSDs. Available form factors include 2.5", CF and miniature modules. Available interfaces include PATA, SATA and USB. ...SiliconSystems profile

Editor's comments:-
when you look at SiliconDrive performance and capacity specs relative to many other available consumer market oriented flash SSDs they aren't the fastest or the biggest. But within the spectrum of flash SSD reliability there's more than an order of magnitude difference even within SLC devices.


BenchmarkReviews.com Tests MemoRight's GT 2.5" SSD

Editor:- March 13, 2008 - BenchmarkReviews.com has published performance tests on MemoRight's fastest 2.5" flash SSD - the GT.

Overall the tests confirm this as the fastest overall 2.5" SATA drive period (HDD or SSD). It was already listed in our own fastest SSDs article. ...read the article , ...Memoright profile


OCZ Takes SSD OEM List to 70

Sunnyvale, CA - March 12, 2008 - OCZ Technology Group, Inc. today entered the SSD market with a range of SATA compatible 2.5" flash SSDs.

OCZ's SSDs have capacities of 32GB and 64GB and speeds of 120MB/s read and 100MB/s write. ...OCZ profile

Editor's comments:-
that takes the total number of SSD oems to 70 and the number of 2.5" SSD oems to 31.


Imation Enters the SSD Market

OAKDALE, Minn - March 10, 2008 - Imation Corp. entered the SSD market today with solid state drives powered by Mtron.

Imation's SSD portfolio includes the MOBI 3000 Series for high performance end users, and the PRO 7000 Series for enterprise, corporate and IT infrastructure applications.

"Many storage applications can benefit from the increased performance, reliability and power savings that SSDs are able to provide in the computing and enterprise environment," said Jeff Janukowicz, research manager, IDC. "Shipments of SSD solutions, such as those in Imation's SSD solutions meet the requirements for this performance-demanding storage market are expected to increase at a 73% CAGR through 2011." ...Imation profile, ...Mtron profile

Editor's comments:-
oeming Mtron's high performance flash SSDs is a good business move for Imation - which has a well known (50 years old) storage brand. The SSD market provides Imation with a shimmering Stargate like escape route out of the shrinking tape backup market.


1.8" Storage Drives - new article

Editor:- March 10, 2008 - STORAGEsearch.com published a new directory of 1.8" Storage Drives.

The battle for supremacy in the 1.8" storage drive form factor, between hard disks and flash SSDs is reminiscent of the 30 year war between Intel and AMD over which processor would be designed into PCs, notebooks and servers. Currently 21 oems actively market 1.8" drives. ...read the article


Memoright Announces Faster 2.5" SSD

Editor:- March 7, 2008 - Memoright reconfirmed its lead in the high performance 2.5" SATA flash SSD market today.

Memoright says its new GT Series can sustain 120MB/s read / write and is available with capacity upto 64GB. Its standard product has higher capacity (128GB) but lower speed (100MB/s). ..Memoright profile


SMART Completes Acquisition of Adtron

FREMONT, CA - March 4, 2008 - SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. announced that it has closed its acquisition of privately-held Adtron Corp.

"Combining our strengths with Adtron, with its technical expertise, product portfolio, and customer base, immediately expands our non-DRAM business and complements our existing SSD business. Together, we offer the SSD market, especially the Enterprise Storage SSD market, a broader range of high performing, rugged, and reliable storage solutions," said Iain MacKenzie, President and CEO of SMART.

In connection with the acquisition, Alan Fitzgerald, founder of Adtron, joins SMART as VP and CTO, Flash Products, and Robert Benkendorf joins SMART as VP and GM, SSD Products. The acquisition was an all-cash transaction of approximately $20 million with up to an additional $15 million should certain calendar year 2008 financial and operational performance goals be achieved. ...Adtron profile, ...SMART Modular Technologies profile


SeaChange Eliminates Spinning Disks in the On-air Chain

March 3, 2008 – SeaChange International today introduced its Broadcast Flash Memory Library FML200, a flash memory-based ingest and play-to-air solution that sets a new benchmark in reliability and economy.

