Solid-state Drive

A solid-state drive (SSD) is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to

store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner of a traditional
block i/o hard disk drive. SSDs are distinguished from traditional hard disk drives (HDDs),
which are electromechanical devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads.
SSDs, in contrast, use microchips which retain data in non-volatile memory chips and contain
no moving parts. Compared to electromechanical HDDs, SSDs are typically less susceptible to
physical shock, quieter, and have lower access time and latency. SSDs use the same interface
as hard disk drives, thus easily replacing them in most applications.

As of 2010, most SSDs use NAND-based flash memory, which retains memory even without
power. SSDs using volatile random-access memory (RAM) also exist for situations which
require even faster access, but do not necessarily need data persistence after power loss, or use
external power or batteries to maintain the data after power is removed.

A hybrid drive combines the features of an HDD and an SSD in one unit.

DDR SDRAM based SSD

Development and History
Early SSDs using RAM and similar technology
The origins of SSDs came from the 1950s using two similar technologies, magnetic core
memory and card capacitor read-only store (CCROS). These auxiliary memory units, as they were called
at the time, emerged during the era of vacuum tube computers. But with the introduction of cheaper drum
storage units, their use was discontinued. Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, SSDs were implemented in
semiconductor memory for early supercomputers of IBM, Amdahl and Cray; however, the prohibitively
high price of the built-to-order SSDs made them quite seldom used.

In 1978, Texas Memory Systems introduced a 16 kilobyte (KB) RAM solid-state drive to be used by oil

companies for seismic data acquisition. The following year, Storage Tek developed the first modern type
of solid-state drive. The Sharp PC-5000, introduced in 1983, used 128 kilobyte solid-state storage
cartridges, containing bubble memory. In 1984 Tall grass Company had a tape back up unit of 40 MB with
a solid state 20 MB unit built in. The 20 MB unit could be used instead of a hard drive. In September
1986, Santa Clara Systems introduced BatRam, 4 megabyte (MB) mass storage system expandable to
20 MB using 4 MB memory modules. The package included a rechargeable battery to preserve the
memory chip contents when the array was not powered. 1987 saw the entry of EMC Corporation into the
SSD market, with drives introduced for the mini-computer market. However, EMC exited the business
soon after.

Architecture and function

The key components of an SSD are the controller and the memory to store the data. The primary
memory component in an SSD had been DRAM volatile memory since they were first
developed, but since 2009 it is more commonly NAND flash non-volatile memory. Other
components play a less significant role in the operation of the SSD and vary between
manufacturers.

PCI-E, DRAM, and NAND based SSD

Comparison of SSD with hard disk drives

Attribute or
Solid-state drive Hard disk
characteristic

May take several seco

number of drives, spin
Spin-up time Instantaneous.
be staggered to limit t
drawn.

Ranges from 5–10 ms

About 0.1 ms - many times faster than HDDs because data is accessed directly from
Random access time to move the heads and
the flash memory
to rotate under the rea

Generally low because the data can be read directly from any location; In applications Generally high since t
Read latency time where hard disk seeks are the limiting factor, this result in faster boot and application components require ad
launch times (see Amdahl's law). get aligned

If data is written in a f
Consistent read
Read performance does not change based on where data is stored on an SSD reading back the data
performance.
response times

HDDs may require de

SSDs do not benefit from defragmentation because there is little benefit to reading data after continued operat
Defragmentation sequentially and any defragmentation process adds additional writes on the NAND and writing data, espe
flash that already have a limited cycle life. large files or where th
becomes low.

HDDs have moving p

Acoustic levels SSDs have no moving parts and make no sound spindle motor) and ha
of sound depending up

Mechanical HDDs have many mo

A lack of moving parts virtually eliminates mechanical breakdowns
reliability are all subject to failu

Susceptibility to The flying heads and

environmental No flying heads or rotating platters to fail as a result of shock, altitude, or vibration are generally suscepti
factors altitude, and vibration
Magnetic Magnets or magnetic
No impact on flash memory
susceptibility data on the media

Higher performing HD
The weight of flash memory and the circuit board material are very light compared to
Weight and size heavier components th
HDDs
that are light, but not a

HDDs have multiple h

Some flash controllers can have multiple flash chips reading and writing different data
Parallel operation platter) but they are co
simultaneously
share one positioning

Solid state drives that use flash memory have a limited number of writes over the life Magnetic media do no
Write longevity
of the drive. SSDs based on DRAM do not have a limited number of writes. number of writes.

