*1GB = 1 billion bytes; formatted capacity is less.

Measuring SSD Performance

SSD performance isn’t always measured in IOPS and MB/s. It can also be measured with a composite benchmark that gives results without any units. Using a common lexicon for SSD performance states and empirical data collected and measured by Calypso Testers, we’re able to illustrate performance variability as a function of time.

Download our SSD Performance States white paper to learn more.

SSDs in the Enterprise

For enterprises struggling to overcome the performance bottlenecks of traditional HDD storage, SSDs offer a cost-efficient alternative for boosting performance without buying unneeded capacity, hassling with complex implementation, or creating disruptive downtime.

Read Storage Switzerland’s take on the benefits and options involved in integrating SSDs into your organization’s server environment.

Optimized Advanced Storage

Moving Solid State Technology Forward
Micron’s Advanced Storage Technology (MAST) Center was established in 1999 with the mission to design, develop, and optimize memory and storage eco-systems.

The Center’s engineering and laboratory facilities and state-of-the-art development and debug capabilities have fueled high-speed memory and logic development. Significant achievements include:

• Established the first Burst EDO chipset
• Developed the first DDR chipset
• Pioneered SL-DRAM system architectures
• Created the world’s first PCI-to-ATA storage interface, which paved the way for the inclusion of ATA in the Southbridge

The Center is also the base of operations for Micron’s advanced storage architecture team. This team—led by VP of Memory Systems Development, Dean Klein, and Advanced Systems Technology Developer, Joe Jeddeloh—defines and develops revolutionary forms of solid state technology. We’ve worked hard to stay on top of the innovation surges that solid state storage and NAND technology have experienced over the past several years, and we take pride in our commitment to always develop solutions from a whole-system perspective.

Visit the Micron Innovations Blog.

Can the P300 and P400e drives be used in storage systems with SAS controllers?

Yes. From the protocol perspective, any SAS host can control the P300 and P400e drives. In the case of a dual-controller SAS host, you will need to integrate a "paddle board" to convert the single interface (SATA) Micron drives into a dual-interface (SAS) device. These "paddle boards" are common in the market, but selection, integration, and validation tasks are left to the customer.

I’m using 2.5" SATA rotating drives now. Are the Micron drives a faster, "drop-in" replacement?

Yes. The P300 and P400e drives are designed to replace rotating SATA drives and offers read/write performance that is far superior to a typical hard disk drive. Micron drives also provide better endurance and a more environmentally rugged solution that resists shock and vibration.

What advantage does Micron offer over other SSDs on the market?

To be a successful SSD supplier takes more than just one solid product, it also requires scale for growth and breadth of products, technical leadership, a robust supply chain, a focus on quality, and a roadmap for future SSDs. Many of today’s SSD competitors are capable of meeting only one or a few of these important attributes, but a customer who is working with Micron receives all of these benefits.

What are the benefits of the SATA 6 Gb/s interface?

The SATA 6 Gb/s allows for higher drive performance because the interface can move more data and keep pace with the speed of the P300 drive. For reference, the SATA 3 Gb/s interface, after factoring in typical bottlenecks through the host interface, can move about 275 MB/s at its maximum. If a drive can achieve over 275 MB/s, the 3 Gb/s interface becomes a bottleneck. The P300 drive can read data up to 360 MB/s, so the host interface would end up limiting the P300 drive’s performance if we hadn’t transitioned to a 6 SATA Gb/s interface. Because the SATA 6 Gb/s interface can move approximately twice the bandwidth, this allows the P300 drive to maximize its throughput and provide industry-leading performance.

What is driving the adoption of SSDs in the enterprise storage space?

As more and more companies explore ways to minimize their energy footprint, SSDs (solid state drives) are attracting a lot of attention because of their lower power consumption. The desire to maximize system performance and improve system reliability also helps push companies toward SSDs. Finally, the low failure rate and higher I/O bandwidth are tangible benefits of SSDs over traditional hard disk drives.