With no moving parts, the breakthrough server is 100x more reliable and consumes 10x less power than spinning disk-based counterparts, greatly mitigating failures, rebuilds, replacements and other disk-related threats. The system can eliminate spinning disks in the on-air chain and is immediately available for television operators worldwide. SeaChange will demonstrate the FML200 at NAB2008 in April. ...SeaChange International profile


Free Tool Unveils SSD Fast Lane for Oracle DBAs

Houston, Texas - February 27, 2008 - Texas Memory Systems today announced availability of version 2.0 of StatspackAnalyzer.com.

This is a freely available online tool that analyzes the data from a user's own Oracle reports and presents clear, customized recommendations for improving performance. In just 1 year, over 10,000 Oracle DBAs and consultants have become registered users and hundreds have offered to help improve the features. Version 2.0 has been updated to support Oracle from version 8 to 11.1

"StatspackAnalyzer.com is quickly emerging as the go-to resource for Oracle DBAs who are trying to improve their database performance," said Don Burleson, CEO of Burleson Consulting, author of numerous books on Oracle database performance tuning and a sponsor of the StatspackAnalyzer.com initiative. "DBAs email us regularly to say how it is helping them understand the issues that are affecting their database performance, and providing helpful recommendations. We are also getting great feedback that is helping us to keep evolving the tool, and improving its usefulness to the Oracle community." ...sign up for free copy, ...Texas Memory Systems profile

Editor's comments:-
tools which help users see clear opportunities for application speedup are a good thing. The sample report I saw only refers to the sponsor's own SSD material (and they do make the fastest storage in many form factors). But you can always come back here to compare other SSD price / performance options too.


iSuppli Says Flash Prices Are Dropping Below Costs

Editor:- February 20, 2008 - iSuppli Corp. is cutting its outlook for global NAND flash revenue growth in 2008 to the single digit percentage range, down from their previous outlook of a 27% rise.

In an early warning sign of consumer weakness, Apple has slashed its 2008 NAND order forecast significantly and has informed suppliers that its demand growth will slow in 2008 compared to 2007, according to iSuppli sources. This is expected to have a huge impact on the NAND market. With its extremely popular flash-memory based iPods, Apple was the world's 3rd largest OEM buyer of NAND flash memory in 2007.

On the supply side, slower NAND demand will have a major impact on suppliers' financial results. Capital spending on NAND production will rise by more than 20% this year, ensuring easy availability of parts. This will cause prices to decrease. iSuppli believes that NAND prices already are below suppliers' fully loaded costs. ...iSuppli profile

Editor's comments:-
buyers in the fast growing flash SSD market will be the beneficiaries of this downturn. As I predicted last year overcrowding in the notebook SSD market means that prices are already well below previously forecast levels.

Traditionally the big memory chip makers switch fab production between RAM and flash to whichever reaps the highest price. But many analysts already predicted this would not be a good year for RAM oems either.


Introducing Another Enterprise SSD Player - Pliant Technology

Milpitas, Calif - February 19, 2008 - Pliant Technology today announced that it has received $8 million in Series A funding to drive the development of SSD storage devices for enterprise computing markets.

Pliant's new Enterprise Flash Drive devices are being designed to deliver dramatically higher levels of performance while meeting the growing need for increased energy efficiency and reliability in enterprise computing environments.

Pliant Technology was formed by several of the foremost experts and innovators in the data storage industry including:- Jim McCoy (co-founder of Maxtor and Quantum), Amyl Ahola (former CEO of TeraStor and Mike Chenery (former VP of advanced product engineering at Fujitsu). Pliant's solution is expected to be available to OEM and data center customers in the 4th quarter of 2008. ...Pliant Technology profile, rackmount SSDs

Editor's comments:-
over 20 oems currently make products for what Pliant calls the "new" enterprise SSD market. This will be as big a market in revenue as the consumer notebook SSD market - but with (mostly) different players.

Some of Pliant's founders have worked together before on the same concept (replacing hard drives) at TeraStor which went through more than $85 million in the 1990s working on an unsuccessful optical storage technology. Computer architecture, applications experience and marketing are the key factors needed to make a successful enterprise SSD business today. There are plenty of companies who will sell you cheap memory chips. The enterprise SSD market in 2009 will be an exciting area to watch.