NAND flash memory cannot be overwritten, but has to be rewritten to previously

erased blocks. If a software encryption program encrypts data already on the SSD, the
Software encryption overwritten data is still unsecured, unencrypted, and accessible (drive-based hardware HDDs can overwrite d
limitations encryption does not have this problem). Also data cannot be securely erased by the drive in any partic
overwriting the original file without special "Secure Erase" procedures built into the
drive.

As of February 2011,
Cost As of February 2011, NAND flash SSDs cost about (US)$1.20–2.00 per GB (US)$0.05/GB for 3.5
for 2.5 in drives

As of October 2010, SSDs come in different sizes up to 2TB but are typically 512GB As of October 2010, H
Storage capacity
or less. typically 2-3TB or les

Read/write Less expensive SSDs typically have write speeds significantly lower than their read
HDDs generally have
performance speeds. Higher performing SSDs and those from particular manufacturers have a
write speeds than thei
symmetry balanced read and write speed.

SSD write performance is significantly impacted by the availability of free,

Free block HDDs are not affected
programmable blocks. Previously written data blocks that are no longer in use can be
availability and or the operation (or la
reclaimed by TRIM; however, even with TRIM, fewer free, programmable blocks
TRIM command
translate into reduced performance.
 High performance HD
High performance flash-based SSDs generally require 1/2 to 1/3 the power of HDDs;
require between 12-18
Power consumption High performance DRAM SSDs generally require as much power as HDDs and
designed for notebook
consume power when the rest of the system is shut down.
typically 2 watts.

Availability
Solid-state drive (SSD) technology has been marketed to the military and niche
industrial markets since the mid-1990s.

The Mtron SSD

Commercialization
Cost and capacity

The technological trend is a 2 year 50% decline in costs, while capacities continue to double at
the same rate. As a result, flash-based solid-state drives are becoming increasingly popular in
markets such as notebook PCs and sub-notebooks for enterprises, Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC),
and Tablet PCs for the healthcare and consumer electronics sectors.

Applications
Until 2009, SSDs were mainly used in those aspects of mission critical applications where the
speed of the storage system needed to be as fast as possible. Since flash memory has become a
common component of SSDs, the falling prices and increased densities have made it more
financially attractive for many other applications. Organizations that can benefit from faster
access of system data include equity trading companies, telecommunication corporations,
and video streaming and editing firms. The list of applications which could benefit from faster
storage is vast. Any company can assess the ROI from adding SSDs to their own applications to
best understand if that will be cost effective for them.

Flash-based Solid-state drives can be used to create network appliances from general-
purpose PC hardware. A write protected flash drive containing the operating system and
application software can substitute for larger, less reliable disk drives or CD-ROMs. Appliances
built this way can provide an inexpensive alternative to expensive router and firewall hardware.

SSDs based on an SD card with a live SD operating system are easily write-locked. Combined
with a cloud computing environment or other writable medium, to maintain persistence,
an OS booted from a write-locked SD card is robust, rugged, reliable, and impervious to
permanent corruption. If the running OS degrades, simply turning the machine off and then on
returns it back to its initial virgin uncorrupted state and thus is particularly solid. The SD card
installed OS does not require removal of corrupted components since it was write-locked though
any written media may need to be restored.

Solid State Storage

Frequently Asked Questions;
 What is the difference between a USB fl ash drive and a solid state drive?
Both USB flash drives and SSDs use NAND fl ash memory. However, it’s the
quality of NAND used—as well as the controller and interface involved—that
separates a simple USB fl ash drive from an enterprise-class storage device, like
those found in blade servers and external storage systems.

 What is Flash memory?

Flash memory is non-volatile, rewritable memory. Unlike DRAM, it requires
erasing blocks of data before they can be written to, resulting in a lower write
performance than read performance. Flash memory supports only a finite number
of writes, and the number varies by the technology used.
Flash memory is available as NAND or NOR. SSD products use NAND fl ash
because it’s more durable, less expensive, its cells are denser, and write/erase
operations are faster compared to NOR fl ash. NOR fl ash memory is designed to
store the binary code of programs and has high performance in read operations.
 What is NAND?
NAND is a technological description for the gate structure used to create a form
of flash computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It is
non-volatile, meaning no power is needed to keep the information stored in the chip.
As of 2010, most SSD storage is made from NAND-based fl ash.

