0 to 100 - rear view
mirroring the SATA SSD market
Editor:- September 1, 2010 - if
you're a newcomer to the SSD market you might get the impression that SATA
SSDs ARE the SSD market!
I've updated my
introductory article on
the SATA SSD page to reflect how this segment of the SSD market got from
zero to where it is today - with 100 active oems.
Why the headline "rear
view mirroring"? - As well as being a retrospective article on how we got
here - this month is the
1st anniversary
of PCIe SSD search
volume overtaking that of 2.5"
SSDs.
PCIe SSDs enable 512 virtual desktops on a single vSphere
Editor:-
August 31, 2010 - Fusion-io
today showed how its PCIe
SSDs can enable users to run
512
virtual desktops on a single
vSphere
host in a demo at VMworld .
“Fusion-io is changing the way customers think about data-center
architecture, driving further efficiency, consolidation and scalability into
virtual platforms,” said Neil
Carson, CTO of Fusion-io. “Fusion’s ability to efficiently
handle the highly random access patterns prevalent in virtualized workloads,
aids customers in reducing the cost and complexity of adding multiple virtual
machines.”
SSD searches 33% higher than a year ago
Editor:-
August 31, 2010 - StorageSearch.com
revealed today that searches for "SSD" this month were 33%
higher than a year ago.
We're now 2/3 of the way through the calendar
year that I christened the
Year of the SSD Market
Bubble - so how's it going so far?
It's clear from looking at
interim financial data from across the industry - and matching that up with
unpublished data from private companies that 2010 will easily end up being the
1st multi-billion dollar year in this market. That's peanuts compared to
where the market is
headed - but it's a significant milestone in
SSD market
history.
I do hear a few gripes from vendors that the SSD market
isn't doing as well as they expected - these mostly arise from vendors with weak
technology whose product managers didn't understand the market when they made
their product plans. Customer expectations in the SSD market are being set by
the top 10 SSD companies
- and not the bottom 10.
law firm says WhipTail's SSD capacity 4x better than HDD
Editor:-
August 31, 2010 - WhipTail
Technologies today announced that a law firm customer - Finkelstein & Partners (350
attorneys and staff distributed across 17 locations) had achieved a 4x
capacity reduction when using their SSD instead of HDDs in virtualized server
apps - due to
dedupe and faster
IOPS.
Microsemi 's new 16GB PBGA PATA SLC SSD
Editor:-
August 27, 2010 - Microsemi
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.
The surface-mountable
PATA SSD has an
integrated 32-bit RISC flash
controller which
manages wear
leveling, error
correction and power interruption protection.
Imprinting the brain of the SSD - MarketingViews case study
Editor:-
August 26, 2010 - StorageSearch.com
today published a new article -
Imprinting the brain
of the SSD - which describes how the
SSD market went from:-
what's an SSD controller?
to "SandForce Driven SSDs".
...read the
article
WhipTail un-races to the datacenter
Editor:- August
25, 2010 - in an effort to improve its prospects in the datacenter market -
WhipTail Technologies
today
announced
a new name for its NAS
SSDs - Datacenter XLR8r instead of Racerunner - and also unveiled HA
options which involve dual failover systems.
The little lizardy
creatures are still on WhipTail 's site. Serious SSD buyers aren't scared by
animal brands.
pushing the SSD testing rock farther up the hill
Editor:-
August 25, 2010 - I'm mostly resistant to the idea of rehashing recent news
stories - but yesterday while talking about new SSD technologies a reader
asked me to take another look at
SNIA's SSD
performance testing guidelines - which I reported on
a month ago.
I
said I had been surprised it took
ORGs like
SNIA so long to look at
these issues - because I had been aware of "Halo effects" in
flash SSD benchymarks for years - and commented - "But I guess member
led ORGs have a built in lag factor and only move at the speed of the
slowest exec members."