See also:- Squeak! - RAM SSDs versus Flash SSDs - which is Best?


Mtron's New Notebook SSD will be 6x faster than Hard Drive

SEOUL, South Korea - February 18, 2008 - Mtron Technology Co. Ltd - announced today that they have completed the development of a new 1.8" ZIF-type SSD family for laptop PCs and will begin production in April.

Mtron's new SLC flash SSD has a maximum reading speed of 120MB/s and writing speed of 100MB/s, which is more than 6x faster than a typical 1.8" HDD. Therefore when it's used in laptop PC and UMPC, it delivers much faster performance than a desktop.

Mtron also released a 1.8" MLC Flash SSD with up to 128GB capacity along with a maximum reading speed of 110MB/s and writing speed of 40MB/s.

Steve Jeon, CEO of Mtron, said, "With our new 1.8 inch SSD, Mtron has added another great product line as a leader in the SSD market, which is expected to grow into ten billion dollars in 2012. Our new product is a result of careful market analysis and research of consumer needs." ...Mtron profile


Samsung Ships Faster 64GB SSDs

Seoul, Korea - February 15, 2008 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd announced today that it has begun mass producing 64GB solid state drives with its new SATA II interface.

Aimed at the premium notebook PC market the new SSDs can read data at 100MB/s and write at upto 80MB/s while consuming 75% less power than typical hard drives.

"While there will always be a market for HDDs, we see growing demand for our new SSDs, especially now that they are available with the SATA II interface," said Jim Elliott, director, flash marketing, Samsung Semiconductor. "SSD technology is especially viable for the business and high-end consumer notebook markets because of its outstanding performance, as well as the added value gained from virtually no downtime and faster operating speeds." ...Samsung profile

Editor's comments:-
my first reaction on seeing this press release was "how many times are Samsung going to launch their 64GB products?" There was a samey feel to it (and some companies do relaunch the same products every 3 months or so in the hope that editors will forget). But on closer scrutiny I realized this is not the same lack-luster 64GB SSD they talked about in March 2007 - but an improved go-faster model. That new improved speed is still a long way behind the fastest SSDs which are aimed at servers, however.


Now Sampling - Phase Change Memory

SANTA CLARA, Calif - February 6, 2008 - Intel Corp and STMicroelectronics began shipping prototype samples of a future product using a new, innovative memory technology called Phase Change Memory.

The 128M bit prototypes are the first functional silicon to be delivered to customers for evaluation, bringing the technology one step closer to adoption. The memory device, codenamed "Alverstone" uses PCM, a promising new memory technology providing very fast read and write speeds at lower power than conventional flash, and allows for bit alterability normally seen in RAM.

"This is the most significant non-volatile memory advancement in 40 years," said Ed Doller, CTO-designate of Numonyx, the new name for the pending STMicroelectronics and Intel flash memory company. "There have been plenty of attempts to find and develop new non-volatile memory technologies, yet of all the concepts, PCM provides the most compelling solution – and Intel and STMicroelectronics are delivering PCM into the hands of customers today. This is an important milestone for the industry and for our companies."

According to the Web-Feet Research the combined memory market for DRAM, flash, and other memory products such as EEPROM in 2007 was US$61 billion. ...Intel profile, ...STMicroelectronics profile

Editor's comments:-
Intel is hedging its bets with non volatile memory technologies which could be used in the SSD market. As well as this effort with PCM and a high speed flash venture with Micron, Intel is also an investor in Nanochip. The holy grail for nv memory is to get the speed of RAM with the long term data retention and low pricing of flash. There are many contenders in this market but most will probably fail.