 What is the difference between SCL and MLC NAND technology?

NAND fl ash uses either single-level cell (SLC) or multi-level cell (MLC) flash
technology. SLC NAND stores one bit per cell and has high endurance
(approximately 50,000 writes per cell). MLC NAND uses two bits per cell—
delivering higher capacity—but wears out faster than SLC NAND (approximately
one-tenth of the endurance of SLC fl ash). Newer 3-bit per cell (approximately
1000 supported writes) and 4-bit per cell (a few hundred supported writes) NAND
flash are targeted for applications with a very limited number of writes.

 What is DRAM?
To most end users, DRAM is memory; hard drives and NAND/SSDs are storage.
Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random access memory
that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit.
Since real capacitors leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the
capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. Because of this refresh requirement, it
is a dynamic memory as opposed to SRAM and other static memory.
The advantage of DRAM is its structural simplicity: only one transistor and a
capacitor are required per bit, compared to four transistors in SRAM. This allows
DRAM to reach very high density. Unlike fl ash memory, it is volatile memory since
it loses its data when the power supply is removed.

 How are SSDs different from hard drives?

Today’s SSDs are different from hard drives when it comes to data storage.
SSDs are sophisticated storage devices that use non-moving memory chips,
mostly non-volatile NAND fl ash, instead of the rotating magnetic disks found in
hard drives. Hard drives can take the data directly from the host and write it to
the rotating media. In contrast, SSDs can’t write a single bit of information without
first erasing and then rewriting very large blocks of data at one time (also referred
to as P/E).
Because SSDs and hard drives have different strengths in terms of efficiency,
they complement each other and can co-exist. SSDs deliver ultra-fast random
data access (inputs-outputs per second, or IOPS, performance), low power
consumption, small size and high physical resilience (due to no moving parts)—
but they cost more. Hard drives provide fast sequential data access with high
capacity, endurance and reliability at a much lower price.
 Seagate provides both SSD and hard drive storage solutions in our enterprise
portfolio.

 What is wear-leveling?
Wear-leveling is the process used by an SSD controller to maximize the life of the
fl ash memory. This technique levels the wear across all blocks by distributing data
writes across the flash memory devices.

 What are the challenges facing SSD?

There are three primary concerns impacting SSD adoption in the enterprise:
Endurance and reliability, a lack of industry standards, and high cost.
Endurance/Reliability Concerns
SSDs wear out over time. NAND fl ash memory can only be written a certain
number of times to each block (or cell). SLC memory generally sustains 50,000
program/erase (P/E) cycles, while MLC memory is generally ten times less at
5000 cycles. Once a block (or cell) is written to its limit, the block starts to forget
what is stored and data corruption can occur. Seagate is actively developing
techniques such as wear leveling algorithms to address endurance and reliability
concerns.
 Lack of Standards
SSDs store data differently than hard drives; therefore the time-tested and field
proven industry standards used by hard drives do not equally apply when working
with NAND fl ash technology.
 High Cost
To date, the cost of SLC memory is roughly three times higher than MLC memory
due to two factors. First, MLC NAND stores two bits of data per cell and can
provide twice the storage per square millimeter of silicon (the main cost of the
memory). Second, the volume of MLC is roughly 90 percent of all NAND fl ash,
further increasing the economies of scale in its production.

 How does SSS impact enterprise architectures?

Solid state storage technology requires fundamental changes to IT enterprise
architectures to optimize performance. This impacts both the physical hardware
stack (hard drives, host bus adaptors, interfaces, integration points) and the
software infrastructure (operating systems, applications). While the hardware
changes are beginning to hit the market now, software changes will take longer.
Additional work is needed to define and implements these architectural changes.
Data lifecycle, access and usage patterns must be understood and data storage
and processing hierarchies must be re-evaluated. In addition, system throughput
and latency accumulation must be recalibrated and automatic data tiering,
migration and placement solutions must be developed.
 What is the enterprise market opportunity for SSD, and will it overtake
hard drives?
Solid state storage is an emerging segment of the the traditional enterprise
storage market. SSDs to be a small but very important
segment of the overall enterprise storage market that could increase over time
as the technology and standards mature.