Samsung & Sun Develop Ultra-Endurance SSDs
SSDs are, in many cases, faster and more energy efficient than traditional hard-drives, but there have been unanswered questions about how reliable longer-term they are. That might not be the highest concern for an individual user, but anyone thinking of outfitting a critical server with solid-state storage wants to be extra certain that their data is safe. Samsung have partnered with Sun to develop a single-level-cell NAND flash memory device, intended for SSDs, that they're saying delivers the highest endurance ever offered in 24/7 mission-critical computing.
The new memory offers a five-fold increase in data write-and-erase cycles over standard SLC flash memory, together with a 100x increase over conventional hard drives in the number of data transfers (input/output per second or I/OPS) per watt. That means savings in data center cooling, too.
Sun has confirmed that it will be using SSDs containing the new SLC NAND memory in its future server and storage ranges. No consumer availability has been discussed, but the technology is likely to filter down to mainstream solid-state drives.
Press Release
Samsung Collaborates with Sun Microsystems to Develop New Ultra-Endurance Flash Memory for SSD Products in Server ApplicationsSEOUL, South Korea –(Business Wire)– Jul. 16, 2008 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, announced today that it has collaborated with Sun Microsystems to develop a single-level-cell NAND flash memory device for use in solid state drives that offers much higher endurance levels than any other flash memory device on the market today.
Offering a five-fold increase in data write-and-erase cycles over standard SLC flash memory, Samsung's new server-grade SLC NAND memory is designed to be used in SSDs to greatly extend the life cycle of any high-transaction data processing server. It is expected to deliver the highest endurance ever offered in 24/7 mission-critical computing.
The ultra-endurance server-grade memory has been developed in close cooperation with Sun over the past several months.
Probable applications for the new ultra-endurance SLC flash include its use in video streaming, high-transaction data processing, search engine operations and other high-speed server functions.
Samsung said that its server-grade SLC memory will provide a 100X increase over conventional hard drives, in the number of data transfers (input/output per second or I/OPS) per watt, registering a substantial power savings in a market sector where rising cooling bills are being watched with a great deal of concern.
"We have been working with Sun to develop this new 8Gb server-grade SLC flash memory, which will give IT managers the best in high-density, high-endurance memory design with markedly less energy consumption than we see today," said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. "'Endurance up, power down' is going to be the mantra of IT innovators at enterprises everywhere, and server grade SLC flash is ideally situated to deliver on that equation," Elliott added.
"Sun sees incredible upside to using server grade SLC NAND flash to accelerate customers' applications, and we plan to incorporate this technology into our line of servers and storage," said Michael Cornwell, lead technologist for flash memory, Sun Microsystems. "Flash SSDs of this quality and performance when included in our systems and Open Storage products with Solaris ZFS will revolutionize the hardware marketplace. We are excited to be working closely with Samsung to lead this game-changing technology revolution."
According to IDC, global demand for enterprise SSDs is expected to rise to 2.24 million units in 2012.