Past reasons for new semiconductor storage technologies failing to get established have been unreliability (early data loss in GI EAROMs which didn't show up in early prototypes) and lack of scalability (in Intel bubble memory). Other reasons for new storage technologies failing to reach potential is that the main competitor does better than planned - for example hard disk capacity kept increasing faster than the optical disk industry had hoped.
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click to read the article:- SSD Market History

or see this SSD page as it looked back in
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click for more info
SSD OEMs
A-DATA

Addonics Technologies

Adtron

Advanced Media

Afaya

Aitech Defense Systems

Altec ComputerSysteme

Apacer

Asine

Attorn

BiTMICRO Networks

Cenatek

Curtis

Curtiss-Wright

DataDirect Networks

DDRdrive

Delkin Devices

Dynamic Solutions Int'l

EasyCo

Fuji Xerox

Fusion-io

GalaxyStor

Gear6

GIGA-BYTE Technology

Hagiwara Sys-Com

IEI Technology

Imation

Imperial Technology

InnoDisk

Intel

INTELLIAM

Memoright

Memtech

Micro Memory

Micron Technology

Mtron

Myung Information Technologies

Nanochip

OCZ Technology Group

Panasonic

Phoenix International

Pliant Technology

PNY Technologies

Pretec Electronics

PQI

Real Ram Disk

Samsung Electronics

SanDisk

SeaChange International

SEEK Systems

Shining Technology

SiliconSystems

SMART Modular Technologies

Solid Access Technologies

Solid Data Systems

STEC

Super Talent Technology

Taejin Infotech

Targa Systems

TDK

Team Group

Texas Memory Systems

Third I/O

TiGi

Toshiba

Transcend Information

Trident Space & Defense

Unigen

Vanguard Rugged Storage

Violin Memory

ViON

White Electronic Designs

VMETRO

XLC Disk
still can't find it? check the acquired, dead & renamed list

for hybrid disks (flash or battery backed RAM with HDD see the hard disk page
Solid State Disks...

Upcoming articles


Some of the new SSD articles that will be published here in the next few months include:-

Inside a Flash SSD - there's more going on than you think. It will look at the architecture of typical SSDs and show how some features are always present but others are optional - and included by the oem as proprietary / application or market specific enhancements.

Three 3.5" Warp Drives Looks at the price, performance and applications enabled by 3 unique 3.5" acceleration drives.

Demystifying SSD IOPS These issues were first discussed in detail in the article RAM SSDs versus Flash SSDs - which is Best?. But the upcoming article (written by the editor) will include a new simple price / performance model which compares the 2 types of SSD in a way that you haven't seen before.

the 1.0" and Smaller - Chip / Module SSD Guide - SSDs are appearing in phones, MP3 players and many other consumer devices. This dedicated directory will feature news and market availability of embedded SSDs.

Plus real-time / monthly / quarterly updates on all the existing features including:- top 10 SSD oems, fastest SSDs, SSD Buyers Guide etc.
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disk
Hard disk drives

InfiniBand
InfiniBand

Flash Memory
Flash Memory

serial SCSI
Serial Attached SCSI

RAM
RAM

Military storage
Military STORAGE
3.5 inch fibre-channel flash SSDs from  BiTMICRO Networks
3.5" flash SSDs / 4Gbps fibre-channel
upto 1.6TB / 55,000 IOPS, 230MB/s
from BiTMICRO Networks

Dynamic Solutions International supplies solutions for the financial and banking markets
Founded in 1973, DSI is the premier
supplier of solid state disk solutions
to the financial services industry.

Adtron industrial grade  flash solid state disk
2.5" 128GB industrial PATA SLC flash SSDs
from Adtron

1  terabyte solid state disk storage with 12x 4Gbps FC ports -  StorageSPIRE - from Solid Data Systems
StorageSPIRE
1 terabyte solid state disk
from Solid Data Systems

2.5"   flash SSDs  from Memoright
2.5" 128GB PATA / SATA flash SSDs
100MB/sec sustained read/write
from Memoright

Easyco enterprise flash SSD 1U, 2U or 3U silver or black
1U, 2U, 3U enterprise flash SSDs
MFT accelerated appliances
from EasyCo

1.0" 2.5" 3.5" reliable industrial flash SSDs from Hagiwara Sys-Com
1.0" / 2.5" / 3.5" industrial flash SSDs
from Hagiwara Sys-Com

Universal Solid State Disk USSD 200 from Solid Access Technologies with SAS, FC, SCSI or custom interfaces
performance/price leading
SAS, FC & SCSI enterprise solid state disks
from Solid Access Technologies

