Tag Archives: Flash memory controller

Some great analysis on SSD wear leveling and power consumption

Posted on September 17, 2012 by sleibson2

Some great analysis by Cullen Logan at Amazon.com appeared on LinkedIn over the weekend in response to my post “Are Enterprise SSDs a “bad” idea? Four tips and counter-tips for your consideration”: “To put some raw data out there, consider … Continue reading →

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Need yet another argument for designing your own SSD controller?

Posted on August 30, 2012 by sleibson2

A Web site called legitreviews.com recently reviewed the ADATA XPG SX900 128Gbyte SSD and this review contains additional justification for seriously considering developing your own SSD controller for new storage products. The review starts off this way: “ADATA is long … Continue reading →

Posted in SSD, Storage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Add Hitachi Data Systems to the growing list of companies developing their own SSD controllers

Posted on August 27, 2012 by sleibson2

According to this Computerworld article, Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) announced last week that it is developing its own SSD controller for MLC NAND Flash to be used in its SSD arrays. The objective is a 4x improvement in read/write throughput, … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, MLC, NAND, SSD, Storage | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tweaktown review of 1.6Tbyte SMART Storage Optimus SSD reveals a few secrets. Wanna see them?

Posted on August 27, 2012 by sleibson2

Tweaktown.com attended last week’s Flash Memory Summit and has published some great photos of the internals of the 2.5-inch SMART Storage 1.6Tbyte Optimus SSD. The drive has dual SAS ports with accompanying specs of 1Gbps sequential read and 500MGbps sequential … Continue reading →

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As seen at Flash Memory Summit: Whose car is this?

Posted on August 24, 2012 by sleibson2

Leaving Flash Memory Summit on Tuesday, I stopped in my tracks when I saw this Toyota Corolla’s license plate. Can you decode it?

Posted in Flash | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Want to know Rado Danilak’s and Skyera’s plan for total enterprise-class SSD world domination?

Posted on August 23, 2012 by sleibson2

This week, I reported on a new high-end, high-performance 44Tbyte SSD for data centers and server farms from Skyera. (See “44Tbyte Skyera Skyhawk SSD employs Everspin MRAM as write cache” and “How Skyera developed the 44Tbyte, enterprise-class Skyhawk SSD from … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, HDD, MLC, NAND, SSD, Storage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Korg introduces SSD-based music workstation, the Korg Kronos X, with 62Gbyte drive and option for a second SSD

Posted on July 17, 2012 by sleibson2

File this under places you might not expect to find SSDs: Korg USA has announced the Kronos X Music Workstation, a music keyboard and workstation with a 62Gbyte SSD for storing sound samples in sound libraries. That’s a lot of … Continue reading →

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MOSAID and NOVACHIPS announce plans for an HLNAND-based SSD controller chip. Release set for 2013.

Posted on July 9, 2012 by sleibson2

A couple of weeks ago, MOSAID and NOVACHIPS announced plans to jointly develop an SSD controller based on the MOSAID high-speed HLNAND interface specification. If you’re not familiar with the MOSAID HLNAND high-speed serial interface, join the club. Most NAND … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Flash, Hybrid Memory Cube, NAND | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Jim Handy, The Memory Guy, writes that Flash memory is dead…but perhaps not just yet

Posted on June 28, 2012 by sleibson2

My good friend Jim Handy—who writes several blogs including The Memory Guy and The SSD Guy—recently published a blog titled “The End of Flash Scaling.” He writes: “Everyone knows that flash memory is about to hit its scaling limit – … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D, Flash, Memristor, MRAM, ReRAM, SSD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Do you know the advantages and disadvantages of the six different use cases for SSDs?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by sleibson2

Marc Staimer, founder and senior analyst at Dragon Slayer Consulting, has just published an excellent primer on locating SSD storage within a server and storage network. With the advent of PCIe-based SSD storage based on NAND Flash memory, the number … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, HDD, SSD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Low-cost Intel 330 series SSDs sport SandForce SF-2281 SSD Controller

Posted on April 17, 2012 by sleibson2

According to this extremely informative article on the Anandtech.com site, Intel’s just-released 330 series SSDs push Intel into the low-cost SSD zone using the SandForce SF-2281 SSD controller. Apparently, Intel’s 520 SSD series also employs this controller, but the use … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, NAND, SSD, Storage | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A detailed look at the IP components of an SSD controller chip by Dr. Eric Esteve

Posted on April 13, 2012 by sleibson2

IPNEST blogger and analyst Dr. Eric Esteve has just published a detailed look at many of the IP components needed to design a high-performance SSD controller chip including a NAND Flash controller and high-speed PHY interface for NAND Flash devices. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Whiptail’s CTO James Candelaria demonstrates how SSD controllers can greatly improve NAND Flash endurance by managing write amplification

Posted on April 9, 2012 by sleibson2

As NAND Flash geometries continue to shrink, device endurance specs have suffered, which is a significant challenge when using these devices in SSDs. This interview with Whiptail’s CTO James Candelaria discusses how his company’s approach to buffering writes in SSD … Continue reading →

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Micron releases video on using PCIe for fast, enterprise-class SSDs like its P320h SSD

Posted on March 28, 2012 by sleibson2

As yet another example of how new, fast interfaces are changing the way SSDs fit into the enterprise storage arena, here’s a new video showing Gary Gentry, General Manager of Micron’s Enterprise SSD Division, explaining how and why Micron has … Continue reading →

Posted in HDD, NAND, NVMe, PCIe, SAS, SATA, SSD | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More on developing your own SSD controller chip. Is rolling your own right for you?

Posted on March 8, 2012 by sleibson2

A couple of days ago, I described the new STEC MACH16 SSD and noted that STEC had developed its own SSD controller and firmware. (See “STEC’s MACH16 Slim 2.5-in SATA SSD requires small footprint, fits in small embedded spaces”) I … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, NAND, SSD | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

STEC’s MACH16 Slim 2.5-in SATA SSD requires small footprint, fits in small embedded spaces

Posted on March 6, 2012 by sleibson2

STEC has introduced a small-form-factor Slim SATA SSD with a Slim SATA interface for embedded and other computing applications that require lots of storage that can fit in a small space and consume little power. The STEC MACH16 SSD is … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, NAND, SSD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Objective Analysis White Paper covers the basics of SSD design. Do you know what’s important?

Posted on March 1, 2012 by sleibson2

Jim Handy at Objective Analysis has just published a White Paper about SSDs titled “Enterprise Reality, Solid State Speed.” The White Paper provides an excellent introduction to issues surrounding SSD design. The key issue here is the basic wearout failure … Continue reading →

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Flash Memory Summit 2012: Call for presentations

Posted on February 16, 2012 by sleibson2

Planning is now underway for the Flash Memory Summit 2012, which will be held in Santa Clara, CA in August. There’s no better show devoted exclusively to NAND Flash semiconductor memory and applications of NAND Flash—particularly SSDs. The organizers have … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash, NAND, SSD | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Can MLC NAND Flash work in enterprise SSDs? Yes, with the right storage algorithms says Seagate

Posted on February 6, 2012 by sleibson2

MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memories provide 2x or 3x the storage for slightly more than the cost of SLC (single-level cell) NAND Flash memories. Consequently, there’s a big economic case to be made for MLC NAND Flash devices in … Continue reading →

Posted in eMMC, Flash, NAND, SLC, SSD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment