[James Tanner]

Hi All,

Got this today from a friend of mine and thought it might be of interest for others.

The Risky Solid-State Drive
ARTICLE DATE:  06.02.09
By  John C. Dvorak


Everyone is gaga over the idea of fast solid-state drives, but until we move to some new memory technology other than flash, SSDs are a dead end. I say this only because during a recent trip to Europe I took about six photos on a 16GB CompactFlash card and?boom!?it was dead. This makes the third CompactFlash drive that blew up on me over the past few years. I've had two early 1GB drives go out, and now this 16GB card. One is simply too many.

Then there is the technology I've harped on over the past five or six years: the HHD, or the hybrid hard disk. When the idea for the HHD was hatched, it was intended to solve all sorts of problems. Half spinning platter and half flash memory, an HHD would increase throughput and make the hard disk more powerful than ever?somehow. I actually sat through a day of presentations outlining how this device would revolutionize the mass-storage industry. It was all ready to go and, as one guy put it, make Vista so hot that people would flock to it. You see, Vista was optimized for this new drive. How soon they forget.

So Vista comes out, but the drives do not. Then I wait. And wait. I start asking around. All of a sudden these things are delayed. Nobody actually says why. Samsung may have announced one. The CEO of Seagate tells me that they will probably end up only in high-end servers. He can't say why.

Over time they simply fail to hit the market except as oddities here and there. This was complicated by some scheme of Intel's to use memory on the motherboard to accomplish the same speed boost. That plan seemed to crap out too.

Then a couple of years ago, we begin to see the solid-state drive. Various drives hit the market; some show up in netbooks and some in laptops. Their prices are about ten times the price of a mechanical hard drive, in terms of cost per gigabyte. But then rumors of a 30 percent failure rate begin to surface. These rumors are denied by the industry, but people maintain a persistent belief that SSDs fail at least twice as often as conventional hard disks. This seems to be the case.

Needless to say, there's some issue with the technology. And I'm certain that this failure rate has something to do with the non-start of the HHD. Flash memory appears to be a stopgap technology hanging around until a better nonvolatile memory technology appears. There are plenty of suitors, sure, but nothing commercial.

Flash memory suffers from all sorts of problems, the least of which is a finite read/write cycle that requires a special allocation architecture to keep the data bits moving from one part of the memory chip to another so that one area doesn't get "worn out."

And often when you buy a CompactFlash or SD card, you might find you get a data-recovery disk with your memory module. When one of these things blows up, it won't work ever again, but the data is still there on the drive, and you can coax it off with the right software. I never lost the photos I had stored on that toasted CompactFlash card, I just couldn't use it in the camera anymore (or anywhere else for that matter). It was fried.

There are a number of hot memory technologies lurking in labs around the world, and unless flash can prove itself more reliable, storage technology will turn toward something entirely different?if something new actually makes it out of research and into development. Until then, people, always take an extra memory card with you when you travel! You won't regret it. This happens to every shutterbug every so often. And as for the solid-state-drive revolution, well, good luck with that one.

Copyright (c) 2009Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a%253D240852,00.asp

[mattyturner]

Oh Gosh... Dvorak is the worst kind of tech link bait.

Right of the bat

"Everyone is gaga over the idea of fast solid-state drives, but until we move to some new memory technology other than flash, SSDs are a dead end. I say this only because during a recent trip to Europe I took about six photos on a 16GB CompactFlash card and?boom!?it was dead."

Because Compact Flash is the same technology as SSD.... except for the fact it isn't. The only thing it shares is that it's non volatile memory... that's it.

Perhaps he is right and it will be an alternative to MLC or SLC SSDs that wins the day in solid state memory. I think the way it is going it will be some product that has directly evolved from todays SSDs rather than something new and radical. The point is that yes, this stuff is still in it's infancy but the improvements being made are already radical. The next important milestone for SSDs is for the OS vendors (MS and Apple) to write drivers that are optimized for random memory access and the fragmentation issues that these drives have, rather than our current HDDs.

If you really think spinning magnetic discs will persist then I suggest you read opening chapters of "The Innovators Dilemma" for a short history of the hard drive. (Who needs a small, slow, expensive 2.5" hard drive anyway, STUPID!)

[jtwrace]

Interesting article.  I have a SSD coming for my Mac Mini.  I will tell you this, Gordon Rankin REALLY likes the SSD.  He is MUCH smarter then me when it comes to computers.  If it's good for him it's good for me! 

EVERYONE should backup their data.  No matter what HD you use. 

isn't a bad thing that it sounds better.  supposedly.  The quickness is worth it to me either way though.

[alexone]

...so let's wait for a new technology as the world turns and turns and turns...


al.

[brucek]

and unless flash can prove itself more reliable, storage technology will turn toward something entirely different?

