Fusion-Io working on SMLC flash memory for enterprises

Posted on Wednesday, July 08 2009 @ 16:14 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Fusion-Io announced they're developing single mode level cell (SMLC) flash memory for enterprise solid state disks, the company promises this memory will offer the endurance and performance of SLC memory at a much lower cost per gigabyte. The first Fusion-Io products with SMLC are expected later this quarter.
>i>The SMLC technology features bandwidth equal to SLC, with comparable endurance and write performance levels, at a cost that is substantially lower than traditional SLC solutions. Fusion-io products utilizing SMLC build on all of the innovation and reliability of the company's existing enterprise-class solid-state solutions, including its PCI Express-based form factor, chip-level redundancy and RAIDing, global wear leveling, advanced error correction and many other features beyond just performance leadership.

Fusion-io's SMLC serves as the foundation for an enterprise product line that is tailor-made for customers requiring greater performance or endurance than MLC can provide, at a lower price point than existing SLC solutions.

"Whatever the underlying logic, the fact remains that the straightforward cost of solid state storage is the number one impediment to its faster adoption," says Mark Peters of the Enterprise Strategy Group. "This new SMLC solution from Fusion-io is aimed at attacking that impediment while leaving the many other benefits of solid state untouched, and it extends the company's out-of-the-box innovative approach to building a next generation of storage."

"A viable MLC solution for enterprise organizations has up-to-now been limited by technical barriers associated with the medium's write performance, endurance and reliability," said David Flynn, CTO of Fusion-io. "Our SMLC solution overcomes these roadblocks and provides organizations with another avenue for migrating to solid state performance and reliability, while helping mitigate concerns over cost to deploy."

SMLC will be available in both ioDrive and ioDrive Duo product lines supporting 160GB and 320GB, respectively. Other SMLC-based products will follow.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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