What is the P300 SSD, and where is it best used?

The P300 drive addresses mainstream applications (high-endurance, enterprise/appliance workloads) and comes with a Micron-developed Flash translation layer that improves read/write performance, optimizes write endurance, and lowers the overall write amplification. The P300 drive leverages Micron’s 34nm SLC NAND, which provides a more cost-effective price-per-GB, larger capacity (up to 200GB), improved data throughput, and enhanced write-cache-disabled performance.

What NAND is used in the P300 drive?

Micron’s 34nm SLC ONFI 2.1 NAND. This 34nm SLC NAND is used across all P300 capacities.

What NAND is used in the P400e drive?

Micron’s 25nm MLC ONFI 2.2 NAND. This 25nm MLC NAND is used across all P400e capacities.

What RAID controllers and HBAs have been qualified with the P300 and P400e drives?

Micron is working jointly with the top 6 Gb/s RAID card and HBA vendors to both qualify and optimize their products for use with the Micron drives. These efforts are ongoing; contact your Micron sales representative for the latest information.

What types of applications will benefit from enterprise-class SSDs?

Applications that have a high percentage of random operations, require high performance in terms of inputs/outputs per second (IOPs) and low latency, need high endurance, and require high data retention or are deployed in harsh environments are a good target for enterprise SSDs. End products that align to these types of requirements are boot drives, enterprise servers, blade servers, and appliance devices. In addition, there are industrial and military applications where the need for high reliability is important, and these applications will benefit from a high-endurance NAND-based product.

When disabling the drive write cache, the performance drops, especially on writes. Why?

As with any write-intensive application, cache (typically DRAM) is faster than the underlying NAND, so enabling the write cache will improve any drive’s performance—so long as the cache is not filled with incoming data. However, in applications where data integrity is paramount, disabling the Micron write cache will have less of an effect on Micron drives than it would in other drives.

Where are enterprise SSDs used?

Enterprise SSDs are starting to see segmented application spaces, and SSDs are being tailored to address each of these segments. The P400e drives are being used as boot drives, which are data storage media used to load and run operating systems or other program utilities in the entry segment.. P300 drives are also in appliance devices, which are purpose-built, single-function systems like e-mail-archiving applications, biometric-authentication devices, or network-management appliances that fall within the mainstream segment.P320h drives are being used in high-performance segments that are currently focused on PCIe-interfaced devices.

Which applications benefit from disabling the write cache?

Any application where data loss is a paramount concern can benefit from disabling the write cache. Such applications would include databases in which the SSD is the primary storage system, network appliances whose configuration is frequently updated/logged, video recording systems (but not typically video playback), and any enterprise deployment in which the hosts are not protected by a UPS.

Whose firmware is used on the P300 drive?

All firmware was designed, developed, and tested by Micron’s engineering teams and is focused on supporting the mainstream segment of write-intensive or mixed workloads.

Whose firmware is used on the P400e drive?

All firmware was designed, developed, and tested by Micron’s engineering teams and is focused on supporting the entry segment of read-intensive workloads.

Will the P300 and P400e drives appear on any 6 Gb/s RAID controller or HBA vendor’s approved hardware list?

Yes. Micron is working jointly with the top 6 Gb/s RAID card and HBA vendors to ensure complete interoperability with their devices and to get Micron’s drives listed on their approved-hardware lists. These efforts are ongoing; contact your Micron sales representative for the latest information.

What is the P400e SSD, and where is it best used?

The P400e drive addresses enterprise entry-level applications (high read, low cost) and comes with an aggressive Micron-developed enterprise FW and controller to ensure proper enterprise support at a price point that allows for hard disk drive (HDD) replacement. The P400e leverages Micron’s 25nm MLC NAND and is focused on read-centric applications. It has advanced wear leveling, over-provisioning, and enterprise data path protection (DPP) to ensure long-term support of MLC NAND in specific applications.