Solid State Disk (SSD) and Flash Storage
How do SSD drives compare to traditional hard drives? What factors contribute to SSD durability?
SSD drives are much faster than a traditional HDD.harddiskdrives(HDDs). SSD drives use NAND flash memory, which means they have no moving parts. WiththeremovalofNo moving parts itallowsallow for faster data retrieval times and better stability and durability. Furthermore, SSD drives can withstand a much higher shock rate before sustaining damage to the drive than a HDD.Thisisdue,leading to nomovingpartsfarbetterreliability.
SSD drives offer many advantages to the enterprise:
- Speed: 101x faster than spinning disks
- Efficiency: Power consumption is much lower. A recent Microsoft TPC-H study showed an overall system power savings of 94% tobe gained from using an SSD.
- Performance: SSD'sSSDs have no moving parts so they deliver consistent operation and aren'tarenot susceptible to RVI (rotational vibration interference)
- Price: SSD'sSSDs are more cost effective than hard drives. The demand for HDD densities keeps increasing. However for applications that don'tdonot require large capacities can be better served by low density SSD'sSSDs at a cheaper price point than HDD'sHDDs.
Dell has partnered with Samsung to offer cutting edge SSD's in the Latitudes, Ultrabooks and Dell Servers.
What is an MLC solid state drive?
An MLC solid state drive is a memory device using NAND flash memory technology. This NAND flash memory uses multiple levels per cell to allow more bits to be stored using the same number or transistors. The primary benefit of MLC flash memory is its lower cost per unit of storage due to the higher data density. There are some drawbacks of MLC NAND.: Lower write speeds, lower number of program-erase cycles and higher power consumption compared to SLC flash memory.
What is an SLC solid state drive?
An SLC solid state drive is a memory device that uses NAND flash technolgytechnology storing data in individual memory cells, which are made of floating gate transistors. SLC memory has advantages of faster write speeds, lower power consumputionconsumption and higher cell endurance. However, because it stores less data per cell than MLC, it costs more per megabyte.
What is the difference between MLC (Multi Level Cell) and SLC (Single Level Cell) solid state drives?
Multi-Level Cell is a memory technology that stores bits of information in multiple levels in a cell. Because of this, MLC drives have a higher storage density and the per MB manufacturing cost is less but there is a higher chance of error on the drive. This type of drive is typically used in consumer based products. Single Level Cell only stores bits of information on a single level per cell. This decreases power consumption and allows for faster transfer speeds. This technology is typically reserved for higher end or enterprise memory cards where speed and reliability are more important than cost.