The reader - Neal Ekker -
whom I knew from his time at
Texas Memory Systems -
put up a spirited defense for this particular ORG opus and said...
""...We've
all known about the fishy-ness of SSD performance claims for years. But I'd like
to draw attention to what an impressive accomplishment the SNIA SSS PTS
represents, no matter its technical merits or ramifications. I watched it
happen, and I can tell you it was an amazing POLITICAL achievement. And
I don't mean that in a negative way. Any time there's more than one person in a
room, there's politics. For a collection of engineers representing both their
own egos and the interests of their employers to finally agree on even this
rather bare-bones beginning standard was just remarkable to observe. I can't
begin to give enough credit to some of the chief movers and shakers.
Neal Ekker added - "This is why I want more attention focused on
the SSS PTS right now, so we don't lose momentum entirely. There's still plenty
of work to be done. We need additional companies and fresh faces and energies to
step up and push this rock a little farther up the hill."
Editor's comments:- During the majority of the SSS PTS development Neal
Ekker served as the SNIA SSSI Education Committee Chair. He's now a for-hire
independent SSD marketing consultant. ...Neal's bio,
...SSS
PTS (pdf), Storage
People
OCZ dusts off memory flour business to focus more on SSD cake
Editor:-
August 24, 2010 - OCZ
today announced plans to wind down its commodity
DRAM business and focus
more resources on
SSDs.
Ryan
Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group, Inc. said - "Our R&D
driven SSD business is performing well and is anticipated to be the majority of
our revenue going forward..."
Editor's comments:- Once you've got a market acceptable
recipe - the profit margins for cake can be much better than those for flour.
So if you have a choice it's better to make cake.
The SSD market
isn't big enough yet for huge memory makers like
Samsung to make the
grind or bake decision. They have to do both. But in the distant future
it may be
different.
STEC
made the SSD bake
decision in Februray 2007.
Foremay describes secure erase options for SSDs
Editor:-
August 20, 2010 - Foremay's
CTO, Jack Winters presented a paper -
Secure Erase
Options for SSDs (pdf) - at the recent Flash Memory Summit.
The
paper describes the need for
SSD data purge and
the 3 techniques which the company supports in its Avalanche Secure Erase
Suite.
"In a regular
SSD, deleting a file only
removes its name from the directory or file table. User data remains until
overwritten by new data. Even reformatting the SSD leaves data intact,"
said Jack Winters, CTO of Foremay, during the Flash Security workshop. "The
Avalanche Secure Erase Suite employs various technologies to overwrite or
destroy all user data in allocated blocks and file tables, as well as data in
reallocated defective blocks."
...read the
article (pdf)
Editor's comments:- other hardware data
destruction technologies for SSDs are also available from
other vendors.
Fusion-io launches 1.3TB single slot PCIe SSD
Editor:-
August 18, 2010 - Fusion-io
today
announced
the availability of a new high density
PCIe SSD - which
supplies 1.28TB of MLC capacity on a single card - and also a new oem
distributor - Dell.
When
used in concert with Fusion's recently released ioMemory
Virtual
Storage Layer the ioMemory technology delivers significant performance
enhancements to achieve nearly 300,000 sustained IOPS.
"The 1.28TB ioDrive Duo is a direct response to customer
requests for more capacity from a single device" said Fusion-io's CTO
Neil Carson. "Our
ability to deliver continually greater performance density attests to our
superior architecture's scalability without adding the complexity of embedded
controllers, processors, and external power supplies."
Editor's
comments:- although other companies have previously launched multi-terabyte
PCIe SSDs - those other designs spanned multiple card slots and were power
guzzlers. Although
3x
MLC isn't a safe choice for all applications - it's a pragmatic choice
for video servers.
Update on the smallest PATA SSD
Editor:- August 18,
2010 - Micross
Components indicated that a future version of its
microSSD
(the world's smallest PATA
SSD - which has a footprint of 14 x 24 x 1.3mm and weighs only 0.8 grams)
may be offered with extended operation upto 105 degrees C.