Huh, I'm surprised by this article.

I've used flash memory for years in my cameras and have never, ever had, or heard of a problem. It seems flawless to me.

Has anyone actually had a flash memory card fail on them - not me?

brucek

[James Tanner]

and unless flash can prove itself more reliable, storage technology will turn toward something entirely different?

Huh, I'm surprised by this article.

I've used flash memory for years in my cameras and have never, ever had, or heard of a problem. It seems flawless to me.

Has anyone actually had a flash memory card fail on them - not me?

brucek

Never had a card fail.

james

[Wayner]

Mr. Tanner,

I was an electrical designer at Hutchinson Tehnology, Inc.. They are one of three disc-drive suspension manufacturers onthe globe. The suspension is the "tonearm" of the disc drive and incredable tolerences must be held (like 4 millionths of an inch). A finger print on the disc would be like a 60 story building. It has been said that a suspension flying over a disc drive is like flying a 747 at 50,000 MPH, at 1/8" off the ground.

SSDs offer the HDD market a challenge, but that challenge will not be here anytime soon. Tho there are many advantages to SSD, the troubles your article mentioned will keep the product in low level devices for quite a while. Companies are not going to replace their dependable HDD with a SSD until it is a proven and effective (cost and performace) storage medium. A couple of hard disc drive manufacturers have eyed up some of the technology companies that are persuing the SSD format, but keep a watchful and safe distance away. People like Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba and Samsung to name a few are on the watch at all times, but most feel safe that the current HDD industry is safe for now in it's current format.

That does not  mean that SSD will not overcome it's pitfalls. But it is a developing technology with a few hurdles to clear.

Wayner

[Phil A]

To date (knock wood), I've never had any type of drive failure and that includes PCs that are more than 10 years old.  Here's a recent press release:

"Jun 01, 2009 19:00 ET

SanDisk Begins Shipping High-Speed, Next-Generation Solid State Drives for Ultra-Hot Netbook Market
SanDisk pSSD Drives Feature nCache?Large Non Volatile Write Cache Technology to Boost Random Write Performance Five Times Over Steady State Performance
TAIPEI, Taiwan --(Business Wire)-- Jun 01, 2009 SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that it has begun shipping its next-generation flash memory-based solid state drives (SSD) for netbooks, offering high-performance components at a competitive price. SanDisk? pSSD? P2 and S2 employ a new technology called nCache?, which improves netbook performance. The drives will be demonstrated at the SanDisk booth at Computex, Taipei, June 2-6, 2009: Booth # N709 Nangang Hall, 4th floor.
Netbooks are small, low-cost computers that offer consumers a highly portable means of surfing the Internet, accessing email as well as enjoying their favorite music and videos on the go. Market researchers, IDC, project consumer purchases of netbooks to rise from 11.5 million sold in 2008 to 50 million in 20131.
nCache: Advanced Technology for Faster Performance
SanDisk?s exclusive nCache technology is a non-volatile write cache capable of supporting burst performance up to five times the steady state vRPM2 to further enhance the user experience3. nCache improves user responsiveness and helps prevent incidence of ?stalling? or ?shuddering? often seen in first generation netbook SSDs.
The SanDisk pSSD P2 and S2 drives offer 9,000 vRPM of steady state performance in addition to nCache, which goes beyond this and offers a non-volatile cache of up to 320MB* to support bursts of random write commands maximizing system responsiveness. In addition, because nCache is non-volatile, the user?s data is protected in the event of a power interruption.
?Full-featured operating systems make tremendous demands in the storage device ? writing large amounts of data in fast bursts using small random transfer sizes,? said Doreet Oren, director, product marketing, SanDisk. ?SanDisk pSSD drives with nCache offer up to 50 times the random write performance of our first generation SSDs, delivering on the SSD promise for netbooks.?
Strategic Collaboration to Lower Netbook Costs
?As Netbooks migrate from retail stand-alone systems to operator-managed devices, many m*bile network operators (MNOs) will consider Linux and netbooks with ARM processors for their low power consumption, low cost and greater customization capabilities,? said Tim Bajarin, president and principal analyst, Creative Strategies, Inc. ?This enables key component suppliers to lower bill of materials costs without sacrificing performance or crucial equipment capabilities.?
Engineers from SanDisk and Canonical, the creator of the popular Ubuntu Linux-based operating system (OS), have worked closely on system optimizations for the Gen2 pSSD, resulting in improved system responsiveness and longer battery life.
?Canonical is enabling original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and designers (ODMs) to offer consumers a fantastic user experience with Ubuntu Netbook Remix running on netbooks,? said Chris Kenyon, director, OEM services, Canonical. ?Our tests have shown SanDisk second generation pSSD equipped with nCache performing significantly better than a 5400 RPM HDD, providing Ubuntu users with the speed and stability that they need.?
SanDisk pSSDs are also ideal for use in netbooks equipped with ARM processors like Freescale?s i.MX515 device, which offers impressive performance at costs that let OEMs and ODMs meet critical price points. The processor?s advanced power management features extend battery life and eliminate the need for energy-sapping fans or costly heat sinks.
?All-day battery life is critical in the netbook space, where OEMs carefully evaluate each component for optimal energy efficiency,? said Glen Burchers, marketing director, consumer segment, Freescale. ?Like Freescale?s i.MX515 processor, SanDisk?s pSSDs are designed with power management in mind, thus addressing critical market requirements.?
Availability
Available in capacities of 8, 16, 32 and 64-gigabytes (GB)*, SanDisk second-generation pSSD drives are attractively priced for segments such as Netbooks, POS terminals, printers, ATMs and other applications where users need HDD functionality with improved reliability, yet want to pay only for the exact capacity that they need.
About SanDisk
SanDisk Corporation is the global leader in flash memory cards ? from research, manufacturing and product design to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk?s product portfolio includes flash memory cards for m*bile phones, digital cameras and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for m*bile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.
* 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes, 1 megabyte (MB) = 1 million bytes.
1 IDC, Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, June 2009
2 vRPM (virtual Revolutions Per Minute) - a metric to compare SSD performance in client PCs with the HDD and with other SSDs. vRPM = (50 / ((0.5 / 4kB random read IOPS) + 0.5 / 4kB random write IOPS))
3 Performance based on internal testing and projections may vary depending on host device.
SanDisk?s product and executive images can be downloaded from
http://www.sandisk.com/corporate/media.asp
SanDisk?s web site/home page address: SanDisk | Home
SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. SanDisk pSSD and nCache are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation. Other brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks of their respective holder(s).
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for new product introductions, technology measurement standards, applications, features, markets, and customers that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: the market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or there may be a slower adoption rate for these products in new markets that we are targeting, our products may not be available at the prices, or in the geographies or capacities that we anticipate, our products may not perform as expected and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We do not intend to update the information contained in this press release."
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: News | Business Wire

