Jan 6 2010
SMART Modular Technologies (WWH), Inc. ("SMART"
or the "Company") (NASDAQ: SMOD), a leading independent manufacturer of
memory modules and solid-state storage products, including solid-state
drives (SSDs), today announced the XceedIOPS SATA, its next-generation
enterprise-class SSD. Available in 1.8" and 2.5" form factors, the
XceedIOPS SATA is offered with either single-level cell (SLC) or
enterprise-grade multi-level cell (E-MLC) NAND technologies.
This cost-effective XceedIOPS SATA SSD is the second product in SMART's
XceedIOPS family, and the first SSD from SMART to feature the SF-1500
processor from SandForce, Inc. based in Saratoga, California. The XceedIOPS
SATA is the industry's first SSD to integrate E-MLC technology, which
provides significantly more endurance than SSDs based on commercial MLC
NAND flash.
Endurance for E-MLC is specified at 20,000 program/erase (P/E) cycles,
whereas current generation commercial MLC demonstrates 1,500 or 5,000 P/E
cycles, depending on the NAND flash vendor. The combination of the SF-1500
processor's minimal write amplification and E-MLC flash enables the
XceedIOPS SATA SSD to handle the most demanding enterprise workloads. For
example, a 5-year lifetime can be easily achieved with a 400GB XceedIOPS
SATA in an environment that demands 250MB/s sustained write and a 40% duty
cycle.
"Enterprise storage and server system OEMs are looking for SSDs that
provide improved performance, reduced total cost of ownership, and high
reliability," said Jeff Janukowicz, Research Manager, Hard Disk Drive
Components and Solid State Drives at IDC. "SSDs like the new XceedIOPS SATA
from SMART that meet these requirements and leverage enterprise-grade MLC
and controllers, like the SandForce processor, will help to accelerate the
adoption of SSD technology in the enterprise."
Featuring a SATA 2.6 interface and support for native command queuing (NCQ),
the new XceedIOPS SATA 1.8" and 2.5" SSDs are optimized for high
performance (up to 30K IOPS random read/write, 250MB/s sustained
read/write) and high capacity (up to 400GB). High reliability is achieved
through flash management techniques such as power and data fail protection,
data path protection, and an enhanced error correction code (ECC) engine.
Because of its high random read/write performance, a single XceedIOPS SATA
can replace several hard disk drives, thereby saving space, improving
reliability, and reducing power consumption. In fact, the 1.8" form factor
SSD was specifically designed for space-constrained blade server and
high-density computing applications.
"The enterprise SSD market appears to be entering a period of impressive
growth. Well-positioned to satisfy the requirements of enterprise
deployments, we expect our XceedIOPS SATA SSDs will provide low cost,
superior performance, low power, and high capacity flexibility," said Alan
Gulachenski, SMART's Vice President and General Manager, Enterprise Solid
State Storage.
The XceedIOPS SATA SSDs are sampling this month to strategic customers,
with production quantities scheduled for the second quarter of 2010.
SOURCE: SMART Modular Technologies