SMART samples 400GB 2.5" SAS eMLC SSD
Editor:-
August 17, 2010 - SMART
entered the crowding SAS
SSD market with the announcement that it is sampling the
XceedIOPS
SAS SSD - a 2.5" 400GB eMLC SSD with 26,000 / 20,000 R/W
IOPS and
250/230 MB/s sustained throughput.
The new XceedIOPS SAS SSD offers
high reliability and data integrity due to extensive error-correction and
detection capabilities, multi-level data-path and code protection, data-fail
recovery, and data-integrity monitoring. Designed to minimize power surges in
SSD arrays the the XceedIOPS SAS SSD supports staggered power-on.
NVELO launches notebook SSD ASAP
Editor:- August 17,
2010 - NVELO
launched
Dataplex - a software product
aimed at PC oems - which provides
SSD ASAP
functionality inside a
notebook.
Since Dataplex works with off-the-shelf storage devices, PC OEMs and
consumers have complete freedom to choose any SSD and any HDD, from any vendor.
"Consumers love the idea of SSD performance, but there is still a
huge (price) gap
between HDDs at $0.20/GB and SSDs at $2.00/GB; as an HDD replacement, the
economics simply don't work for all but a very small percentage of the market,"
said David Lin, VP of product management at NVELO. "With Dataplex, we are
making SSD performance economically feasible for a much larger market by using
the strengths of SSD and HDD technology together. And we're not talking about
simply installing the OS and whatever applications can fit onto a small SSD.
Dataplex learns user behavior, and intelligently caches all important data and
applications in an SSD device while maintaining the full capacity of the HDD for
storage."
Dataplex will begin shipping from select Tier 1 PC OEMs
in 2011. NVELO is currently in discussions with leading
HDD and
SSD vendors to enable
aftermarket sales and bundling options for Dataplex, and has begun development
of an enterprise version of Dataplex for server systems.
Editor's
comments:- if successful - NVELO's product will render obsolete most
hybrid drives
aimed at the notebook market. In the server ASAP market - it's a direct
competitor to the unloved
MaxIQ
SSD Cache Performance Kit created by
Microsoft, taken to
market by
Adaptec - and now owned
by PMC-Sierra.
Objective Analysis predicts 40 million unit SSD market in 2015
Editor:-
August 17, 2010 - Objective Analysis
predicts that in 2015 nearly 40 million SSDs will ship accounting for over
$7 billion in revenues.
"We have followed the same methodology as our earliest forecasts,
basing our projections upon interviews with prospective SSD customers. This led
to projections that should help participants benefit the most from this market,"
said Jim Handy, author of their new report unveiled today. "Although our
early forecasts were the most pessimistic in the industry, they have been the
most accurate."
Skinny SSD architecture suits Slim SATA form factor
Editor:-
August 17, 2010 - One of the advantages of
skinny flash SSDs
is the SSD controller
fits into a smaller physical space - because it doesn't need external
RAM chips.
That's
something which SandForce
told me a while ago - and they announced more details about this yesterday -
and what their technology can do for
Slim
SATA SSDs.
"Our customers have been mostly deploying our 1st
generation SSD Processors in traditional
2.5-inch drive form factors
as they are shipping into existing storage sockets with a defined power-density
envelope. Beyond that, we see a growing demand for more cost-effective, smaller
form factor designs that our single-chip SSD Processors optimally address,"
said Steffen Hellmold, VP of Business Development for SandForce. "We are
excited to see a whole new generation of SSDs come to market optimized around
the performance-power-density that only SandForce can enable at price points for
mass-market adoption."
Viking samples slim SATA SSD
Editor:- August 16,
2010 - Viking Modular
Solutions is sampling its
Slim SATA SSD
- which provides upto 120GB capacity and 260MB/s R/W speeds in less than
half the size of a 2.5"
SSD.
