Other Sites
Hybrid Storage Alliance to Emphasize Efficiencies of Higher-Value Hard Drives with Flash Memory for Notebook Users
Press Release data Edited By Applelinks Contributing Editor Charles W. Moore
SanDisk Launches 32-Gigabyte Solid State Drive Targeting Notebook Computers
SanDisk Corporation has introduced a 32-gigabyte (GB)a, 1.8-inch solid state drive (SSD) as a drop-in replacement for the standard mechanical hard disk drive. Initially aimed at enterprise users as the first step toward mass consumer adoption, SanDisk SSD offers field-proven durability to keep mobile PCs working in the toughest of conditions and improves the overall user experience.
Previously, large capacity flash-based drives had been used primarily by the military, aerospace and telecom industries, which demanded high performance and reliability under challenging environmental conditions. But now the declining cost of NAND flash memory has made SSD a viable and economically attractive alternative to existing technologies in a wider variety of applications, including mobile PCs aimed at enterprise and consumer users.
“This is an important milestone for SanDisk in our relentless quest to create new large-scale markets for flash storage solutions for consumers in the personal computing space,� said Eli Harari, SanDisk CEO. “The 32-gigabyte SSD that we are announcing today represents the fifth generation of flash-based solid state drives developed by msystems, which we recently acquired. The 32GB SSD has been made commercially viable through SanDisk’s technology leadership coupled with msystems’ tremendous experience and IP, which are captured in the high-performance, low-cost system controllers that distinguish this product.
“Once we begin shipping the 32GB SSD for notebook PCs, we expect to see its increasing adoption in the coming years as we continue to reduce the cost of flash memory. When these SSD devices become more affordable, we expect that their superior features over rotating disk drives will create a new consumer category for our retail sales channels worldwide,� said Harari. It is projected that inclusion of the SanDisk 32GB SSD in a notebook PC could increase the end-user price by around $600 in the first half of 2007, he added.
Using NAND flash enhanced by SanDisk’s patented TrueFFS flash management technology, SanDisk SSD delivers two million hours mean time between failures (MTBF)i. With no moving parts, it does not need to spin into action or seek files in the way that conventional hard disk drives do. These characteristics, combined with SanDisk's advanced flash management technology, make it possible for SanDisk SSD to deliver excellent performance compared with hard disk drives and competing solid state drives.
The SanDisk SSD announced today achieves a sustained read rate of 62 megabytes (MB)ii per second and a random read rate of 7,000 inputs/outputs per second (IOPS) for a 512-byte transferiii – more than 100 times faster than most hard disk drives. Taking advantage of this performance, a laptop PC equipped with SanDisk SSD can boot Microsoft Windows® Vista™ Enterprise in as little as 35 secondsiv. It also can achieve an average file access rate of 0.12 milliseconds, compared with 55 seconds and 19 milliseconds, respectively, for a laptop PC with a hard disk drivev.
Another advantage of SanDisk SSD is its extremely low power consumption rate compared to the hard disk drive: 0.4 watt during active operation versus 1.0 wattvi . This is particularly important to extend the battery life for the benefit of enterprise road warriors. These results enable new operating systems, such as Microsoft® Vista™, to provide mobile PC users with a superior overall system experience.
"There has been a huge increase in demand for NAND flash memory over the past few years from consumer devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players and mobile phones,� said Robert Gray, analyst with IDC, based in Framingham, Massachusetts. “There are dramatically higher bit capacities and lower prices, so the technology is now well positioned to be the foundation for new generations of potentially disruptive solid state drives. Enterprise mobile PC users will find the high performance and low power consumption especially attractive,� he added.
SanDisk SSD 1.8-inch 32GB solid state drive is now available for original equipment manufacturers. It is the first in a range of solutions that SanDisk will be offering to bring flash to the mainstream mobile PC market.
Amos Marom, vice president and general manager of the embedded division at SanDisk, is scheduled to deliver a presentation at Storage Visions 2007 on Jan. 7 at 11:45 a.m. at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. There, he will explain the benefits of SanDisk SSD for the notebook PC market. Furthermore, a demo of SanDisk SSD can be seen during the Consumer Electronics Show at SanDisk Booth 36206, South Hall 4 in the Las Vegas Convention Center. More detailed information on SanDisk SSD is available on line at http://www.sandisk.com/ssd.
SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world’s largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Milpitas, California, and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.
a 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes; 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes.
i MTBF is calculated based on reliability demonstration test (RDT) per Weibull method
ii H2BENCH 3.6: average access time = average seek time + average latency time
iii IOMETER 2003.12.16
iv Stopwatch test performed internally at SanDisk; notebook computer (Intel Core Duo Processor ULV U2500, 1.20GHz, 533MHz, 1.0GB RAM DDR2-533 SDRAM); Microsoft Windows Vista
v H2BENCH 3.6: average access time = average seek time + average latency time
vi MobileMark 2005; notebook computer (Intel Core Duo Processor ULV U2500), 1.20GHz, 533MHz, 1.0GB, DDR2-533 SDRAM
SanDisk’s product and executive images can be downloaded from:
http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp
SanDisk’s web site/home page address:
http://www.sandisk.com
Hybrid Storage Alliance to Emphasize Efficiencies of Higher-Value Hard Drives with Flash Memory for Notebook Users
In a move to give the growing number of notebook PC users faster, more durable systems that run longer on a battery charge, Hitachi*, Samsung, Seagate Technology and Toshiba have formed the Hybrid Storage Alliance. The goals of the industry group are two-fold: (1) illustrate how flash memory/hard drive hybrid technology can extend the capabilities of today's notebook computers and (2) accelerate market adoption of the technology.
Market research firm IDC predicts hybrid hard disk drives will constitute 35 percent of all hard disk drives shipped with portable PCs by 2010 (1).
Hybrid hard drive technology is the industry's answer to growing demand for notebook PCs that deliver the speed and durability of desktop PCs. Hybrid technology, which can be deployed in other mobile devices and computing systems, combines the unmatched capacity and cost-effectiveness of hard drives with the responsiveness, power-efficiency and durability of flash memory.
"The hard drive industry is continuously looking for ways to bring greater value to the systems in which our technology resides and to those who use them," said Joni Clark, chairperson, Hybrid Storage Alliance. "Adding non- volatile memory to the hard drive brings about a host of mobility benefits that increases the value users want in notebook PCs -- longer battery life, faster response, greater system durability."
"NAND caching will emerge as an important technology enabler, especially to improve the performance of portable PCs running the Windows Vista OS," said John Rydning, IDC's Research Manager for hard drives. "Hybrid hard drives combine the best features of two storage technologies in a single product to deliver high capacity, responsive storage for portable PC users. Formation of the Hybrid Storage Alliance by HDD industry participants is prudent to raise awareness of hybrid HDD technology benefits."
The Power of Hybrid
Microsoft Windows Vista is the first operating system to take full advantage of the performance, power and durability benefits of hybrid technology.
"Microsoft is pleased to see the storage industry uniting to drive the adoption of hybrid hard drives," said Bill Mitchell, Corporate Vice President of Mobile and Tailored Platform Division of Microsoft. "Hybrid drives will leverage 'Windows ReadyDrive' features in Windows Vista to enable a new generation of mobile PCs that boot up and resume from hibernation faster, optimize battery life, outperform standard hard disk drives, and are more reliable and robust."
End users of notebook systems can look for the following potential benefits of hybrid hard drives:
• Faster boot-up and resume - Once a notebook PC with a traditional
drive is turned on, the hard drive's platters must spin up before boot-
up can begin. Booting straight from a flash memory chip eliminates this
delay. Likewise, hybrid drives resume operation from hibernation faster
than traditional models, since frequently accessed data is stored in
the NAND flash before a system goes to sleep.
• Lower power consumption - Hybrid drives curtail platter spin time,
which reduces power draw. This, in turn, extends battery life,
especially important in notebook PCs and other mobile applications.
• Higher reliability - Reducing platter spin time extends drive life.
• Greater durability - Every time data is pulled from the flash memory,
the system has greater shock tolerance because the drive platter isn't
spinning.
From a system standpoint, there are several advantages of hybrid hard drive technology over similar approaches, including:
• Ease of installation - Incorporating flash memory directly onto the
hard drive greatly simplifies installation and does not require
additional real estate on the host system. Furthermore, installing
hybrid drives in Windows Vista systems is as simple as installing
traditional drives.
• Data separation/data security - Having flash on the hard drive keeps
all the system information stored in one location so that security or
encryption mechanisms can be employed to protect all the data
centrally. Storing data on the hard drive also helps with data recovery
in case of a sudden system shut-down.
Members of the Hybrid Storage Alliance will be demonstrating hybrid technology and products at StorageVisions 2007, January 6 and 7 at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
For more information, visit:
http://www.hybridstorage.org
Digg this
del.icio.us
Charles W. Moore
Tags: News ï Tech-Industry ï