4U 100,000 IOPs 2 terabyte flash SSD from TMS
RamSan-500 - 2 terabytes flash SSD
2 gigabytes / sec sustained storage throughput
from Texas Memory Systems

Violin 1010 - world's densest  DRAM  array -  for  HPC and data center server acceleration
world's fastest 2U RAM-SSD
from Violin Memory

SD3000 / SD3000X2 high availability SSDs - click for more info
high performance, high availability
FC solid state disk accelerators
from Solid Data Systems

SATA flash SSDs with 150M bytes / sec burst read and 80M bytes / sec sustained write time from MTRON - sorry photo  coming soon
3.5" (128G) & 2.5" (32G) SATA SSDs
90MB/s sustained write
from Mtron

1U rackmount Solid State SAN from Curtis
1U rackmount FC Solid State Disk
from Curtis

SiliconDrives from SiliconSystems
2.5" SiliconDrives
from SiliconSystems

Targa Series 4 - 2.5 inch SCSI flash disk
Removable Military Solid State Disks
from Targa Systems

Tera-RamSan - terabyte solid state SAN storage 3.2 million random  IOPs
Tera-RamSan Enterprise SSD Array
1 Terabyte of Non-Volatile DDR RAM
from Texas Memory Systems

worlds fastest 3.5 inch solid state disk from Curtis
world's fastest 3.5" solid state disk
from Curtis

Adtron industrial grade  flash solid state disk
2.5" 128GB industrial SATA SLC flash SSDs
from Adtron

RamSan-300 entry level SSD from  Texas Memory Systems
RamSan-300 (entry level model)
World's Fastest Storage
from Texas Memory Systems

SiliconDrive CF
SiliconDrive High Speed Type I CF
Form Factor - Solid State Disks
from SiliconSystems

Mtron flash SSDs 100 megabytes/sec sustained read, 80 megabytes / sec sustained write  click for more info
3.5" (128G) & 2.5" (32G) PATA SSDs
80MB/s sustained write
from Mtron

RamSan-400
RamSan-400 Enterprise Solid State Disk
The World's Fastest Storage
from Texas Memory Systems
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2008 SSD Budgets - Robbing Peter to Pay Paul?
Editor:- January 2, 2008 - Happy New Year to You all.

I've got a question for you - how big is your solid state storage budget in 2008?

I hazard to guess that most of you haven't put anything notionally marked as "SSD spending" in 2008's budget - even if you already have a good idea about what you're going to spend on traditional storage products and services.

I also predict that when the crunch comes - and you find yourself spending surprisingly large amounts of money on SSDs for the first time - these costs will be initially allocated to other cost centers - such as servers or PCs - rather than storage.

It was always thus.

In 1983 for example - over 90% of corporates didn't have a budget for buying IBM PCs. These disruptive tools intitially crept in under the IT department radar - as users found they could do useful jobs like word processing and business analysis quicker, cheaper and more conveniently than using the clunky alternatives then on offer by their IT departments. Similarly RAID systems did not appear in most 1990 corporate IT budgets - but are now everywhere.

In 2007 the SSD industry surprised many by introducing many exciting new technologies and products.

I predict that in 2008 - innovative users will surprise the SSD market by discovering for themselves a new generation of killer applications- enabled by SSDs - which would have been technically impossible - or even nuts to try and achieve using conventional hard disk based technologies. Those SSD sparks will feed back to fan the flames of the market.

Examples might include what I call - enterprise spreadsheet analysis - in which business managers are enabled to model "what if?" scenarios on duplicate sets of their entire customer database - to find gaps in their marketing or test ideas for new products.

Other applications enabled by SSD accleration might include AI enabled real-time upselling offers on ecommerce web sites. These are already feasible for innovative small to medium size companies but are not scalable with today's magnetic disk arrays. Large enterprises can't be nimble with their data because their servers would grind to a halt if you tried these types of tricks.

I'm not going to give you a long list of predicted disruptive SSD technology enabled applications - because they would be wrong - and you're going to see them coming thick and fast from real users on these pages soon enough.

2008 will be the year that users - rewrite the rules on how they mix and match new storage technologies in ways that the original manufacturers of those products - never dreamed about.

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