"With this optimized small form factor SSD,
communications and embedded applications can realize the performance associated
with full size SSDs," said Adrian Proctor, VP of marketing at Viking
Modular. "Now, system designers can take advantage of an ideal combination
of performance, capacity, power, size and cost." See also:-
1 inch SSDs
STEC unveils enterprise MLC SSD technologies
Editor:-
August 16, 2010 - STEC
announced
details
of 2 technologies the company is using to improve
data integrity
and reliability in
its enterprise market MLC flash SSDs.
These are called CellCare and
S.A.F.E.
STEC's CellCare uses adaptive flash access, signal processing,
data management algorithms and ECC to improve the
endurance of
MLC flash components enabling them to handle write intensive workloads for
over 5 years without limiting performance.
As technology nodes gets smaller, the failure rates associated
with MLC flash components has increased. STEC's S.A.F.E. technology drastically
reduces component-level failures.
Editor's comments:-
competition from merchant market
SSD controller companies
is forcing those SSD oems
who design their own controllers to reveal more about the internal
architecture in their products.
SSD Bookmarks - suggested by Dataram
Editor:-
August 16, 2010 - StorageSearch.com
today published
SSD Bookmarks
- suggested by Jason
Caulkins, Chief Technologist Dataram.
A
year ago Dataram was at the forefront of a wave of companies creating a new
market for what I called "SSD ASAPs". It's
still unclear which type of approach will be most successful in this emerging
market. But you can learn about the issues that impinge on Dataram's technology
thinking by reading
the articles suggested.
Linux kernel will support RamSan SSDs
Editor:-
August 16, 2010 - Texas
Memory Systems has
joined the
Linux Foundation to help
ensure that its SSDs are supported in the mainline kernel.
"Linux
is key to our long-term success," said Jamon Bowen, Director of Sales
Engineering at Texas Memory Systems.
Samsung and Seagate to develop SSD controllers
Editor:-
August 13, 2010 - Samsung
and Seagate -
recently
announced
they will jointly develop
SSD controller
technologies to operate with Samsung's 30nm-class MLC NAND.
The
jointly developed controller will be utilized in
Seagate's
enterprise-class SSDs.
Editor's comments:- despite being a keen advocate for solid
state storage since 2005 - Samsung has never had the IP it takes to develop
best in breed enterprise SSDs. Seagate, a relative newbie in the SSD market,
doesn't have SSD IP either - but it does have
hard disk interface
experience.
Developing (or
acquiring) its
own SSD IP has always been desirable for Seagate. The new agreement also helps
to explain why the company was not happy to confirm industry reports that its
1st SSD actually used SoCs from
SandForce.
Will
the 2 companies be able to develop world beating SSD controller technology?
In my long experience of talking to people in companies which do have
strong and unique SSD architectures - I have got the impression that a
successful enterprise SSD design needs:- unity of purpose, very strong
technical leadership, good sense of market direction, and years of fine tuning
design iterations.
I don't think that an inter company collaboration
like Samsung and Seagate can achieve the NO-COMPROMISE design
decisions which are needed to develop world beating enterprise SSD
architectures - no matter how talented individuals in the engineering pool may
be.
Micron samples SATA 3 SLC SSD
Editor:- August 12,
2010 - Micron Technology
today announced
it is sampling the
RealSSD
P300 - a 200GB 2.5"
SATA 3 SLC flash SSD with R/W
IOPS of
44,000 and 16,000 respectively.
Editor's comments:- Micron's
new P300 SSD sounds almost exactly the same as the
C300
SSD the company said it was sampling in
December 2009.
The main differences are:- the newer product has lower R/W IOPS, and is
SLC instead of
MLC - which is better for most mission critical apps.
Virident signs supercomputing channel partner
Editor:-
August 10, 2010 - Virident
Systems today announced
the signing of a reseller
agreement with Appro
for Virident's tachIOn
drive - a fast PCIe flash
SSD.
