Solid State Disks Starting Move to Mainstream

Companies such as Intel Corp., Samsung Group, and SanDisk Corp. are starting to put more efforts into developing and selling solid state disks (SSDs).  In other news, lower-end computing devices are starting to sell with SSDs, and Sun Microsystems, Inc. is adding SSD options to its servers as well.

Focal Points:

• At a recent computer show in Taiwan, various technology companies were demonstrating their use of SSD technology. SanDisk is putting SSDs in the Apple, Inc. iPhone. In addition, it announced a Parallel ATA SSD (PSSD), which it expects will require less power. Officials said the SanDisk SSDs will come in 4, 8, and 16 gigabyte sizes. TDK Corp. also announced some 1.8 inch SSDs. Its HS1 drives use a Micro Serial-ATA (SATA) interface. TDK's SSDs come in 16, 32, and 64 gigabyte sizes. Reading and writing speeds for these SSDs are 100 MBs and 50 MBs, respectively. Pricing is still high, with TDK's 64 GB SSD coming in at $1,900. Intel officials, partnering with Micron Technology, Inc., said they would likely bring out 80GB and 160 GB SSDs later in the year. SanDisk SSDs are to be available in August.
• The devices SanDisk announced are especially geared for lower end notebook computers. This PSSD technology enables communication between the memory and the central processing unit (CPU) via IDE and a 40 pin zero insertion force (ZIF) plug. The throughput of these SanDisk SSDs is 39 MBs for reading and 17 MBs for writes. Intel is planning on using a similar transfer mechanism for its SSDs, and officials stated that the devices should consume only 1.65 milliwatts (mW) idle and 314 mW during read and write operations. The Intel devices are schedule to transfer data at 35 MBs for reads and 7 MBs for writes. SuperTalent Technology Corp. is another manufacturer making low-end SSDs, with a 1.8" SSD designed for use in ultra-mobile PCs. SuperTalent's MasterDrive KX will come in 30,60, and 120 GB sizes and use multi-layer cell (MLC) flash. The price for its high-end SSD is $679, with the 30 GB unit selling for $299.
• Officials from Sun announced plans to ship SSDs before the end of 2008. Officials said they were working with an unnamed company to ensure the planned 2.5" and 3.5" drives will work with its various products. Officials said the new devices should be able to plug into existing Sun infrastructure systems. Officials further stated that the 2.5" SSDs would be available this year, with the 3.5" drives planned for release in 2009. Testing is ongoing to ensure these devices will support Sun's operating systems and its Solaris ZFS file system, as well as working with the recently acquired MySQL database management system. Sun officials said its SSD should achieve a throughput of 8,000 write I/O per second, compared with only 180 write I/O per second for traditional hard disks.

Experton Group believes SSDs are likely to gain wide adoption in the enterprise, but not before pricing drops significantly, to levels more in line with traditional direct attached storage. The biggest benefits that SSDs play today are access latency. This will cause them to be used first in critical data operations, where minimizing latency for data access is critical. Over time, Experton Group expects the added power and reliability of these devices will make them very attractive for an increasing array of data center applications. IT executives should understand the development roadmaps of SSD vendors and find areas where the latency improvements justify initial investments.