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Solid State Drives: Enabling MLC Technology in the Enterprise

Forward Insights
November 1, 2009
SKU: GCWF2508367

Abstract Table of Contents Related Reports

Due to demanding performance workloads, SLC technology has been the technology of choice for SSDs in enterprise computing environment. Therefore, it came as a surprise when in August of this year, STEC, the leading enterprise SSD vendor announced that it will offer MLC]based enterprise SSDs. Are these products aimed at niche applications or do they suggest the beginnings of broader adoption of MLC technology in SSDs in the enterprise space? This report provides a thoughtful analysis of SSD usage models and what applications could conceivably be addressed by MLC technology. In addition, a detailed examination of SSD adoption in notebook, low cost mobile and desktop PCs is provided. An excel spreadsheet of all the data in the report along with a the report in .pdf format is provided.

Contents: List of Figures; List of Tables; Executive Summary; Introduction; Enabling MLC Technology in the Enterprise; NAND (SSD Usage Models) in Enterprise; Overcoming the Shortcomings of MLC Technology; Applications for MLC Technology; Enterprise Applications; Performance Characteristics; Total Cost of Ownership; General Pricing Trends; Server-attached SSDs; Boot Drives; PCIe; SATA/SAS I/O; Storage-attached SSDs; Boot Drives; FC/SAS I/O; Total Enterprise SSD Market; Low Cost Mobile PC Applications; Netbooks; Smartbooks; Value proposition; Implications for SSDs; Market Outlook; Mainstream PC Applications; Trends; Notebook PC Market; Total Cost of Ownership; mSATA; Desktop PC Market; Computing SSD Market; Competitive Landscape; SWOT Analysis; NAND Flash Vendors; HDD Vendors; Module Houses; Controller Vendors; HDD Controller Vendors; Summary; Vendor Status; PC Applications; Enterprise Applications; Appendix I: NAND Flash Memory Overview; NAND Flash Memory Introduction; Concept; NAND Flash Architecture; Appendix II: Endurance; References; About the Author; About Forward Insights; Services; Contact
List of Figures: Figure 1. Write/Read Workload Applications; Figure 2. Sequential/Random Workload Applications; Figure 3. SSD vs. HDD in the Enterprise - Performance Characteristics; Figure 4. Enterprise HDD vs. SSD Hardware Cost; Figure 5. SSD vs. HDD IOPS; Figure 6. Server Forecast; Figure 7. Total Enterprise SSD Units Forecast; Figure 8. Total Enterprise SSD $/GB Forecast; Figure 9. Total Enterprise SSD GB Forecast; Figure 10. Total Enterprise SSD Revenue Forecast; Figure 11. Total Enterprise SSD Units by Technology; Figure 12. Total Enterprise SSD GB by Technology; Figure 13. Total Enterprise SSD Revenues by Technology; Figure 14. SSD vs. HDD in Low Cost Mobile PCs; Figure 15. Low Cost Mobile PC Unit Forecast; Figure 16. Low Cost Mobile PC Unit Forecast By Technology; Figure 17. LC Mobile PC SSD Capacity Mix; Figure 18. Low Cost Mobile PC SSD GB Forecast; Figure 19. Low Cost Mobile PC SSD Revenue Forecast; Figure 20. SSD Performance Trend; Figure 21. 2.5” SSDs vs. HDDs in PCs - Performance Characteristics; Figure 22. Productivity Improvement Over PC Life; Figure 23. Savings vs. Cost for 128GB SSD Over 3 Year PC Lifecycle; Figure 24. mSATA SSD vs. 2.5” HDD in PCs - Performance Characteristics; Figure 25. Notebook PC Unit Forecast; Figure 26. Notebook PC SSD Unit Forecast; Figure 27. Notebook PC SSD GB Forecast; Figure 28. Notebook PC SSD Revenue Forecast; Figure 29. Desktop PC Unit Forecast; Figure 30. Desktop PC SSD Unit Forecast; Figure 31. Desktop PC SSD GB Forecast; Figure 32. Desktop PC SSD Revenue Forecast; Figure 33. Computing SSD Unit Forecast; Figure 34. Computing GB Forecast; Figure 35. Computing SSD Revenue Forecast; Figure 36. SSD vs. HDD $ / GB; Figure 37. NAND Flash Cell Programming; Figure 38. Multi-level Storage in NAND Flash; Figure 39. NAND Flash Cell Reading; Figure 40. NAND Flash Cell Erase; Figure 41. NAND Cell String; Figure 42. NAND Cell String; Figure 43. NAND Flash Memory Architecture; Figure 44. 8Gb NAND Flash Memory Organization; Figure 46. Endurance vs. SSD Capacity
List of Tables: Table 1. NAND Usage Model; Table 2. Selection Criteria - SLC or MLC?; Table 3. MLC vs. SLC SSD Parameters; Table 4. Boot Drive Forecast (Server-attached); Table 5. PCIe SSD Forecast; Table 6. SATA/SAS I/O SSD Forecast; Table 7. HDD & SSD Shipment Forecast; Table 8. Storage-attached SSD Forecast; Table 9. LC Mobile PC SSD Product Mix Forecast; Table 10. LC Mobile PC SSD Price Forecast; Table 11. HDD Failure Costs; Table 12. Notebook PC Tasks; Table 13. Savings Over 3 Year PC Life; Table 14. Notebook PC SSD Capacity Unit Mix Forecast; Table 15. Notebook PC SSD OEM Price Forecast; Table 16. Desktop PC SSD Capacity Unit Mix Forecast; Table 17. $ / GB Trend; Table 18. SSD SWOT Analysis; Table 19. Supplier Relationships - PC SSDs; Table 20. Supplier Relationships - Enterprise SSDs; Table 21. Specifications for 4xnm SLC and MLC NAND Flash; Table 22. SSD NAND Flash Technology under Four Scenarios
List of Tables: Table 1. SSD Bill of Materials; Table 2. ECC Trend; Table 3. HLNAND SSD vs. Conventional SSD; Table 4. SSD Capacity as a Function of Writes / Day; Table 5. Enterprise Class SSD vs. HDD; Table 6. PC-Class SSD vs. HDD; Table 7. Interface Transfer Speeds; Table 8. Interface Transfer Speeds; Table 9. Low Cost Mobile PC SSD vs. HDD; Table 10. SSD Chronology; Table 11. Seagate’s Patent Claims against STEC; Table 12. Enterprise SSD vs. HDD Key Metrics; Table 13. Video-on-Demand SSD TAM; Table 14. Enterprise HDD:SSD Replacement Ratio; Table 15. SSD NAND Flash Technology under Four Scenarios; Table 16. LC Mobile PC SSD Capacity Unit Mix Forecast; Table 17. LC Mobile PC SSD Capacity GB Mix Forecast; Table 18. LC Mobile PC SLC SSD Price Forecast; Table 19. LC Mobile PC MLC SSD Price Forecast; Table 20. LC Mobile PC 3-bit per cell SSD Price Forecast; Table 21. Notebook PC SLC SSD Capacity Unit Mix Forecast; Table 22. Notebook PC SLC SSD Capacity GB Mix Forecast; Table 23. PC SLC SSD Price Forecast; Table 24. PC MLC SSD Price Forecast; Table 25. PC SLC/3-bit per cell SSD Price Forecast; Table 26. Desktop PC SSD Capacity Unit Mix Forecast; Table 27. Desktop PC SSD Capacity GB Mix Forecast

Solid State Drives: Enabling MLC Technology in the Enterprise

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