"As the leading supplier of hardware and software
solutions for the High Performance Computing Market, we are very familiar with
the I/O bottleneck and the need for solutions that address concurrent,
multi-core processor demands while providing maximum storage throughput,"
said Anthony Kenisky, VP of Sales for Appro. "We are very impressed with
the potential of the Virident tachIOn SSD solution to deliver leading,
predictable, high-performance
IOPS for
data intensive workloads."
Anobit inside new Hynix SSD
Editor:- August 9, 2010
- Hynix Semiconductor
announced
it has selected Anobit's
SSD controller
technology to operate with its own 20nm class NAND Flash chips for use in a new
SSD design.
OCZ will demo 3.5" PCIe SSD
Editor:- August 5,
2010 - At the Flash Memory
Summit later this month OCZ says it will
demonstrate a new 3.5"
SSD with what it calls a
High Speed Data
Link interface - which is
PCIe physically
connected via a SAS
connector.
animal brands in the SSD market
Editor:- August 4,
2010 - StorageSearch.com
today published a new article -
animal brands in
the SSD market.
Examples discussed in the article range from
cute and cuddly animals through a menagerie of fast rugged and best friend
rugged SSDs, a regional curio and some real monsters. This is the 3rd in a 6
part series - Branding Strategies in the SSD Market. ...read the article
EMC has cleared STEC shelfware
Editor:- August 3,
2010 - STEC
reported
$61
million for the 2nd quarter ended June 30 - a decrease of 29%
year on year but significantly up on the previous quarter.
The company indicated that inventory issues at
EMC (whose worse than
expected SSD sales in
2009 had
created a glut of STEC shelfware) had been resolved.
Pliant nabs Dot Hill's VP software engineering
Editor:-
August 3, 2010 - Pliant
Technology today
announced
the appointment of Mark
Delsman as VP of engineering.
Prior to joining Pliant, Delsman was VP of software engineering for
Dot Hill.
In his new role, Delsman will manage the software, hardware and
ASIC development
organizations to expand Pliant's position in the enterprise storage market for
solid state based
technologies. See also:-
Storage People
Popular storage searches in July
Editor:- August 2,
2010 - StorageSearch.com
disclosed that overall SSD searches in July 2010 were 20% higher than
a year ago.
Pageviews of the SSD Buyers Guide
grew 14%.
PCIe
SSDs retained the #1 popularity slot for the 11th consecutive month.
3.5" SSDs rebounded
in popularity - with pageviews overtaking those of
1.8" SSDs.
The
top 30 subjects and articles (out of thousands on this site) are listed on the
home page. | |
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SSD Market - past
12 months summary
SSD Market -
35 Years Market History
or see this SSD page as it looked
back in
> 100 more
Articles, FAQs, Case Studies about Solid State Disks
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9 Years Ago - August 2001
- from
SSD
history
Imperial's trade in
program for old SSDs |
Editor:- August 28, 2001 - Imperial Technology
today announced its MegaTrade Program, which provides existing MegaRam customers
a simple, cost-saving upgrade path to current models.
The program
offers an incredible cost-saving and investment protection opportunity, allowing
MegaRam SSD systems as old as 10 years to be rejuvenated to state-of-the-art
interface connections and higher storage capabilities, often with savings of
60-90% over the cost of a new system.
The MegaTrade program enables customers to reuse their existing memory
modules and components, while providing upgrades to faster interfaces such as 1
or 2Gbs Fibre Channel or high-speed Ultra160 SCSI. The resulting savings and
performance gains can be substantial.
"With IT budgets being reduced, the ability to inexpensively
upgrade existing equipment is more important than ever," said Craig
Harries, VP of Product Marketing at Imperial Technology. "Imagine taking a
10-year old piece of computer hardware, investing 15% of the cost of a new
system and giving it another decade of life. By protecting the customer's
investment, we've dramatically lowered the total cost of ownership."
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