[mpaulsen]

Ugh, John Dvorak's article is short-sighted, inaccurate, misleading, and I don't think he really understands the technology. Making a statement about all SSD based on a failed compact flash card is ridiculous. That's like saying all cars are unreliable because your VW Bug broke down.

In the past six months or so I have been seeing alot more SSDs in the Data Storage implementations I do for work. I'm not talking just about large corporations either but mid-sized companies as well. SDDs are only going to get more popular as cost goes down and performance and capacity goes up.

[James Tanner]

Thanks everyone for your input - this has been very enlightening.

james

[Wayner]

SSDs of some type will eventually take over the storage industry, but they will not be in the File Server domain until their reliability is undoutably proven. The risk is too high for even storage peddlers.

Right now, an individual can buy 1 terabite (1000 gigabites) for under $400, (depending on who has a sale going on). That is tremendous storage capacity that I don't think too many could take advantage of.  For me right now, it's cost and reliablilty and that spells HDD.

On another comment, the Netbook is going to be a break into product in the 3rd world countries. I've heard they will be selling for around $120. It will have limited capabilities, but will bring internet features to almost anyone on the planet. While on the surface this seems wonderful, I get the gut feel that it's just a plot to remove even more cash from those in third world countries that could ill-afford the netbook, let alone the products someone else hopes they buy.

It will be interesting to see how this all turns out.

Mr. Tanner, are you thinking of putting in a disc drive into your CD player?

Wayner

[James Tanner]

^
Hi Wayne,

No disc drive.

This subject came up as I have been experimenting myself with a number of different Music Servers and Computers running sophisticated sound cards (MAudio- Lynx) and a number of people recommended I look at SSD (EX: Blue Smoke) to get rid of the in-room noise level.
Also some have reported that the SSD drives sound better?

james

PS-please call me James - Mr. Tanner is way to formal!

[Wayner]

OK James

HDDs can be quite noisy. I ran a small home studio in my house that was computer based MIDI and analog. I had to put a blanket on the base unit to keep the noise down. I do think that there is a way to isolate the noise, by vibration damping, decoupling feet and ultra-quiet whisper fans, as they also like to give off lots of heat. I have a stand alone USB 250G HDD that makes too much noise to be a good music source, however, they make 15 foot (5 meter) USB A to B cables and remote mounting the HDD would not be that difficult. Add a remote, wireless on/off switch and I could put it in the other room with no problem. Of course, that wouldn't work for everyone. There's always plasticlay!

Wayner

[Wayner]

In fact, If you would isolate the drives case inside of a well structured, vibration damping box with decoupling feet, it might be very quiet.

Just a thought.

W